The effective measurement of shared leadership: a multi-scale comparison

Abstract

Purpose

Due to the proliferation of measures (and conceptualisations) employed to assess shared leadership behaviours, it is unclear to researchers and practitioners which specific team behaviours should be encouraged and which measures should be included in research to enhance team effectiveness outcomes. To address this issue, this research tests 11 shared leadership scales to identify which measures and behaviours exhibit the strongest relationship with team effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

This research utilises survey methods (n = 328) to test the measurement of shared leadership using 11 previously validated scales. This novel approach uses structural equation modelling techniques (SEM) to compare and contrast multiple measures targeting a single underlying construct.

Findings

Across the 11 measures tested (drawn from three theoretical perspectives), no single scale demonstrated a superior ability to assess shared leadership (based on model-fit and effect size exhibited). Nevertheless, the results indicated that measures assessing shared transformational leadership were most highly related to team effectiveness; whilst the shared leadership density measure (using social network techniques) exhibited the weakest relationship.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations of this research include the use of a student sample (although participants were screened based on their current employment in a team environment), and the individual assessment of shared leadership rather than team assessment. These findings indicate that shared transformational leadership behaviours are highly related to perceptions of team effectiveness. It is recommended future research define and delineate between constructs of interest, including general forms shared leadership (i.e. shared leadership broadly defined) and more specific forms of shared leadership (e.g. shared transformational leadership [narrowly defined]).

Practical implications

It is recommended that interventions and/or training designed to enhance team shared leadership outcomes should specifically target shared transformational leadership behaviours; especially when aiming to increase beneficial team outcomes such as effectiveness or potency.

Originality/value

This research is novel in both advancing our understanding of the shared leadership behaviours needed to enhance team effectiveness; and in methodological approaches comparing and contrasting multiple measures of a single latent construct.

Citation

Spedding, J., Brough, P., Hawkes, A.J. and Chan, X.W. (2023), "The effective measurement of shared leadership: a multi-scale comparison", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 44 No. 4, pp. 564-581. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-10-2021-0453