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INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
Shared Leadership: A Systems Perspective
JUNE 2011
VOL 3, NO 2
Dr R.K Malik, Corresponding Author
PhD (Teaching, Learning & Leadership) USA
Director Academic Affairs, Bahria University Islamabad, Pakistan.
Azhar Afridi
MPhil Student in Business Management Major (Marketing)
Bahria University Islamabad, Pakistan
Abstract
This is a conceptual study that tries to draw attention on the importance of shared
leadership in systems thinking perspective, focusing more on holism, i.e. whole is
greater than the sum of parts (Senge, 1990), thus emphasizing on team work and
avoiding the individualistic approaches to management. The paper inculcates opinions
of various scholars, who specialize in the field of leadership in general and shared
leadership in particular.
Keywords: Leadership, Shared leadership, Team, Systems thinking, Holism
1. Introduction.
“Great Leaders plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in (Translated
Greek Proverb)” (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2009, p. 132).
The term leadership has always been a debatable issue and defined by scholars in
several ways. Although there is no general definition of leadership (Lussier & Achua,
2007), however many scholars have defined the term in different ways. Dr. M. L.
Monga in his paper on “Leadership Archetypes” cited some scholars defining
leadership as “the process by which an agent induces a subordinate to behave in a
desired manner (Bennis, 1959), the presence of a particular influence relationship in two
or more persons (Hollander & Jullian, 1969), an interpersonal relationship in which
others comply because they want to not because they have to” (Monga 1969, p. 148).
Leadership refers to power relationship between leaders and their followers that want
real changes and outcomes which reflect their shared purposes (Daft, 2002). It can be
viewed as a product of one’s position, personality traits, and observable behaviors,
dependent upon the situation in which it is exercised and conditional to how the leader
and his followers react and interact with each other (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2009).
In management perspective, leadership can be viewed as influencing of leaders and
followers to achieve organizational objectives through change (Lussier & Achua, 2007,
p. 6). It involves directing, controlling, motivating, and inspiring staff towards the
achievement of organizational goals (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2009). In a
traditional model of organizational leadership, a leader is an individual with maximum
authority and with vision for productive performance, who communicates
organizational policies and ensures institutional control (Wood & Fields, 2007).
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