Explanation:

Shared leadership occurs when two or more members engage in the leadership of the team in an effort to influence and direct fellow members to maximize team effectiveness (Bergman, Rentsch, Small, Davenport & Bergman, 2012).

The early roots of shared leadership can be seen as early as the Roman Empire, whereby a group of individuals shared power through the Senate. However, the concept of sharing power and influence among a number of individuals emerged through organizational efforts to manage individuals in teams and also through a focus on self-leadership whereby individuals ‘lead others to lead themselves’ (Cox & Sims, 1996).

It is important to distinguish shared leadership from team leadership because shared leadership describes how team members influence each other and share responsibility for tasks, rather than the concept of a team being led by a specific leader. Shared leadership occurs when a group of individuals lead each other to achieve successful outcomes (Carson, Tesluk, & Marrone, 2007).