Guide · How-to
In briefYou introduce shared leadership by clarifying the structure first and naming the people second: define the goal, set roles and decision rights, agree a disagreement rule, involve the team and readjust after a few months. Structure before people is the most important rule.
Contents
The six steps
- Clarify the goal. Why shared leadership – and how will you recognise success?
- Check readiness. Is the task divisible, does the organisation carry the model?
- Define roles. Who owns what, who decides alone, where jointly.
- Agree the disagreement rule. What happens when you don’t agree?
- Involve the team. Communicate clearly who is responsible for what.
- Readjust. Review after three months – before friction sets in.
Key takeaways
- Structure before people: roles and rules first, then name.
- The disagreement rule is the single most important building block.
- Without a review date the model falls back into old patterns.
Aus meiner Praxis
If I could give only one piece of advice, it would be this: clarify the decision rights before you know the names. Once people are in the room, every role question becomes a person question – and thus delicate.
Common mistakes in the rollout
- People first, structure later.
- No rule for the crunch of disagreement.
- The team is presented with a fait accompli.
- Nothing happens after the kick-off.
If you don’t want to do the rollout alone: consulting for organisations guides exactly this process, including a readiness check.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the rollout take?
Clarifying goal and roles takes days to weeks, anchoring with a review several months.
Should the people be fixed beforehand?
Better not. Clarifying roles and rules first makes the appointment easier and less prone to conflict.
Sources & further reading
- Pearce, C. L. & Conger, J. A. (2003): Shared Leadership. Reframing the Hows and Whys of Leadership. Sage.
- Carson, J. B., Tesluk, P. E. & Marrone, J. A. (2007): Shared Leadership in Teams. Academy of Management Journal, 50(5), 1217–1234.
- Wang, D., Waldman, D. A. & Zhang, Z. (2014): A meta-analysis of shared leadership and team effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(2), 181–198.
How this article was written
This article is based on my own experience as a leader in a job-sharing model and 15 years of leading in banking, as well as the established research on shared leadership (see sources). Where I speak from practice, it is marked as such.
Amrit Rescheneder
Amrit Rescheneder helps organisations and leadership tandems build shared leadership that works. She led in a job-sharing model herself for years – after 15 years of leadership responsibility in banking. She knows shared leadership from practice, not from textbooks.
Updated: 25 July 2026