Sharing Leadership in the Context of Socioeconomic Diversity: Combining Shared Leadership and Socioeconomic Diversity for the Greater Good

Shared leadership involves a collective effort where multiple identities, perspectives, skills, and experiences are incorporated into relational and decision-making processes. As such, we argue that diversity is a critical consideration in the presence of shared leadership. Specifically, we argue that socioeconomic diversity is an important consideration when engaging in collective forms of leadership; nevertheless, organizational research has yet to adequately understand shared leadership in this context. We identify this as a critical gap and draw upon qualitative data in our study of a large non-profit organization in Latin America to extend and develop theory on shared leadership in the context of socioeconomic diversity. We examine antecedents to shared leadership, ways in which leadership is shared, outcomes of shared leadership, and mechanisms by which these outcomes are achieved in the context of socioeconomic diversity. We conclude with directions for future research and implications of shared leadership when team members have disparate socioeconomic identities and backgrounds.