The effect of shared leadership on team performance in international undergraduate students

Abstract

The current study examined how shared leadership influences a teams' performance among international undergraduate students. Shared leadership is a team property where two or more leaders are present in a team, sharing the lead and associated responsibilities. The study used a longitudinal design with five consecutive measurements during a six week period to inspect the temporal development and the various factors influencing shared leadership. The statistical analysis showed that shared leadership changed over time and both shared leadership and the personality trait conscientiousness predicted team performance. Correlation between motivation and team performance and an interaction effect between motivation and shared leadership could not be confirmed. Implications of the findings are discussed with reference to the current literature.