The Nature of Distributed Leadership and its Development in Online Environments

Traditional Leadership Models

Traditional models of leadership have focused on the role of individuals in positions of power and the ways in which these leaders influence their followers. Such models of leadership are often referred to as ‘great man’ theories or heroic leadership models. Two of the more common models of leadership are those of transformational and transactional leadership. Transformational leaders are seen to influence, motivate and inspire others (Proctor-Thomson & Parry, 2001). They are role models for the people they work with and have visions that they are able to clearly articulate. Transactional leaders work on the premise that they are able to reward followers and that their followers to desire those rewards (Day & Harris, 2002). This leadership involves the manipulation of people and situations and is not seen to encourage leadership in others. These two models both posit leadership as an individual phenomenon with leaders in the front and followers behind, though transformative leadership involves greater collaboration and “deep transformation or emancipation of those led” (Lambert, 2003, p.8).

These individualistic models have been challenged in recent times. Robinson (2004) has suggested that “the heroic model of leadership is a romantic and debilitating fiction” (p. 42), because it sets unreasonable expectations of formal leaders and ignores the leadership of others. Both transformational and transactional models have been criticised by Fink (2005), who believes that they “have serious and conceptual flaws” and are “artificial and disconnected from reality” (p. 5). Day (2003) agrees, suggesting that these theories “do not adequately reflect or explain the current practice of effective leaders” (p. 188). Among the flaws present in the heroic model of leadership are that too much responsibility for the wellbeing of an organisation rests with one person and if they move on, a leadership vacuum is created (Robinson, 2004). Another disadvantage of the heroic model is that the leadership of others is hidden and may be discouraged. More recent literature and thinking has moved “‘beyond’ transformational leadership” (Day, 2003, p. 188). This involves a shift from a concept of leadership as something carried out by an individual to more collective concepts such as shared or distributed leadership.