What is Shared Leadership?
“We recognize each other and meet as equals in our humanity- what exists at the core of us -before relating through roles, status and expertise.”—the Practice of Leading with our Humanity, as part of The Shared Leadership Framework™.
We aren’t the first ones to create or adopt the practice of shared leadership. If you Google it, you’ll see articles, definitions, and thought leaders exploring shared leadership from Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Nonprofit Quarterly. For example, in a recent Forbes article, “What Shared Leadership Is & What It’s Not,” by Rodger Dean Duncan, practical examples of shared leadership in-action at the workplace are described: regular team debriefing and psychological safety contribute to healthy team development.
For us, after 20+ years of supporting executives and teams around the world, we have witnessed shared leadership as the fundamental shift in how we understand and apply wise and effective leadership. Here’s how we define it:
Shared leadership is the practice of bringing out the greatest capacity in everyone by empowering us all to be responsible for and engaged in the well-being & vibrancy of the whole.
More than a set of leadership courses or something you learn about from leadership consultants, shared leadership calls us to show up fully human before role or expertise and equally contribute to the group culture we create together. No one person or boss creates culture. All of us contribute to our collective experience every day, everywhere we show up. So, how do we intentionally transform workplace culture together?
The Shared Leadership Framework™ can guide us. Designed to cultivate healthier relationships, The Shared Leadership Framework is comprised of a set of premises, pillars, and principles that influence behaviors, actions, operations, strategies, and systems. Together, they create a pathway to culture change or what we call your Shared Leadership Journey ™. They can be practiced alone or together, at work and home, across all sectors. Anywhere teams function, The Shared Leadership Framework can be practiced.
Ready to start practicing shared leadership with your team? Read how our partner and clients, Provoc, have experienced healthier communication and how The Masiello Group is transforming every system. Both companies are committed to their Shared Leadership Journeys. If your organizations are ready to make the commitment and move away from old, top-down hierarchical leadership to a more collaborative culture, where our relationships and equality matter first and foremost, we’d love to hear from you and how we can support your team.
Read how Christine stepped into new power at The Masiello Group. Learn about the Shared Leadership Framework™. Fill out this quick form, and we will get in touch soon!