THE INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT Spotlight on Distributed Leadership The shared leadership model conceptualizes leadership as a set of shared practices that can and should be enacted by people at all levels. Leadership is understood as a dynamic and multi-directional group process rather than a role exercised by a select few at the top. Carsten Tams (2018) Adopting Leadership Roles Distributed, or shared, leadership is a model which is centred on people adopting leadership roles rather than hav- Ing a designated title of "leader" (Spillane, 2006). It is behaving as a leader rather than having a designation. The old days of the "complete leader" have long since vanished to be replaced by a more Informal network of people capa- ble of flexing "into" and "out of" leadership roles as the organisational or operational demands change. Teams with a shared vision, a "can do" attitude and capable of networking and Innovation, constantly outperform those with a more traditional "command and control" structure (Karriker et al 2017). Leadership development also has moved from grooming those capable of "great things", a human capital approach, to social capital, one which focusses on developing the skills and willingness to lead from within a team based on function or a mission-critical time. For example, health care has changed from a medical model dominated by physi- clans leading a team of "handmaidens" to an integrated team which delivers care: Shared Leadership The Team Leader: Traditional Leadership Enables people to act The Team Leader: Establishes shared vision Takes decisions Facilitates Teamwork and Gives Instructions information sharing Controls whether people do what Installs collaborative decision he told them to making and problem solving Is the super expert Stimulates experimentation Delegate tasks Delegates responsibilities Coaches and gives feedback is open for feedback The Idea of distributed leadership goes beyond the classical idea of delegating responsibilities to team members, but Introduces the Idea of an organizational culture that allows people to take leadership in areas or at particular moments they feel that it is beneficial for the organisation, they are well equipped to do it, they have the energy for it and others are willing to support them and collaborate to reach the expected results. In that sense it is a very differ- ent view of leadership which was advocated in past decades with a lot of focus on people like Steve Jobs." Leemans, C. (2020)Behaviours For Distributed Leadership Firstly, and perhaps an essential component, Is the investment in the development of leadership capacity through- out an organisation enabling stronger networking and confidence in a wide range of staff to take on a leadership role. Bolden (2007) refers to this as investing in social capital of an organisation and not solely the human capital. Ancona et al (2007) suggest four essential capabilities in developing distributed leadership: 1. Sensemaking: Developing a shared understanding of the business context, the people, markets and dynam- Ics in the market. This is so that contributions and leadership have a shared focus. 2. Visioning: Building on a shared understanding. developing a clear picture of the future which is powerful, connected to everyone and owned. To begin every new project with a clear "end in mind" is the best predic tor of success. 3. Relating: The practice of choosing teams, finding people with the right skills, sharing ideas so that others might build on them where then the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts. 4. Inventing: Being constructively dissatisfied with the way things are so that constant re-invention takes place. New Ideas are put forwards without fear and failure is an opportunity for learning. Without a culture of ex- perimentation new developments can't take place. Other behaviours demonstrated by successful distributed leadership Include: A sharing of Ideas, Including Ideas for Improvement Evaluating what went well A willingness to defer to someone with, for example, specialist knowledge or expertise even though you may have a higher status or role in the organisation Inclusive working such that the person closest to a problem can give their analysis directly rather than working up a hierarchical system People also need time to share, their skills, Ideas and experiences. Taking time to talk, but not holding meetings for the sake of, It is essential in any successful distributed leadership approach. Distributed leadership is also one manifestation of an organisation which sees itself as a learning community, and whilst it may be adopted by an organisation to solve a strategic or an operational issue (recent research in the NHS has suggested it has been effective in solving waiting times for surgery, where decision-making about lists has been devolved to the lowest point possible), It can then be adapted to a community where learning is continually shared to provide better outcomes for the organisation and its customers. As Karriker et al (2017) suggested from research on 241 teams, shared leadership delivers more benefit In terms of best performance than any other HR measure currently available. References Ancona, D: Malone, T; Orlikowski, W and Senge, P (2007). "In Praise of the incomplete leader" Harvard Business Review February 2007 Bolden, R (2007) Distributed leadership in Marturano A. and Gosling. J. (eds) (2007). Leadership. The Key Concepts Abingdon: Rout- ledge Karriker, J; Madden, L and Katell, L (2017). Team Composition, Distributed Leadership, and Performance: It's Good to Share Journal of Leadership and Organisational Studies Vol: 24 issue 4. Spillane J. (2006). Distributed Leadership Jossey-Bass Tams, C. (2018). "Bye-Bye, Heroic Leadership. Here Comes Shared Leadership" Forbes www.forbes.com/sites/carsten- tams/2018/03/09/bye-bye-heroic-leadership-here-comes-shared-leadership/#28a735d02c67 Learning Cluster 20.3 . Published by The Institute of Leadership & Management 2020 @ The Institute of Leadership & Management The Institute of Leadership & Management, Pacific House, Relay Point, Tamworth 877 SPA . www.InstituteLM.com - +44 (0) 1543 265886THE INSTITUTE OF Adaptability: LEADERSHIP Distributed Leadership & MANAGEMENT One of The Institute's worksheets series, to help you improve your leadership skills and capability, making you a better leader This worksheet, based on the Spotlight 'Distributed Leadership,' will help you focus on the features of distributed leadership and the relevance and application of distributed leadership for your team. You should take approximately two hours to complete this worksheet and read the accompanying Spotlight 1. Use one sentence to explain the difference between the 'practice of leadership' and the 'designated role of leadership': 2. Use the table below to select TRUE or FALSE for each statement and explain the reasons for your choice: True or False Why? The essence of distributive leadership is that leadership Is a group quality, a set of functions to be carried out by the group, not just one person Distributed leadership encourages Initiative by allowing those closest to the task to make the decisions that will affect their success The purpose of distributed leadership is to enable the formal leader to delegate tasks more effectively to the team There Is no need for a shared purpose or understanding of the organisation's values and goals with distributive leadership Learning together and then acting on new understandings Implies that leadership potential is not restricted to one person 3. In the boxes below, write what you think are the two most important advantages that distributed leadership can bring to an organisation: 2Worksheet Adaptability: Distributed Leadership 4. What do you consider are probably the two main reasons why organisations do not operate distributed leadership? 5. Provide two positives and two negatives of introducing, or operating, distributed leadership in your team. Ensure you provide explanations, and not just bullet-points. 6. Write a tweet in the space below to explain how distributed leadership differs from delegation: 7. How would you start a conversation to convince an autocratic leader of the benefits of distributed leadership? All references are cited in The Institute of Leadership & Management (2018) 'Spotlight on Distributed Leadership' Achievement - Adaptability - Distributed Leadership Published by The Institute of Leadership & Management 2018 @ The Institute of Leadership & Management The Institute of Leadership & Management, Pacific House, Relay Point, Tamworth B77 SPA . www.InstituteLM.com . +44 (0) 1543 266886