The Trouble with Teams… and Team Leadership: Toward a Research Agenda on the Paradoxical Nature and Reciprocal Dynamics of Vertical and Shared Leadership

Abstract

The trouble with teams is that we need them, and the leadership that makes teams tick. Teams have become ubiquitous within the organizational landscape. They are deployed to address cutting-edge knowledge work and develop breakthrough innovation. Getting the most out of teams requires that they, to a large degree, lead themselves. Simultaneously, their efforts must be embedded within the larger organizational context, which typically requires vertical leadership from a hierarchical source. In addition, however, true team leadership generally also requires team member-based shared leadership from the team itself. Our curated collection of Academy of Management publications on team leadership illustrates how team leadership research has developed over time. This development includes the application of leadership models that are not specific to teams, as well as team-specific leadership theory. We discuss the value of both. We also highlight arguably the most important direction in developing the field: studying team leadership as a dynamic process in which formal, vertical leadership and informal, shared leadership mutually influence each other. We discuss how pursuing this direction requires the development of new theory and new empirical approaches that capture dynamics over time. Ultimately, it is time for a course correction in team leadership research.