"When there's collective leadership, there's the power to make changes": A realist evaluation of a collective leadership intervention (Co-Lead) in healthcare teams. (May 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: De Brún, A.; McAuliffe, E.
• Is Part Of: Journal of leadership & organizational studies. Volume 30:Number 2(2023)
• Page Start: 155
• Page End: 172
• Publication Date: 2023-05
• Subjects: collaboration -- leadership style -- health; Leadership -- Periodicals; Management -- Periodicals; Organization -- Periodicals; 658.4092
• DOI: 10.1177/15480518221144895
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1548-0518

Abstract

There is accumulating evidence for collective approaches to leadership, where multiple individuals share leadership roles, but there remains a lack of theory-informed research on how collective leadership is fostered in practice. This study evaluated the impact of a collective leadership intervention, exploring what works for whom, how, and under what circumstances through a mixed-methods realist evaluation of four case studies. Eight context-mechanism-outcome configurations (theories) were extrapolated that elucidate the mechanisms triggered to drive outcomes in particular settings. This is the first study to apply a realist lens to understand collective leadership and articulate the generative mechanisms that enable/inhibit collective leadership in healthcare teams.