Addressing Common Obstacles to Effective Shared Leadership

Abstract

Previous research done for a doctoral dissertation five years ago evaluated shared leadership in seven American Christian churches and ministries (Herbst, 2017). It found ten of the common benefits associated with shared leadership in the academic literature were present in these organizations. These included exceptional outcomes, enhanced decision-making, complex problem solving, creative innovation, team-member fit, team synergy, organizational vitality, healthy organizational culture, individual health, and sustained growth. It also surfaced five potential obstacles to successful shared leadership. These included the difficulty of the model, a potential lack of follow-through, a possible lack of efficiency, a general lack of acceptance of the model, and the danger of immature or usurping team members. Limitations, drawbacks, and difficulties associated with shared leadership remain understudied and insufficiently understood. The goal of this research was to help fill that gap by doing a five-year follow up investigation into each of the previously interviewed organizations. Survey results confirmed that all five obstacles had been experienced over the past five years but none had kept these organizations from continuing to effectively share leadership. Successful shared leadership, along with the benefits it proffers, is not elusive but it does require the intentional mitigation of potential pitfalls.