Guide · Definition
In briefShared leadership is a leadership model in which several people deliberately and in a regulated way share a leadership role including responsibility and decision rights. It differs from mere task-sharing without shared responsibility.
The definition
Shared leadership denotes an understanding of leadership in which leadership responsibility is deliberately distributed across several people, by agreed rules – instead of resting with a single head. At its core is not the division of work but the division of responsibility and decision rights.
Distinction from related terms
- Geteilte Führung: the German term, largely identical in content.
- Dual leadership: the concrete form at the top of a company (two full roles).
- Leadership tandem: two people sharing one role.
- Top-sharing / job-sharing in leadership: shared leadership in part-time.
- Delegation: not shared leadership – responsibility stays with one person.
How these forms differ and when each fits is shown in Models of shared leadership.
Characteristics of genuine shared leadership
- Responsibility is explicitly shared, not just the work.
- There are clear decision rights – who decides what.
- For disagreement, an agreed rule exists.
- The leadership appears coordinated to the outside.
Aus meiner Praxis
In practice I call it the “fridge test”: if both think the other is handling it and in the end no one owns the decision, it isn’t shared leadership – it’s shared irresponsibility.
Frequently asked questions
Is shared leadership the same as a dual leadership?
The dual leadership is one form of shared leadership – usually two full roles at the top. Shared leadership is the umbrella term.
Is it enough if we just share the tasks?
No. Without shared responsibility and clear decision rights it’s task-sharing, not shared leadership.
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