{"id":2472,"date":"2026-07-27T08:26:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geteiltefuehrung.com\/?p=2018"},"modified":"2026-07-27T08:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:26:13","slug":"shared-leadership-definition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geteiltefuehrung.com\/en\/shared-leadership-definition\/","title":{"rendered":"Shared leadership: definition &#038; distinction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"gf-eyebrow wp-block-paragraph\">Guide \u00b7 Definition<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group gf-answer is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"gf-answer__label\">In brief<\/span>Shared 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.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group gf-toc is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n<li><a href=\"\/#def\">The definition<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"\/#abgrenzung\">Distinction from related terms<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"\/#merkmale\">Characteristics<\/a><\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"def\">The definition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Shared leadership<\/strong> denotes an understanding of leadership in which leadership responsibility is deliberately distributed across several people, by agreed rules \u2013 instead of resting with a single head. At its core is not the division of work but the division of <strong>responsibility and decision rights<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"abgrenzung\">Distinction from related terms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n<li><strong>Geteilte F\u00fchrung:<\/strong> the German term, largely identical in content.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Dual leadership:<\/strong> the concrete form at the top of a company (two full roles).<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Leadership tandem:<\/strong> two people sharing <em>one<\/em> role.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Top-sharing \/ job-sharing in leadership:<\/strong> shared leadership in part-time.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Delegation:<\/strong> not shared leadership \u2013 responsibility stays with one person.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How these forms differ and when each fits is shown in <a href=\"\/en\/shared-leadership-models\/\">Models of shared leadership<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"merkmale\">Characteristics of genuine shared leadership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"gf-checklist wp-block-list\">\n\n<li>Responsibility is explicitly shared, not just the work.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>There are clear decision rights \u2013 who decides what.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>For disagreement, an agreed rule exists.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>The leadership appears coordinated to the outside.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group gf-exp is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"gf-exp__label wp-block-paragraph\">Aus meiner Praxis<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In practice I call it the \u201cfridge test\u201d: if both think the other is handling it and in the end no one owns the decision, it isn&#8217;t shared leadership \u2013 it&#8217;s shared irresponsibility.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group gf-faq is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details gf-faq__item is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Is shared leadership the same as a dual leadership?<\/summary>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The dual leadership is one form of shared leadership \u2013 usually two full roles at the top. Shared leadership is the umbrella term.<\/p>\n\n<\/details>\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details gf-faq__item is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Is it enough if we just share the tasks?<\/summary>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. Without shared responsibility and clear decision rights it&#8217;s task-sharing, not shared leadership.<\/p>\n\n<\/details>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\", \"@type\": \"FAQPage\", \"mainEntity\": [{\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Is shared leadership the same as a dual leadership?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The dual leadership is one form of shared leadership \u2013 usually two full roles at the top. Shared leadership is the umbrella term.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Is it enough if we just share the tasks?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"No. Without shared responsibility and clear decision rights it's task-sharing, not shared leadership.\"}}]}<\/script>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group gf-sources is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"gf-sources__h wp-block-heading\">Sources &amp; further reading<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Pearce, C. L. &amp; Conger, J. A. (2003): <em>Shared Leadership. Reframing the Hows and Whys of Leadership.<\/em> Sage.<\/li><li>Carson, J. B., Tesluk, P. E. &amp; Marrone, J. A. (2007): Shared Leadership in Teams. <em>Academy of Management Journal<\/em>, 50(5), 1217\u20131234.<\/li><li>Wang, D., Waldman, D. A. &amp; Zhang, Z. (2014): A meta-analysis of shared leadership and team effectiveness. <em>Journal of Applied Psychology<\/em>, 99(2), 181\u2013198.<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group gf-method is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"gf-method__label wp-block-paragraph\">How this article was written<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group gf-author gf-author--rich is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-rounded gf-author__img\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/geteiltefuehrung.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/amrit-rescheneder.jpg\" alt=\"Amrit Rescheneder\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<p class=\"gf-author__label wp-block-paragraph\">About the author<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Amrit Rescheneder<\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"gf-author__role wp-block-paragraph\">Expert in co-leadership<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amrit Rescheneder helps organisations and leadership tandems build shared leadership that works. She led in a job-sharing model herself for years \u2013 after 15 years of leadership responsibility in banking. She knows shared leadership from practice, not from textbooks.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list gf-author__creds\"><li>15 years of leadership responsibility in banking<\/li><li>Led in a leadership tandem herself for years<\/li><li>Guides organisations &amp; leadership duos<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"gf-author__more wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"\/en\/about\/\">More about me \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\", \"@type\": \"Article\", \"headline\": \"Shared leadership: definition\", \"description\": \"What shared leadership means precisely and how it differs from dual leadership, tandem and delegation.\", \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\", \"datePublished\": \"2026-07-25\", \"dateModified\": \"2026-07-25\", \"author\": {\"@type\": \"Person\", \"name\": \"Amrit Rescheneder\", \"jobTitle\": \"Expert in co-leadership\", \"url\": \"https:\/\/geteiltefuehrung.com\/ueber-mich\/\"}, \"publisher\": {\"@type\": \"Organization\", \"name\": \"geteiltefuehrung.com\", \"url\": \"https:\/\/geteiltefuehrung.com\/\"}, \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\"@type\": \"WebPage\", \"@id\": \"https:\/\/geteiltefuehrung.com\/geteilte-fuehrung-definition\/\"}}<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"gf-updated-en wp-block-paragraph\">Updated: 25 July 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Guide \u00b7 Definition In briefShared leadership is a leadership model in which several people deliberately and in a regulated way [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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