Publication Abstract
Dynamic Delegation: Shared, Hierarchical, Deindividualized Leadership in Extreme Action Teams Klein K, Ziegert J, Knight A, Xiao Y. Administrative Science Quarterly. 51(4):590-621. 2006 How does one simultaneously lead and develop a team composed of experts and novices, many of whom have never worked together before, in performing an uncertain, interdependent, complex and urgent task? Our qualitative investigation of the leadership of such teams –resuscitation teams in an emergency trauma center – revealed a hierarchical, deindividualized system of shared leadership. At the heart of this system is dynamic delegation: senior leaders' rapid and repeated delegation of the active leadership role to, and withdrawal of the active leadership role from, more junior leaders of the team. Our findings suggest that dynamic delegation enhances trauma teams’ ability to perform reliably while also building their novice team members’ skills. We highlight the contingencies that guide senior leaders’ delegation and withdrawal of the active leadership role, as well as the unit values and structures that motivate and enable the shared, ongoing practice of dynamic delegation. Further, we posit that dynamic delegation simultaneously reflects and tempers the trauma unit’s hierarchical, bureaucratic structure, engendering coordination and flexibility in response to changing task demands.
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Publication Abstract

Dynamic Delegation: Shared, Hierarchical, Deindividualized Leadership in Extreme Action Teams
Klein K, Ziegert J, Knight A, Xiao Y.
Administrative Science Quarterly. 51(4):590-621. 2006

How does one simultaneously lead and develop a team composed of experts and novices, many of whom have never worked together before, in performing an uncertain, interdependent, complex and urgent task? Our qualitative investigation of the leadership of such teams –resuscitation teams in an emergency trauma center – revealed a hierarchical, deindividualized system of shared leadership. At the heart of this system is dynamic delegation: senior leaders' rapid and repeated delegation of the active leadership role to, and withdrawal of the active leadership role from, more junior leaders of the team. Our findings suggest that dynamic delegation enhances trauma teams’ ability to perform reliably while also building their novice team members’ skills. We highlight the contingencies that guide senior leaders’ delegation and withdrawal of the active leadership role, as well as the unit values and structures that motivate and enable the shared, ongoing practice of dynamic delegation. Further, we posit that dynamic delegation simultaneously reflects and tempers the trauma unit’s hierarchical, bureaucratic structure, engendering coordination and flexibility in response to changing task demands.

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