Shared leadership in projects: a matter of substance over style

Purpose – This paper aims to advance understanding of the conditions under which shared leadership would contribute to successful outcomes in projects and factors associated with its development.Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that draws on existing research on shared leadership in teams and the literature on the characteristics of soft projects, to put forward a number of testable propositions to form the basis of future research in this area.Findings – The assumptions underpinning style perspectives of leadership and their usefulness for projects are called into question given the ambiguity and complexity with which the majority of projects now have to contend. Instead, shared project leadership is suggested to be better suited to respond to the dynamic and changing circumstances characteristic of most projects.Research limitations/implications – Three major areas of research are proposed that focus on external factors enabling shared leadership, internal factors enabling shared...

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