Jay discusses factors that predict the emergence of shared leadership, and the positive effect of shared leadership on team performance.

Mike interviews Jay Carson about a study he recently published in the Academy of Management Journal with co-authors Paul Tesluk and Jennifer Marrone. They found that coaching by an external leader was a critical factor in the emergence of shared leadership, particularly when the internal team environment was poor. In turn, shared leadership was associated with higher team performance.

Jay Carson(jcarson@cox.smu.edu) is an assistant professor at the Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University. He received his Ph.D. from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. His research interests are in leadership, teams, and cross-cultural issues, with a current focus on shared leadership and internal leadership in teams.

Date of the interview: December 27, 2007

Recommended further readings:

Carson, J.B., Tesluk, P.E., & Marrone, J.A. 2007. Shared leadership in teams: An investigation of antecedent conditions and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 50: 1217-1234.

Mehra, A., Smith, B., Dixon, A., & Robertson, B. 2006. Distributed leadership in teams: The network of leadership perceptions and team performance. Leadership Quarterly, 17: 232245.

Pearce, C. L., & Conger, J. A. 2003. Shared leadership: Reframing the hows and whys of leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Michael Johnson is an Assistant Professor in Department of Management and Organization at the University of Washington. He can be reached via mdj3@u.washington.edu