We Don’t Need Teamwork, We Need Shared Leadership

A role exchange mindset promotes self-selection of roles and responsibilities as per the person best suited for the particular task or project. It also takes into account that each team member isn’t available at all times, and the task at hand will evolve and change hands.

People have to be comfortable with going back-and-forth with their roles and responsibilities, switching between leading and following.

A leader with an ego is a bad leader, especially in the long run. An optimized shared leadership role is best suited for someone who only takes up the role when the team or situation demands, and defers or delegates roles and responsibilities to others based on merit.

A true leader is humble and lets other people take up the mantle without judgement.

To be a leader, one has to be self-aware and also be aware of others work-related skills, strengths and weaknesses.

One has to be clear on what skills the team has, which requires a good grip on each team member's role preference.

• Shared leadership increases the diversity of thought and creates synergy, proving that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
• It also increases awareness for backup behaviour and primary/secondary accountability.
• It can be a high-maintenance system, requiring structure, communication and coordination. It requires more energy and maybe overkill for simple tasks.