LEADERSHIP

Leadership



PAS-450: Week 2 Discussion

1)

Leadership is a pivotal issue that affects the success and failure of every organization, country, and religious movement. The speed of change and complexity in today's business environment make leadership increasingly exigent, placing unrealistic expectations on heroic leaders (Yukl, 2006). Ostensibly, it is becoming more difficult for any single individual to possess all of the skills and abilities required to competently lead organizations today (O'Toole, Galbraith, & Lawler, 2002). O'Toole et al. affirmed, “Frequently, organizations learn the hard way that no one individual can save a company from mediocre performance—and no one individual, no matter how gifted a leader, can be 'right' all the time” (p. 67). Pearce (2007) pointed out, “As organizations have steadily progressed into the knowledge economy we can no longer rely on simple notions of top-down, command-and-control leadership, based on the idea that workers are merely interchangeable drones” (p. 355). Hence, this paper investigates the case for shared leadership and seeks to determine if more organizations should consider adopting a shared leadership model.

Sally (2002) pointed out that shared leadership has existed since ancient times: “Republican Rome had a successful system of co-leadership that lasted for over four centuries. This structure of co-leadership was so effective that it extended from the lower levels of the Roman magistracy to the very top position, that of consul” (p. 84). However, over the course of history most organizations have been led by one central leader in a hierarchal fashion (Wood, 2005). Indeed, O'Toole et al. (2002) observed, “For most people, shared leadership is counterintuitive: leadership is obviously and manifestly an individual trait and activity” (p. 66). Furthermore, they added, “The identities of American corporations are often viewed as mere reflections of the personalities of their leaders: entire organizations are portrayed as shadows of the 'Great Men' ...