Sharing is Caring: Toward a Model of Proactive Caring through Shared Leadership

Abstract

In this paper we address an age-old expression – “sharing is caring.” We offer a model and propositions suggesting that shared leadership proactively increases group-level caring and ultimately group-level performance within organizations through two key mediating mechanisms – psychological empowerment climate and group solidarity. In addition, we identify collaborative capacity and collaborative context as two potential moderators of the relationships between shared leadership and the two mediators. We conclude by exploring the implications of our model for both research and practice.