Leadership and followership are key to firm performance, so it is important to understand them and find the op ti mal leader–follower interac ti on to be implemented in an organiza ti on. Understanding these concepts is important, because they help increase the company’s produc ti vity and success in achieving its goals. This paper explores the connec ti on among shared leadership, self ‐leadership, and followership, and argues that their prac ti ce is crucial for virtual teams’ success. The theore ti cal framework presented is supported by prac ti cal study cases of EY Slovenia, Haier, Soldev, and Hershey. The proposi ti ons, derived from the case studies, are related to two topics. The first proposi ti on concerns how self ‐leadership is assumed by one who prac ti ces e ffec ti ve followership, and the second proposi ti on concerns how shared leadership styles posi ti vely influence the building of trust and fostering of a sense of ownership of employees. With this theory, organiza ti ons can navigate the challenges of the modern workplace, and consequently improve their performance, produc ti vity, and job sa ti sfac ti on. Furthermore, we present a model that shows the influence of self ‐ leadership on e ffec ti ve followership, and emphasizes the benefits of implemen ti ng shared leadership styles, especially in digital work, and we discuss the impact of self ‐leadership, self ‐awareness, and self ‐e fficacy on the implementa ti on of shared leadership within an organiza ti on that operates virtually. Keywords: self ‐leadership, shared leadership, virtual teams, teamwork THROUGH SELF-LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWERSHIP TO SHARED LEADERSHIP: A PARADIGM FOR EFFECTIVE VIRTUAL TEAMWORKING Enja Topi ć School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia enja.top@gmail.com Melisa Ćehi ć School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia melisa.cehic9@gmail.com Rok Belingar School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia rok.belingar@gmail.com Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 73 a ffect the en ti re crew.” Leadership and followership are accountable for the breakthroughs or break ‐ downs in organiza ti ons. This paper focuses on ex ‐ ploring the concepts of shared leadership and self ‐leadership, and the impact they have on follow ‐ ership. Leadership styles for small and medium ‐sized enterprises, that now are making an appearance in the era of virtual teamwork, are based on service from leaders to their employees, ac ti ve engagement between leaders and employees, and the necessary 1 Introduc ti on Leadership is about leveraging social influence to maximize the contribu ti ons of a team in order to achieve a common goal (Kruse, 2013). Ala tt ari and Essa (2019, p. 408) stated that “Leadership has an important and e ffec ti ve role to play in achieving the goals. The leader is the captain of the ship who holds the reins of his hand; either he achieves his goals successfully or fails to do so and this eventually will Abstract Vol. 12, No. 1, 73 ‐86 doi:10.17708/DRMJ.2023.v12n01a05 DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 73 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 74 Enja Topi ć, Melisa Ćehi ć, Rok Belingar: Through Self ‐Leadership and Followership to Shared Leadership: A Paradigm for E ffec ti ve Virtual Teamworking empowerment that employees need in order to complete tasks successfully (Cahyadi, Marwa, Hágen,Siraj, Santa ti , Poór, & Szabó, 2022). Self ‐lead ‐ ership was introduced in the organiza ti onal manage ‐ ment literature by Manz (1983), who described it as a “comprehensive self ‐influence perspec ti ve that concerns leading oneself toward performance of naturally mo ti va ti ng tasks as well as managing one ‐ self to do work that must be done but is not naturally mo ti va ti ng” (Manz, 1983, pp. 288 ‐297). Three core components of self ‐leadership in vir ‐ tual teamwork that we describe in this paper are self ‐awareness, empowerment, and self ‐e fficacy. On the other hand, shared leadership takes place when two or more team members par ti cipate in leading the team with the aim of influencing and guiding other members to achieve op ti mal team perfor ‐ mance. (Rentsch, Small, Davenport, & Bergman, 2012). Four core components of shared leadership in virtual teamwork that we describe in this paper are distributed decision ‐making, collabora ti ve prob ‐ lem ‐solving, building trust, and fostering a sense of ownership. The phenomenon of digital transforma ‐ ti on has transcended the realm of technical depart ‐ ments and now has become a priority for leaders across all industries, sectors, and regions. The cur ‐ rent digital age represents only a star ti ng point in the development of a world that is made possible by the rapid and extensive integra ti on of technology in the workplace. The pace of the digital era is so swi ft that it is fundamentally altering the opera ‐ ti onal frameworks of both private and public orga ‐ niza ti ons, demanding that they adopt new modes of thinking when designing their opera ti ng models (Mihai & Cre ţu, 2017). Therefore, the topic of lead ‐ ership styles and followership is important because it can help organiza ti ons to create a more produc ‐ ti ve work environment, improve leadership e ffec ‐ ti veness, and achieve their goals, especially in the era of virtual teamwork, in which employees are dis ‐ persed geographically (Malhotra, Majchrzak, & Rosen, 2007). The combina ti ons of leadership and follower ‐ ship in virtual teamwork are a rela ti vely new area of research, especially a ft er COVID ‐19, because the re ‐ search has proliferated since that ti me, and as a re ‐ sult there are many gaps in the literature on this topic. Leaders o ft en are portrayed as the element that “makes or breaks” an organiza ti on. In contrast, a follower’s role is undervalued or neglected. Fol ‐ lowers are treated as silent or passive par ti cipants, rather than asser ti ve doers. That is why the leader ‐ ship literature and research studies are leader ‐cen ‐ tric, whereas followership has received scant a tt en ti on, and remains on the periphery rather than at the core of leadership research (Essa & Ala tt ari, 2019). In conclusion, the exis ti ng literature lacks the actual connec ti on between leadership styles and ac ‐ ti ve followership in digital work. To date, most of these concepts have been described individually (e.g., for self ‐leadership, see Manz, Stewart, & Cour ‐ tright, 2011), and are not related to virtual team ‐ work, whereas we inves ti gated their op ti mal combina ti on. In addi ti on, the exis ti ng findings lack recommenda ti ons of good prac ti ce to implement these styles in a company, especially in virtual teams, in which not all employees are always at the same place. This combina ti on of leadership and follower ‐ ship styles is important theore ti cally because these leadership styles all take into account the complex ‐ i ti es of modern organiza ti ons, and ac ti ve follower ‐ ship emphasizes the importance of followers. The combina ti on also reflects current trends in the era of virtual teamwork, because it promotes collabo ‐ ra ti on, empowerment, self ‐awareness, building trust, etc. Studies of leadership have focused pri ‐ marily on the leader, neglec ti ng the significant con ‐ tribu ti on of followers to the leader’s e ffec ti veness and the organiza ti on’s performance. However, re ‐ cently there has been a growing recogni ti on of the crucial role played by followers in both the leader’s capacity to lead and the organiza ti on’s overall func ‐ ti oning. (Marturano & Gosling, 2008; Novak, 2012). The rela ti onship between a leader and their follow ‐ ers is crucial for the success of both par ti es and to the achievement of the organiza ti on’s strategic ob ‐ jec ti ves (Carpenter, 2009; Gallagher, 2009; Hollan ‐ der, 2008). We complement the research on each leadership style individually and advance it by con ‐ nec ti ng self ‐leadership and shared leadership with ac ti ve followership, which we find to be the op ti mal combina ti on for digital work. We show the benefits of implemen ti ng shared leadership styles in an or ‐ ganiza ti on in the era of digital work. We focus on the connec ti ons among empowerment, self ‐aware ‐ DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 74 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 75 ness, and self ‐e fficacy, and the successfulness of im ‐ plemen ti ng them in one’s personal and professional life. Furthermore, we present a model that shows the connec ti on between leadership styles and ac ‐ ti ve followership. 2 Theore ti cal Background 2.1 Self ‐Leadership, Self ‐Awareness, Empowerment, and Self ‐E fficacy Self ‐leadership has been introduced as a dis ‐ ti nc ti on among di fferent levels of self ‐influence, and which provides a perspec ti ve that goes beyond the discipline and self ‐management process. Neck and Manz (2010, p. 4) defined self ‐leadership as “the process of influencing oneself.” Manz (1986), who originally introduced the concept, described self ‐ leadership as a person’s ability to deliver excellent performance in tasks which mo ti vate them as well as tasks that are challenging because their charac ‐ teris ti cs are not aligned completely with the per ‐ son’s purpose. Manz also stated that self ‐leadership is di fferent from classic self ‐control or self ‐manage ‐ ment because it acknowledges behavioral, cogni ‐ ti ve, and intrinsic mo ti va ti on. The first suppor ti ng aspect we address is self ‐ awareness, which contributes to the development of an individual because it allows a person to re ‐ spond to their feelings and adjust their ac ti ons ac ‐ cordingly. Hultman (2006) defined self ‐awareness as a person’s capacity to be aware of their limita ti ons when it comes to challenges, while having a strong sense of their capability to maximize their personal skills, such as mo ti va ti on, and the skills they have developed in their area of exper ti se. Robak, Ward, and Ostolaza (2005) stated that self ‐awareness is based on (self) observa ti on, through which one can iden ti fy the quality of their abili ti es and recognize those of others. These a tt ributes are a crucial com ‐ ponent in successfully adop ti ng the self ‐leadership approach in an organiza ti on. One who is able to reg ‐ ulate their emo ti ons and responses when facing a challenge or a conflict within the team delivers high ‐ quality performance. For example, a person who puts the anxiety and fear of failing aside when pre ‐ sented with a challenging task and manages to coax focus, determina ti on, and best skills out of oneself undoubtedly will complete the task with excellent results. Being self ‐aware also means comple ti ng one’s tasks with integrity, inspira ti on, and respect for other team members, because self ‐aware peo ‐ ple understand the emo ti onal and behavioral im ‐ pact on themselves and others. The second suppor ti ng aspect is empower ‐ ment, which gives employees the independence to actually make decisions and commitments instead of only sugges ti ng them (Forrester, 2000). It encour ‐ ages people to become more involved in their envi ‐ ronment and proac ti ve in their work, which opens them up to new opportuni ti es to develop skills and knowledge. As Carson and King (2005, p. 1,050) noted, “the root of empowerment is power and em ‐ ployees must be given the ability to exercise that power .” Carson and King (2005) also noted that em ‐ powerment is the basis for self ‐leadership to pro ‐ duce posi ti ve outcomes in organiza ti ons. Because empowerment encourages a display of indepen ‐ dence in one’s work, lets one perform well in team ‐ work environments, and gives one a sense of ownership of their posi ti on within the organiza ti on, it is one of key factors that co ‐create one’s ability to self ‐lead. It is the organiza ti on’s responsibility to en ‐ courage empowerment among their employees, not only to a tt ain excellent financial results, achieved through maximized produc ti vity, but also to create a well ‐informed and func ti onal environment that is based on the community rather than on individuals. The third suppor ti ng aspect is self ‐e fficacy, which refers to an individual’s percep ti on of his or her capacity to perform a specific task. Bandura (1986) is credited with recognizing the importance of self ‐e fficacy in human agency. He clarified that “self ‐e fficacy is an important variable in cogni ti ve self ‐regula ti on (goal ‐se tti ng, feedback, etc.).” Theo ‐ re ti cally and empirically, self ‐e fficacy has been shown to have wide ‐ranging implica ti ons for orga ‐ niza ti onal behavior. Gist and Gist (2013) noted that self ‐e fficacy has been proven to have a posi ti ve in ‐ fluence on cogni ti ve self ‐regula ti on, especially on leadership and decision ‐making, and also con ‐ tributes to predic ti ng di fferen ti al behaviors in di ffer ‐ ent job situa ti ons, such as stress and strain, commitment, adaptability to change, en ‐ trepreneurial behavior, and socializa ti on. Self ‐e ffi ‐ cacy is cri ti cal to self ‐leadership because it enables DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 75 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 76 Enja Topi ć, Melisa Ćehi ć, Rok Belingar: Through Self ‐Leadership and Followership to Shared Leadership: A Paradigm for E ffec ti ve Virtual Teamworking individuals to pursue new challenges and goals with persistence and determina ti on. The external s ti mu ‐ la ti on a company would have to provide in order to achieve the same results therefore is significantly reduced. Therefore, we propose Proposi ti on 1: Self ‐leadership is a prerequisite for e ffec ti ve followership, and is supported by em ‐ powerment, self ‐awareness, and self ‐e fficacy. 2.2 Shared Leadership as a Theore ti cal Concept “Shared approaches to leadership ques ti on indi ‐ vidual level perspec ti ve, arguing that it focuses exces ‐ sively on top leaders and says li tt le about informal leadership or larger situa ti onal facts. In contrast, shared leadership o ffers a concept of leadership prac ‐ ti ce as a group ‐level phenomenon.” (Pearce & Conger, 2003, p. 22). Shared leadership theory argues against the tradi ti onal top ‐down approaches and hierarchical structures within an organiza ti on, and leans heavily toward a more decentralized approach, that is “dis ‐ tributed and interdependent” (Pearce & Conger, 2003). As a concept, it assumes that individuals within a team or organiza ti on possess unique skills, knowl ‐ edge, and exper ti se that can be leveraged to achieve the collec ti ve goals of the organiza ti on. Shared lead ‐ ership is conceptualized as a set of prac ti ces that can and should be enacted by people at all levels, rather than a set of personal characteris ti cs and a tt ributes enacted by people at the top. McIntosh (1989) de ‐ scribed the individual achievement as being the ti p of the iceberg, with collabora ti ve networks crea ti ng con ‐ di ti ons and suppor ti ng and facilita ti ng it from be ‐ neath. Shared leadership concepts recognize that teamwork and group leadership prac ti ces truly are the enablers of one’s individual success. Another shi ft from the tradi ti onal leadership ap ‐ proaches lies in embedment in social interac ti on. Lave & Wenger (1991, p. 23) stated that the “shared leadership is portrayed as a dynamic, mul ti direc ‐ ti onal, collec ti ve ac ti vity that, like other human ac ‐ ti on and cogni ti ve sense ‐making, is embedded in the context in which it occurs.” Again, it contradicts the generally accepted top ‐down approach, with its strict hierarchical nature of a leader–follower rela ‐ ti onship. The followers are recognized for their role in influencing the leader, and not only the other way around. The implementa ti on of the concept of shared leadership implies certain characteris ti cs of the followers, whose role is changed from a passive to an ac ti ve one, for which reason they can be de ‐ scribed as e ffec ti ve followers. They are characterized by a sense of personal responsibility for achieving the defined goals and sharing the organiza ti onal mis ‐ sion (Pearce & Conger, 2003). They take ini ti a ti ve for ac ti vi ti es ensuring the improvement of their own po ‐ ten ti al while trying to recognize and meet the needs of the organiza ti on along with the leader . In addi ti on, they are characterized by the ability to express their views clearly and freely and stand up to the leader, if by doing so they can prevent ac ti ons that could un ‐ dermine the integrity or the goals of the organiza ti on (Pearce & Conger, 2003). Shared leadership also includes a con ti nuous process of iden ti fying leadership poten ti al among employees and encouraging them to develop these resources, and it is related to the par ti cular quality and characteris ti cs of the social processes in which leadership occurs. Isaac (1999) described the oc ‐ currence of collec ti ve learning as a safe container of this approach, as well as less likelihood of low fluctua ti on of informa ti on and knowledge within the organiza ti on. Scharmer and Käufer (2002, p. 24) noted that collec ti ve learning occurs when individuals are able to move through di fferent talking stages, the “talking nice” stage being the first and most shallow, rule repea ti ng phase where people do not cross the line of expected, “reflec ti ve dia ‐ logue”, where people begin to speak their minds, engage in conversa ti on ac ti vely and de ‐ fend their perspec ti ves openly, to the “genera ‐ ti ve dialogue” which occurs when the group losses its individual level focus and truly co ‐cre ‐ ates ideas. People are open to being influenced by others perspec ti ves and ideologies. The shi ft toward collec ti ve learning is par ti cu ‐ larly significant because it highlights the need to ex ‐ pand the individual level skills and characteris ti cs that are related to learning (such as self ‐awareness) in order to include more group level–focused rela ‐ ti onal prac ti ces and skills such as authen ti city, open ‐ ness, vulnerability, and the ability to an ti cipate the responses and needs of others, yet not being afraid to fail (Fletcher, 1994, 1999). DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 76 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 77 We expand the context of shared leadership by incorpora ti ng characteris ti cs of the servant leader ‐ ship style, because it is considered to be one of the ideal styles in terms of human factors. In this leader ‐ ship style, the leader iden ti fies first as a servant and second as a leader (Parolini, 2009). In the context of virtual teamwork, in which isola ti on and exclusion due to there being li tt le to no physical involvement among the team members, and they may even be separated geographically, being managed by some ‐ one who adopts the servant leadership style signifi ‐ cantly reduces the possibili ti es of asynchronici ti es in communica ti on and team rela ti onships. Such leaders model behaviors that make their followers feel safe to fail, which results in a high level of trust between the leader and their subordinates (Zanouz et al., 2022). Especially in virtual teams, in which ques ti ons usually are put in wri ti ng and people tend to be care ‐ ful what they ask because of the risk of failure or em ‐ barrassment, having one’s subordinates feel safe enough to turn to them reduces informa ti on frag ‐ menta ti on, and consequently weak economic and fi ‐ nancial results. Therefore, we propose Proposi ti on 2: The shared leadership style, which can be manifested through servant lead ‐ ership, is posi ti vely related to building trust and fostering a sense of ownership of employees by distribu ti ng decision ‐making, and boosts collab ‐ ora ti ve problem ‐solving. 3 Case Studies 3.1 Self ‐Leadership through Self ‐Awareness and Self ‐E fficacy at an Audit Firm in Slovenia To discuss the importance of self ‐leadership, we introduce a weekly skills ‐development workshop, the Audit Hub Weekly Workshop, as an example of good prac ti ce suggested by an audit intern at EY Slovenia that was implemented for all assistants and interns in Audit Hub by the management. It is a specific local dissemina ti on of knowledge, in addi ti on to the exten ‐ sive formal curriculum, which contains in ‐person and web ‐based learning. The workshop is held online so that remote workers are able to par ti cipate and over ‐ come frequent Excel and audit ‐related challenges to ‐ gether. The intern who suggested the workshop showed their ability to recognize an area in which the en ti re team of assistants and interns lacked experi ‐ ence and knowledge, and the management listened to them and developed a solu ti on that benefited ev ‐ eryone. This indicates a community in which people are rewarded for self ‐leading, and the management is open to being influenced by their subordinates (In ‐ ternal Source, 2023). 3.2 Shared Leadership at Haier and Solodev The example at Heier, described by Hamel and Zanini (2018), involves seeking a compromise be ‐ tween a rigid hierarchical structure and agile shared leadership, because poorly performing leaders are vulnerable to a hos ti le takeover. If leadership in ‐ creases people’s authority without increasing their compensa ti on, the addi ti onal responsibility may well be seen as a burden. Conversely, if leadership grants people stock without increasing their authority, they s ti ll will feel like minions. The Haier company opera ‐ ti onal model, Rendanheyi, is built on microenter ‐ prises (MEs) ac ti ng as smaller autonomous units within a larger company structure. According to Fis ‐ cher (2013), microenterprises were assembled in the fourth organiza ti onal restructuring of Haier, which took place between 2005 and 2012. The implemen ‐ ta ti on introduced three powers within a microenter ‐ prise: the power of decision ‐making, the power of hiring and firing, and the power of profit distribu ti on. When a new market demand is created, so is a mi ‐ croenterprise that will specialize in the supply, e.g., the crea ti on of the microenterprise that produces and sells three ‐door refrigerators. The opera ti onal and tac ti cal leadership within each unit is voted on by employees each year, whereas the visionary leadership is directed by upper management. Anyone employed by Haier can apply to work in any microenterprise and to become its leader. Therefore microenterprises are expected to be self ‐managing, and their freedoms are formally enshrined in three rights. Firstly, an organiza ti on de ‐ cides on opportuni ti es that need to be pursued, sets its priori ti es, and facilitates internal and external partnerships with a strategy. Based on that, they evaluate their human resources and increase the set, and align individual roles and working rela ti onships. Lastly is the distribu ti on of pay rates and bonuses. (Hamel & Zanini, 2018). Haier has managed to build a compe titi ve internal labor market, in which mutual DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 77 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 78 Enja Topi ć, Melisa Ćehi ć, Rok Belingar: Through Self ‐Leadership and Followership to Shared Leadership: A Paradigm for E ffec ti ve Virtual Teamworking selec ti on of heads and employees takes place dy ‐ namically (Li, 2017). Its employees not only serve as subordinates, but serve customers on behalf of the company, and are able to decide for themselves the areas in which they are experts. The possibility of ap ‐ plying to any microenterprise within the company enables employees to be linked directly to a business opportunity of their personal choice. By crea ti ng value for the customer, they also create value for themselves, through compensa ti on (Li, 2017). Addi ti onally, Haier expanded the meaning of each employee by implemen ti ng a principle that en ‐ courages everyone to apply for a leadership role. That makes an employee an e ffec ti ve follower in their team, ac ti vely preparing to step into the shoes of a leader at any ti me. Li (2017, p. 164), refers to an important concept which is crucial for this type of enterprise management: “orders with high value a tt ract competent employees, competent employ ‐ ees complete orders with high value.” Hamel and Zanini (2018) noted that the afore ‐ men ti oned steps come with great responsibility. Tar ‐ gets are customized for every member of a microenterprise and are specified by periods: quar ‐ terly, monthly, and weekly. Compensa ti on is coupled ti ghtly with business performance. The base salaries are low, and opportuni ti es for addi ti onal compensa ‐ ti on are ti ed to three performance thresholds. Ac ‐ cording to Li (2017), compensa ti on is directly related to customer reviews, and has li tt le to do with assess ‐ ments by superiors as in the tradi ti onal salary system. With so much at stake, it is hardly surprising that microenterprises team members have li tt le toler ‐ ance for incompetent leaders. If a microenterprise fails to hit its baseline targets 3 months in a row, a leadership change is triggered automa ti cally. If the microenterprise is mee ti ng its baseline targets but failing to reach its value ‐adjusted mechanism (VAM) targets, a two ‐thirds vote of the microenterprise’s members can oust the exis ti ng leader . As stated pre ‐ viously, poorly performing leaders are vulnerable to a hos ti le takeover . Anyone at Haier who believes that he or she could be tt er manage a struggling ME can make a pitch to its team. Performance data for all MEs is transparent across the company, so it is easy to spot takeover opportuni ti es. If an interloper’s plan is convincing, a leadership change ensues. This may seem extreme, but it is simply an analogue for the market approach to corporate control. If a company consistently underperforms, its board will simply eject the CEO—or the business may be bought by a compe ti tor who believes it can manage the assets more e ffec ti vely (Hamel & Zanini, 2018). Haier adamantly follows the concept from the I Ching which refers to dragons flying without a leader. In the organiza ti onal context, this means working together to do everything in the team’s power. Assis ti ng each other in need and co ‐devel ‐ oping prominent solu ti ons creates an environment in which there is no need for a leader (Li, 2017). In support of the preceding statement, we incor ‐ porated another no ‐CEO case study. Solodev decided to hire a CEO, but the company culture did not re ‐ spond well to this. Instead, the responsibili ti es and de ‐ cisions of the CEO were transferred to an Execu ti ve Commi tt ee of experts from di fferent departments. The decision ‐making processes were distributed among them according to their roles in naviga ti ng the direc ti on of the company. In the case of paralysis in decision ‐making, the founders intervene to reduce the confusion by assessing a more centralized opinion. Solodev works on the principle that the goal of an ex ‐ ecu ti ve is supposed to be building a company that can run without them. This is why it is crucial for leaders to empower their teams to make these decisions, in ‐ stead of relying solely on the leader (Valamis, 2023). 3.3 Embracing the Role of a Servant Leader: Hershey Case Study This sec ti on presents the benefits of adop ti ng a servant leadership style through a prac ti cal case. McCollum (2022) explained his personal trans ‐ forma ti on from a budget owner to an influencer in his posi ti on at Hershey by being mentored by leaders with a servant leadership style. He explained that the driving force behind the servant leadership must ex ‐ tend beyond the knowledge in one’s area of exper ti se and must include components such as behaviors and a tti tude, and strategies and acti ons, because the ser ‐ vant leadership approach strongly advocates for achieving authority through communica ti on and ser ‐ vice to one another, rather than solely through lucra ‐ ti ve ti tles and accredita ti ons. It is the organiza ti on’s DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 78 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 79 responsibility to adopt the “greater good” concept, which means that the environment must encourage this type of leadership style. McCollum (2022) stated that because the stake ‐ holders’ interest is to genuinely serve their subordi ‐ nates, it is easy for them to align their own goals with those of their stakeholder and become personally in ‐ vested in the company’s success. Alignment is crucial for achieving the planned financial and interpersonal results. Encouraging genuine interest of the employees in the collec ti ve investments of the company conse ‐ quently makes them an extension of the stakeholders’ teams. They will be considered at early stages of every process, such as (re)nego ti a ti ons of contracts, solving of disrup ti ons, and communica ti ng e fficiently with agencies. Such ac ti ons create condi ti ons in which stakeholders do not need to be present at all ti mes, because mutual trust is at its peak. Because everyone is empowered to do their best, there is very li tt le need for an actual CEO. McCollum (2022) stated that an ‐ other benefit of this establishment is allowing employ ‐ ees to be less fearful to come forward regarding compensa ti on and how success is measured. That is achieved through the servant leader posi ti oning them ‐ selves a facilitator and enabler. They pave the way for their subordinates and overcome obstacles with them. Modeling this type of behavior boosts trust among the team members, and it is an excellent approach to em ‐ powerment. Servant leader is able to embrace failure as an inevitable e ffect of a less strict hierarchical ap ‐ proach. By encouraging employees to take on chal ‐ lenges that will fulfill their professional and personal purposes, they serve their own and the company’s greater good. Obviously, the financial targets must be met, but the idea of servant leadership is to accomplish them through ac ti ve role ‐modeling (Steelcase, 2018). 4 Integra ti ve Conceptual Model Based on the theore ti cal research, we propose an integra ti ve conceptual model (Figure 1) that shows the op ti mal combina ti on of leadership–fol ‐ lowership styles in digital work for the op ti mal team and company performance. DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 79 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 80 The model displays the first proposi ti on (P1) by connec ti ng empowerment, self ‐awareness, and self ‐ e fficacy in the context of adop ti ng or improving self ‐ leadership among employees. These concepts promote having the ability to self ‐observe and regu ‐ late one’s behavior and emo ti ons accordingly, as well as modeling confidence and trust in one’s skills in one’s area of exper ti se, and expressing one’s perspec ‐ ti ves powerfully and on one’s own ini ti a ti ve (Lee et al., 2018, Manz, 2015). Self ‐leadership is an essen ti al skill for anyone working in virtual teamwork, because it in ‐ volves being proac ti ve, taking ini ti a ti ve, and seeking feedback to improve one’s performance con ti nuously. By empowering individuals, fostering self ‐awareness, and building self ‐e fficacy, organiza ti ons can create a culture of self ‐leadership that encourages individuals to take ownership of their work, stay mo ti vated, and achieve their goals (Ta ştan, 2013). This helps individuals to stay produc ti ve, mo ti ‐ vated, and adaptable, and enables them to succeed in an increasingly competiti ve and rapidly evolving virtual team working. For example, according to Li (2017), Haier’s employees not only serve subordinates, but exist to serve customers on behalf of the company, while deciding themselves upon the areas in which they hold exper ti se, because they work in an environ ‐ ment that encourages the three concepts of self ‐lead ‐ ership, self ‐awareness, and empowerment. In the role of a follower, such an approach makes a person e ffec ‐ ti ve. E ffec ti ve followership is an essen ti al component of virtual teamwork and virtual collabora ti on (Carsten et al. 2021), because ac ti ve followers work collabora ‐ ti vely with the leader and other team members to achieve shared goals, and they take ini ti a ti ve in con ‐ tribu ti ng their ideas, feedback, and sugges ti ons to the group. In the case of reduced physical involvement, as in a highly virtual team, such an approach is necessary for high produc ti vity and excellent financial teamwork. Haier encourages e ffec ti ve followership by implement ‐ ing the principle that everyone can apply for a leader ‐ ship role. They establish new microenterprises every ti me there is an increase in demand for certain goods and services, and anyone at Haier can apply to lead these microenterprises (Li, 2017). The shared leadership approach, supported by ac ti ve followership, can help promote collabora ti on, communica ti on, and trust in a virtual teamwork en ‐ vironment. By working together and leveraging each other’s strengths, teams can be more e ffec ti ve and achieve be tt er outcomes. Exemplary ac ti ve follow ‐ ership is an essen ti al component of e ffec ti ve team ‐ work and collabora ti on. It enables individuals to contribute their best work and promotes a posi ti ve and produc ti ve team culture that is essen ti al for achieving shared goals. Therefore, to make shared leadership in virtual teamwork as e ffec ti ve as pos ‐ sible, it is essen ti al to foster an environment in which ac ti ve followership is encouraged and valued. For shared leadership, which is a collabora ti ve ap ‐ proach in which leadership is distributed among team members, rather than being the sole respon ‐ sibility of one person (Lave & Wenger, 1991), e ffec ‐ ti ve followership is a crucial component, because it means mutual collabora ti on among team members, especially in highly virtual teams, which in turn im ‐ proves the organiza ti onal climate and builds rela ‐ ti onships and trust among colleagues. Shared leadership allows the exper ti se to be distributed across the team, because each employee has di ffer ‐ ent knowledge and skills that can be integrated into successful decision ‐making. Shared leadership is a collabora ti ve approach in which leadership is distributed among team members, rather than being the sole responsibility of one person (Lave & Wenger, 1991), which is cru ‐ cial in the digital era. It encourages mutual collabo ‐ ra ti on among team members, who o ft en are geographically dispersed, which in turn improves the organiza ti onal climate and builds rela ti onships and trust among colleagues. Shared leadership al ‐ lows the exper ti se to be distributed across the team, because each employee has di fferent knowl ‐ edge and skills that can be integrated into successful decision ‐making. Moreover, the model acknowl ‐ edges servant leadership as an op ti mal reciprocal rela ti onship with the ac ti ve followership style; by encouraging employees to take on challenges that will fulfill their professional and personal purposes, they serve their and the company’s greater good. The idea is to accomplish this through ac ti ve role ‐ modeling (McCollum, 2022). Although the servant leader iden ti fies as a servant first, it is important to acknowledge that their increased responsibility sets them apart from their followers. In our framework, the model is consistent with the second proposi ti on (P2), because in order to distribute the decision ‐ Enja Topi ć, Melisa Ćehi ć, Rok Belingar: Through Self ‐Leadership and Followership to Shared Leadership: A Paradigm for E ffec ti ve Virtual Teamworking DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 80 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 81 making and constant collabora ti ve problem ‐solving, it is essen ti al to build trust and foster a sense of ownership among the team members. Shared lead ‐ ership directly contributes to the aspects of remote work. Collabora ti ve problem ‐solving encourages collabora ti on of smaller groups in the par ti cular de ‐ partment and promotes the sharing of ideas and in ‐ forma ti on, helping to ensure that team members can work together to iden ti fy, address, and over ‐ come challenges (Collier, 2016). It can be par ti cularly challenging to build and maintain trust in a virtual teamwork environment, because there are fewer opportuni ti es to form a re ‐ la ti onship. However, trust is an essen ti al component in any team environment, because it increases the team’s and the organiza ti ons’ performance (Ferrin, Bligh, & Kohles, 2008). Distributed decision ‐making in virtual team ‐ work is helping to distribute decision ‐making au ‐ thority more evenly and ensuring that decisions are made with input from multiple perspectives (Malone, 2014). Fostering a sense of ownership encourages team members to take ownership of their work and to contribute their ideas and exper ‐ tise to the team’s goals, helping to ensure that ev ‐ eryone feels invested equally in the team’s success (Pierce et al., 2001). When team members are working remotely, it can be challenging not only to maintain a sense of ownership and accountability for their work, but also to see their work present in the “bigger picture.” 5 Discussion 5.1 Theore ti cal Contribu ti ons This paper shows the benefits of implemen ti ng shared leadership styles in an organiza ti on, but fore ‐ most in an era of virtual teamwork. Furthermore, it discusses the importance of possessing a sense of self ‐leadership, self ‐awareness, and self ‐e fficacy in order to co ‐create an empowered and innova ti ve environment. Shared leadership distributes the powers of decision ‐making and responsibili ti es among more people within an organiza ti on than does the tradi ti onal approach, so it is important that as many people as possible possess these a tt ributes. The research in this paper is focused on the connec ti ons among empowerment, self ‐awareness, and self ‐e fficacy, and how successful a person is in implemen ti ng a self ‐leadership approach in their life, which directly influences their ability to become an e ffec ti ve or ac ti ve follower within their organiza ‐ ti on. By that, we mean a person’s capacity to be aware of their limita ti ons when it comes to chal ‐ lenges, while having a strong sense of their capabil ‐ ity to maximize their personal skills, such as mo ti va ti on, as well as the skills they developed in their area of exper ti se (Hultman, 2006; Bandura, 1986). It is important for one’s personal life and pro ‐ fessional life. Consciously crea ti ng room for im ‐ provement is crucial for developing new skills and knowledge, as well as symbio ti c coexistence within an organiza ti on. It also is significant to have a solid belief system about one’s own capabili ti es in order to take on new challenges. Although the case study coherently presents the importance and impact of adop ti ng the fact that a person is in the role of a follower, those a tt ributes make them an e ffec ti ve follower who contributes to the organiza ti on by fulfilling their own goals and de ‐ sires, while also preparing for the role of leader be ‐ cause the environment empowers them to express their perspec ti ve to their peers. As per McCollum (2022), who transformed from an ac ti ve follower of his servant leader to a servant leader himself, the most important thing is to include one’s heart in every aspect of one’s work. Despite a coherent display of the importance and impact of adop ti ng a self ‐leader ‐ ship approach and how it transforms a person into an e ffec ti ve follower, and subsequently into a leader, the case study excluded the context of remote or hybrid working, in which it is especially important to be aware of the impact that these a tt ributes have on the quality of work life as well as the func ti oning of an or ‐ ganiza ti on, because people are not present in their of ‐ fices every day. This research proves that it is very important to be proac ti ve and engage in acti vi ti es that result in stronger rela ti onships in the work commu ‐ nity. It complements the exis ti ng theore ti cal implica ‐ ti ons by giving fresh insight into the impact of these three individual concepts—self ‐awareness, self ‐e ffi ‐ cacy, and empowerment—on self ‐leadership in the context of modernizing workplaces by working re ‐ motely or in hybrid mode. DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 81 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 Enja Topi ć, Melisa Ćehi ć, Rok Belingar: Through Self ‐Leadership and Followership to Shared Leadership: A Paradigm for E ffec ti ve Virtual Teamworking 82 Exis ti ng theore ti cal findings stress the impor ‐ tance of being open to adop ti ng di fferent ap ‐ proaches and construc ti ve behavior when facing challenges, while also being confident in overcom ‐ ing them with one’s abili ti es and skills. By incorpo ‐ ra ti ng another variable, virtual teamwork, we a tt ach even greater importance to self ‐leadership, lack of physical involvement within a team could mean iso ‐ la ti on and dissocia ti on from its common purpose. Collabora ti ve problem‐solving then would decline, as would produc ti vity and financial results. With the implementa ti on of shared leadership styles, for example, the servant leadership style, it is much easier for the people involved to obtain a sense of control over their work and narra ti ve. Be ‐ cause the servant leader is devoted to their team and to serving its purpose, they set an example for their subordinates. This means empowering them to find their true purpose within an organiza ti on and helping them to fulfill it. When people are lis ‐ tened to and supported to achieve their personal goals within the work goals, produc ti vity rapidly in ‐ creases, which is directly beneficial to the organiza ‐ ti on itself. According to Valamis (2023), “the goal as an executi ve is to build a company that can run without them. This is why it is crucial to empower your teams to make these decisions instead of rely ‐ ing solely on you.” Our research complements Valamis (2022) by presenting how to lead a team to work in unison and achieve great results. For virtual teamwork, these concepts take on new, greater importance, because the modern ways of working mean signif ‐ icant changes in ways that work teams function. Some virtual employees are very fond of not hav ‐ ing to commute to the office every day and inter ‐ act in person with co ‐workers and management. If not applied properly, leadership styles can cause asynchronous dynamics within teams that work virtually. Some employees may find that they are doing their job routinely, with no passion for it, because they have little to no contact with other members, no career conversations with their su ‐ periors, and therefore no development in their area of expertise. That can cause lower productiv ‐ ity and weak economic and financial results. By in ‐ troducing shared leadership styles that include collaborative problem ‐solving and distribution of responsibilities within a team, employees start fostering a sense of ownership, which contributes to building trust among team members. Although they may not see each other in person every day, their work is organized to maintain contact with one another. If everyone is very well informed about others’ tasks and responsibilities, the re ‐ sponse to a challenge or a problem is much stronger. Therefore, there is less need for an exec ‐ utive in the shared leadership approaches. 5.2 Prac ti cal Implica ti ons 5.2.1 Recommenda ti ons for Managers and Sta ff about Self ‐Leadership and Suppor ti ng A tt ributes Self ‐leadership has great significance because it enables individuals to achieve their professional objec ti ves and be e ffec ti ve leaders to their follow ‐ ers. The most important self ‐leadership skills that managers and employees should develop are self ‐ awareness, mo ti va ti on, decision making, dedica ‐ ti on, self ‐regula ti on, and accountability (Indeed Editorial Team, 2022). Having a high level of self ‐awareness in man ‐ agement is cri ti cal for achieving success. Insu fficient self ‐awareness can result in poor decision ‐making, di fficult rela ti onships with co ‐workers, and feelings of incompetence. Recognizing one’s strengths and weaknesses can lead to the development of im ‐ provement strategies in a more e ffec ti ve way (Sharma, 2022). Self ‐awareness in managers can be built by measuring strengths and weaknesses, set ‐ ti ng boundaries, knowing one’s emo ti onal triggers, considering how one’s ac ti ons a ffect others, and, most importantly, asking for feedback from employ ‐ ees (Peek, 2023). However, it is crucial that not only managers are self ‐aware—followers also must be self ‐aware. The development of self ‐awareness in employees is a crucial step in improving how they handle their behavior and rela ti onships with others (Heumann, 2018). Self ‐awareness in employees can be built with self ‐reflec ti on, asking for feedback from managers, assessments, and skills develop ‐ ment (Arruda, 2023). Self ‐awareness is important because self ‐leaders need to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Mo ti va ti on is crucial be ‐ DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 82 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 83 cause if managers and employees are highly mo ti ‐ vated, they can cope be tt er with challenges. Build ‐ ing self ‐regula ti on skills is important because it helps employees and managers cope with chal ‐ lenges instead of reac ti ng to them. A successful self ‐ leader is accountable for his ac ti ons and takes the blame if he or she is responsible for a mistake. Empowerment is significant because it leads to employees feeling empowered, resulting in in ‐ creased engagement, higher work effort, and greater loyalty toward their employer. The author ‐ ity granted to them often results in quicker, supe ‐ rior, and more ‐efficient outcomes (De Smet, Hewes, & Weis, 2020). To empower employees, it is essential for leaders to establish transparent ex ‐ pectations, provide the necessary resources, offer constructive feedback, welcome input and ideas, effectively communicate the organization’s vision, and recognize and appreciate the hard work of em ‐ ployees. Establishing transparent expectations is important because it enables employees to make decisions while ensuring that the decisions align with the organization’s objectives. Leaders should be specific when they offer constructive feedback, because it provides an opportunity to help employ ‐ ees understand the impact of their actions on a person or project, whether positive or negative. Leaders should encourage the participation of fol ‐ lowers in decision ‐making and goal ‐setting, be ‐ cause it exposes the organization to innovative ideas and a new perspective. In addition, effec ‐ tively communicating the organization’s vision to employees helps them understand how each team member’s efforts contribute to achieving that vi ‐ sion. When employees feel appreciated for their hard work, they are inspired to be more innova ‐ tive, proactive, and resourceful in problem ‐solving (Bosworth, 2022). Individuals with high self ‐efficacy tend to put forth the necessary effort to attain a desired goal, which increases the chance of achieving it. Having high self ‐efficacy in leadership can impact one’s own performance as a leader and the perfor ‐ mance of the group one leads. (Spoelma, 2018). Employees and managers can build self ‐efficacy by celebrating success, observing others, seeking positive affirmations, and paying attention to oth ‐ ers’ thoughts and emotions. It is important to cel ‐ ebrate success, because accomplishing something creates a strong sense of confidence in one’s abil ‐ ities. Witnessing others making an effort and suc ‐ ceeding also can boost one’s confidence in one’s own potential to succeed. Positive social feedback can enhance one’s sense of efficacy, whereas neg ‐ ative comments can significantly weaken it (Cherry, 2023). 5.2.2 Applica ti on of Shared Leadership Concept to the Organiza ti onal Structure in the Context of Virtual Teams According to Valamis (2022), there are steps that must be followed in order to implement the shared leadership concept successfully in the or ‐ ganizational structure. Firstly, a safe working envi ‐ ronment is crucial to shared leadership. This means that employees feel safe to propose their own ideas and perspectives that help to transform and grow the businesses, meaning they “feel safe to fail.” In order to create such an environment, employees should interact with one another on a personal level, e.g., learning their kids’ or pets’ names. Still, expectations must be set, especially for virtual teamwork, because direct team man ‐ agement is more difficult due to less physical pres ‐ ence. Pearce and Sims (2002) noted that when the team has a common grasp of a vision, they facili ‐ tate goals that are associated with improved per ‐ formance. Because highly virtual positions incorporate more individuality than do full ‐time of ‐ fice or hybrid positions, it is important for a team to have a ritual. Bell and Kozwloski (2002) propose creating routines and habits in the early stages of a team lifecycle, because they contribute to the es ‐ tablishment of healthy expectations and reduce any individualistic behavior that potentially could be harmful. Hambley (2007) noted that it this es ‐ pecially applicable in the context of shared leader ‐ ship, because the responsibilities and tasks are distributed within a group, and therefore all the team members must maintain a standard in the performance of their work. Secondly, encouraging transparency is a funda ‐ mental concept that needs to be implemented in order for shared leadership to func ti on within an organiza ti on. Therefore, it is crucial to hire people DRMJ vol12 no01 2023 (print).qxp_Prelom 19/05/2023 10:36 Page 83 Dynamic Rela ti onships Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2023 Enja Topi ć, Melisa Ćehi ć, Rok Belingar: Through Self ‐Leadership and Followership to Shared Leadership: A Paradigm for E ffec ti ve Virtual Teamworking 84 who respect transparency. Valamis (2022) high ‐ lighted that having employees who value trans ‐ parency is essen ti al for mee ti ng company standards. The organiza ti on itself also must be transparent with its performance and rewards re ‐ lated to performance, because these are crucial for employees to understand precisely their role in the process and how they can maximize their contribu ‐ ti on to shared goals. It is very important to provide avenues for communica ti on, such as Slack or Mi ‐ croso ft Teams. Thirdly, a clear structure must be created. Morgeson (2002) suggested three main parts to the structuring of the leadership: methodology of ac ‐ complishing a task, clarifica ti on of roles within a team. and ti me frame. Valamis (2022) noted that in prac ti ce, this could be a back ‐end hub, in which em ‐ ployees co ‐create and use a decision and/or respon ‐ sibility map. Hamel and Zanini (2018) noted that it is essen ‐ ti al to reward employees according to their accom ‐ plishments. This ensures fairness, which leads to be tt er performance and employee engagement. To reward employees, one op ti on is to implement a social recogni ti on system, in which employees enter their observa ti ons of their own work and that of other members of the team. Rewards then are distributed according to the votes. Keeping the re ‐ ward system transparent and clear is vital (Valamis, 2022). More importantly, every employee must re ‐ ceive feedback. Morgeson (2009) suggested that a certain degree of informal internal leadership must be applied by communica ti ng feedback and task ‐re ‐ lated results to employees, ensuring greater indi ‐ vidual commitment to the team as well as iden ti fica ti on with its purpose. In prac ti ce, there should be balance in methods of providing feed ‐ back. Milestones always must be communicated in a detailed and comprehensive way, whereas smaller ‐scale tasks can be communicated infor ‐ mally and contemporaneously. 5.3 Limita ti ons and Future Research Direc ti ons Although this paper presents many new find ‐ ings regarding how shared leadership influences teams in the era of hybrid work and the connection to personal attributes leaders must possess in order to function well within such teams, certain limitations must be considered regarding these findings. Firstly, the research in this paper was not based on empirical work of our own, but on theo ‐ retical work and real ‐life cases of implementation of such practices. Furthermore, the cases were provided by multinational companies, which have an above average amount of resources at their dis ‐ posal to allocate for many different purposes. Therefore, we could not conclude through this re ‐ search that applying shared leadership styles would have been as successful in small and medium ‐sized enterprises. Secondly, the cases provided are not an empir ‐ ical study. The informa ti on was gathered through (self) observing by the authors of the studies in the workplaces of their choosing, and they listed the posi ti ve effects they experienced or no ti ced in an environment in which shared leadership styles were applied, by mentors or through the func ti oning of teams (McCollum 2022; Hamel & Zanini, 2018). Therefore, an empirical analysis must be conducted in the future in order to be tt er understand the un ‐ derlying factors of success in work teams that func ‐ ti on under shared leadership styles. Among the personality traits of the followers and their manage ‐ ment, financial compensa ti on must be included as a variable in order to measure the impact of self ‐ leadership that is rooted solely in the ability to self ‐ observe and be influenced by others who have adopted similar characteris ti cs. That could be of huge importance to companies that cannot a fford to compensate their employees in the manner that others can. Lastly, any further research, whether empirical or not, must include teams that func ti on in hybrid mode or even completely virtually, because the ef ‐ fects of shared leadership styles are discussed mostly in environments in which people s ti ll work in the o ffice full‐ti me. 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