Summary
Joseph Rost wrote in Leadership in the 21st Century that leadership exists in a single group or community that is working toward a shared purpose with the intent of making change. (The change ultimately may or may not occur.) Within the post industrial leadership model, relationships are based on fluence. Rost implied that the concept of a single leader is nearly irrelevant because people in traditional leadership roles did not necessarily accomplish the ideals set out by his definition.
Building upon this idea, collaborative leadership suggests that each member of a group has responsibility for their endeavor. For a collaborative leader, success or failure hinges upon building and maintaining relationships with and between group members.
Pros
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Theoretically can be taught to to any student, not just those with certain traits or characteristics.
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By taking focus from a single leader, allows every student the opportunity to lead.
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Encourages students to recognize attempts for action, rather than ability, as leadership.
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Discourages coercion by leaders through valuing of relationships.
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Includes aspects of situational leadership; leadership occurs at certain times.
Cons
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May exclude or require change from traditional leaders.
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Implication that a person is not a leader at all times can be problematic in the age of social media.
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At face value, may be daunting for introverts.
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Potential for conflict among parties.
Practical Implications
In some ways, the relationship aspect of collaborative leadership builds on higher education’s focus on diversity. The focus on the development of relationships means that understanding concepts like multiculturalism and inclusion is of great importance. Additionally, because Millennials are team-oriented, it could work very well for today’s college students.
Within the classroom, group projects teach this to students in many ways. Ideally students take away the realization that each member must contribute equally for the overall success of the group, though this may not show how relationships play a role. For more formal leadership development training, attention should be paid to relationship building and conflict management.
Collaborative leadership is relatively popular in education related fields. Because Millennial students are entering every sector, it may be helpful to employ this model in more workplaces. The approach may work well for projects that involve several stakeholders, allowing each the chance to be heard. With the focus on forming relationships and using influence both individually and collectively, collaborative leadership can be very conducive to team building. It may not, however, translate as well to large scale projects or companies.
References
Komives, S. R., Lucas, N., & McMahon, T. R. (2013). Exploring leadership: For college students who want to make a difference. (3rd ed.) San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Roberts, D. C. (2007). Deeper learning in leadership: Helping college students find the potential within. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Rubin, H. (2009). Collaborative leadership: Developing effective partnerships for communities and schools. Corwin Press.
Leadership Development for Higher Education | Saint Louis University 
Do you think perhaps that it may be a con when extroverts are required to relinquish power (even if it is in the discussion) and collaborate, particularly when they are used to being dominant within the group? Should one anticipate a conflict when this is addressed?
I wouldn’t choose the term “required” in regard to anything with collaborative leadership. To me it says that external forces (in this case the group) are acting upon the person, and I think collaborative leadership can only work if everyone agrees without any sort of coercion by others.
In terms of difficulties for extroverts, that’s definitely a possibility. I might cause conflict, or it might not, entirely dependent on the other personality traits of the extrovert. If the group knows the person well, they might anticipate a conflict. If they do not know the person well, I don’t think they should assume a conflict will occur. The extrovert might be just as interested in this leadership style as anyone else.
Thanks for your response. I agree perhaps “require” may not be the term to use. I was just wondering about the dynamics particularly the “traditional leader” and the extrovert given that this style may be daunting to the introvert. Does the literature discuss any of these potential issues or give guidance on how to handle them?
From the sources I looked at, I didn’t really see the author’s touching on personality traits at all. I agree that it could be a potential weakness of this model.
I think that the collaborative model is a great model and one that is very applicable to students today. However, you mentioned that it would be difficult for traditional leaders to accept the collaborative model. Traditional, positional leadership is prevalent in higher ed., yet we don’t really teach it to students. How do you think colleges and universities can apply this model from the “top” down?