This is a post on Shared Leadership from a class discussion. Enjoy!
Good afternoon Matthew:
You provided us with an excellent post! What resonated with me most is your research that indicated, “Fiscally responsible leaders possess humility, transparency, impeccable character, and a can-do spirit. Rather, leadership requires a deep sense of responsibility. Therefore, it is important that our public leaders understand our current economic difficulties” (Kamara, 2013, para. 1). To add to your discussion, I believe taking a shared leadership approach facilitates the characteristics you wrote about.
The shared leadership is the process of working in a collaborative manner to achieve organizational goals (McEachin, 2011; Neck & Manz, 2007). This style of leadership occurs when all members act as the leader by rotating the responsibilities among the people who possess the fundamental education, capabilities, and skills (Bateman & Snell, 2009). Shared leadership is the use of mutual influence to accomplish stated goals by participating in the decision-making process of the organization (Wood, 2005). Rotating or sharing leadership responsibilities within an organization does not eliminate the need for an assigned leader (Yukl, 2006); Rather it allows for use of many different people who have many different skill sets and talents. The principles of the shared leadership paradigm focus on encouraging the heart of the followers, inspiring the vision of the organization, and challenging the process by modeling the way (Leech & Fulton, 2008; Yukl, 2006).
Centers for Spiritual Living (CSL) uses the shared leadership approach. O’Toole, Galbraith, and Lawler (2002) affirmed the fact that, “The trend over the last half-century has been away from concentration of power in one person and toward expanding the capacity for leadership at the top levels of corporations” (p. 67). Yukl (2006) acknowledged that decision-making in not individual rather a collaborative process with many different people through an interactive process.
According to Singh (2008), a shared leadership model promotes a people-oriented environment that encourages empowerment, which allows the follower to make decisions freely from a point of values, beliefs, and interest rather than a point of position. Leaders possess the most power when they give the power away (Kouzes, 2003). In Greenleaf’s description of the servant leader, Hesse’s character Leo gave away authority and position in service to his companions (Greenleaf, 1977). In the end, Leo was appointed to the high council for his service.
Shared leadership empowers the followers and fosters a sense of power and control (Dambe & Moorad, 2008; Yukl, 2006). Because many lay leaders at CSL are volunteers, the empowerment component allows the follower to increase confidence, ownership, awareness, and personal growth (Kieslinger, Pata, & Fabian, 2008; Singh, 2008). Shared leadership and empowerment create synergy through collaboration and interdependency where followers use individual abilities (Neck & Manz, 2007). Over time, shared leadership creates a new pool of leaders, broadening creativity and knowledge within an organization, which is consistent with the intention of the servant leadership model that followers will become leaders (Bateman & Snell, 2009).
Centers for Spiritual Living (CSL) recognizes shared leadership as the contribution of all participants and groups within the organization thus reducing hierarchy and encouraging full participation by all members. Shared leadership requires the transparency of everyone by the sharing of ideas openly and participation in the decision-making activities of the organization. Within CSL, the shared leadership approach is demonstrated by; (a) Seeking outcomes through consensus rather than by majority vote, (b) Valuing cooperation over competing viewpoints, (c) Balancing the opinions and responsibilities of all members, (d) Sharing rather than limiting or abandoning leadership, and, (e) Relying on all participants to take personal responsibility to be fully informed, current and prepared for all activities of the group (Centers for Spiritual Living, 2012, p. 7).
I believe the shared leadership style can have a positive impact on the financial health of any organization. Together we are aware of our finances and together we make ethical choices about how to remain fiscally responsible. Thank you for your post.
References
Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2009). Management: Leading and collaborating in a competitive
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Centers for Spiritual Living. (2012). Centers for Spiritual Living Policies and Procedure Manual.
Retrieved from http://www.csl.org
Dambe, M., & Moorad, F. (2008). From power to empower: A paradigm shift in
leadership. South African Journal of Higher Education, 22(3), 575-587.
Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and
greatness. New York, NY: Paulist Press.
Kamara, M. (2013). Week six, DQ # #1 discussion question. PHL/736 Political Acumen and
Ethics. University of Phoenix course website. Retrieved from
https://classroom.phoenix.edu/afm213/secure/view-thread.jspa?threadID=52620178
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