Having explored the nature of shared leadership, my second research purpose lay in
understanding the role of shared leadership activities in team learning and thus
contributing to the literature on interrelations between leadership and team learning
(Berson et al., 2006; Burke et al., 2006; Edmondson, 1999). I have contributed to this
literature in two aspects: firstly, by researching interrelations between each of the three
leadership substances and team learning, I provide in-depth knowledge, in particular
concerning the link between the task and change substance affecting reflection and
action as these links have not been studied before (Edmondson et al., 2008). Relations
and change substance primarily support the reflection part of learning, whereas the task
substance of leadership basically enhances the action part of learning. Secondly, not
only did I study these three leadership categories on team learning individually, but I
also provided insights into the complementary character of these three leadership
substances as regards team learning. Empirical findings show that in order to engage in
successful learning cycles of reflection and action, a team needs to engage in leadership
activities of task, relations and change.
Although no final statement can be given as to whether shared leadership is more
effective in team learning than vertical leadership, this doctoral research should be
regarded as a foundation on which future researchers can build. As this qualitative
research project identifies the interrelations between the two concepts more than testing
them, it would be fruitful in a further quantitative survey research to compare teams
with a permanent single leader and teams with distributed leadership by observing how
the leadership activities engaged in by both comparison groups affect team learning.