LET IT GO, LET IT GO? IMPLEMENTING SHARED LEADERSHIP IN AN F-FORM COMPANY

Abstract

This paper looks at leadership in a liberated organisational context, focusing on a type of leadership  that has not yet been widely explored in research, namely shared leadership. Based on a case study  of a team leadership model, our research examines the interplay between governance and organisa tional culture in terms of shared leadership. It identifies the tensions that exist around leadership in  ‘freedom-form’ (F-form) organisations and suggests ways of thinking about how shared leadership  can be put in place across such organisations.  Our study makes both theoretical and managerial contributions: from a theoretical perspective, it  addresses an unthought-of aspect of F-form organisations, namely team leadership. It provides a  response to criticisms of the centralisation of power observed in these organisations and identifies  the conditions for sharing leadership. From a managerial perspective, our study provides guidance to those involved in implementing a type of leadership that is in keeping with the liberated organ isational culture.