Digital Leadership

Digitalization has fostered virtual organizations, and nothing has made that clearer than the shutdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There have been structural changes in how leaders interact with followers and vice versa. This has changed the power dynamics between followers and leaders. This resource will introduce you to how the leader and follower roles can change situationally and examines approaches to leader-followership in the digital age.

8. Alternative approaches to digital leader-followership

8.6 Collective leadership

Collective leadership refers to "a dynamic leadership process in which a defined leader, or set of leaders, selectively utilize skills and expertise within a network, effectively distributing elements of the leadership role as the situation or problem at hand requires". Collective leadership assumes that each member of the team selectively performs leadership roles that match her or his skills and expertise and that when the situation or the problem at hand changes, members of the team effectively distribute elements of the leadership role to others.

Collective leadership, unlike the traditional hierarchical models of leadership, is also applicable to global leadership in the digital age. For instance, to address global issues such as climate change, where many international governmental agencies and private organizations are involved, a new model of leadership is expected. Goodchild and Associates are convinced that "any effort to develop a next-generation Digital Earth will require new governance models".

Collective leadership may be effectively used in cyber leadership where multiple and various skills and expertise are required to engage in cybersecurity or cyber defense.