An evaluation of the practice of shared leadership at Destiny Church

• Main Author: Brown, Calvin Lamar
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2014
• Subjects: Management; Religion
• ISBN: 1321826044; 9781321826043

While a growing body of theoretical and empirical work has focused on shared leadership, less attention has been given to the examination of shared leadership in church organizations. More specifically, little previous research has considered the potential relationship between shared leadership and team effectiveness in the local church. This study examined the extent to which one local church possessed the five conditions researchers found to be most consequential to team effectiveness—Real Team, Direction, Enabling Structure, Supportive Organizational Context, and Available Coaching. Drawing on existing research on a variety of effective teams around the world, three primary hypotheses were proposed and tested. First, it was hypothesized that a local church elder team effectively practicing shared leadership will possess the conditions most consequential to team effectiveness. It was also hypothesized that a local church elder team effectively practicing shared leadership will possess the conditions at a rate comparable to other non-church, senior leadership teams. Further, it was predicted that a local church elder team effectively practicing shared leadership will possess the conditions at a rate comparable to other church-specific, senior leadership teams. The latter two hypotheses were divided into five sub-hypotheses, one for each of the five conditions measured in the study. Survey data were collected from each elder team member using the Team Diagnostic Survey (TDS). Data were analyzed by the TDS research team and evaluated by the researcher of this study. The first of the three primary hypotheses was fully supported. In both of the remaining primary hypotheses, four of the five sub-hypotheses were supported, while the sub-hypotheses related to the condition of Direction was not supported. Results revealed that Destiny Church's elder team possessed the conditions most consequential to team effectiveness, and at a rate comparable to other teams and church-specific teams, except on the condition of Direction. This study offered the subject team an objective assessment of its shared leadership practice and in-depth insights. A theological framework was developed briefly and offered in order to clarify and buttress their biblical argument for shared leadership. A comprehensive set of comparative data and feedback was compiled for the benefit of the present study, the subject team, and others who might be interested in the topic, based on the results of the TDS.