Research on team leadership has primarily focused on leadership processes targeted within
teams, in support of team objectives. Yet, teams are open systems that interact with other teams
to achieve proximal as well as distal goals. This review clarifies that defining ‘what’ constitutes
functionally effective leadership in interteam ...
Research on team leadership has primarily focused on leadership processes targeted within
teams, in support of team objectives. Yet, teams are open systems that interact with other teams
to achieve proximal as well as distal goals. This review clarifies that defining ‘what’ constitutes
functionally effective leadership in interteam contexts requires greater precision with regard to
where (within teams, across teams) and why (team goals, system goals) leadership processes are
enacted, as well as greater consideration of when and among whom leadership processes arise.
We begin by synthesizing findings from empirical studies published over the past 30 years that
shed light on questions of what, where, why, when, and who related to interteam leadership and
end by providing three overarching recommendations for how research should proceed in order
to provide a more comprehensive picture of leadership in interteam contexts.