Team Leadership and Performance: Combining the Roles of Direction and Contribution

What is it about?

This paper studies the realities of team leadership in collaborative projects when the leader can direct members to exert effort, but can also participate herself. We show that team leaders should adapt their leadership style to the type of project at work, and even throughout the unfolding of the project. In particular, we show that while the team leaders’ contribution to the project is always valuable, their directing activities may not be so. On the other hand, team members who make their own choices, tend to exert more effort than demanded under participatory leadership, but not under directive leadership.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Despite the evidence that team leaders are critical for project success and firm performance, the operational role of leaders as “team managers” has received limited attention in management science.