Shared leadership in voluntary sector organisations: exploring practice and theory development

This article investigates leadership practice in voluntary sector organisations (VSOs). Drawing on stakeholder theory and evidence from a qualitative study involving UK VSOs, it explores the manifestation of shared leadership practices and proposes a framework for more inclusive practices that enhance trust, accountability and collective responsibility. We find that certain stakeholders are more detached from processes of shared leadership than leaders in formal positions. Furthermore, involvement in leadership activity varies with status, with shared practices diminishing from trustees through to employees and volunteers, as trustees and employees are mainly involved in ‘high-level activities’ of the organisation while volunteers are involved in ‘low-level activities’. Our study poses a challenge to unitary and linear leadership models that present shared leadership as equally distributed in organisations.