The new genesis of knowledge: Shared leadership for knowledge development

Today’s issues, like sustainable growth, are demanding for leaders, employees, knowledge and organisational innovation. Leadership literature until now is restrained by a hierarchical bias. This study takes an Ecologic System Model, and tests the contribution of shared leadership, self-directive employeeship, and knowledge as intermediate capability, in relation to profit, society and planet. Directive leadership and followership showed no relationship contrary to shared leadership and self-directive employeeship, where employeeship scored much higher than leadership. ‘Making the difference’ is determined by employeeship style, and not by leadership style. For societal performance only self-directive employeeship showed effect, completely mediated by knowledge. The results reinforce the Resources Based View, with knowledge as mediating capability. Leadership and employeeship might develop towards sharing direction and meaning between employees and other stakeholders. This might imply cooperation and co-creation instead of competition. Self-directive employeeship and shared leadership can be the ingredients for knowledge creation and adaptive organisations

A 'Dutch' discoverer of Homer's tomb. An addendum

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