Leadership is a fundamental process in organizational development. As a result, scientific disciplines, like psychology and sociology, have tried to understand these phenomena. In recent years, several authors have emphasized different aspects that help characterize leadership. Many theories, take into account factors such as, personality traits and the behaviour of the leader, as well as the situational context and the relationship between the leader and his/her subordinates.
A literature review by Gosling, Marturano y Dennison (2003), suggests that there has been a change in the focal point of interest from the study of the behaviour and characteristics of the leader to the analysis of the his/her surrounding context. However, the common view of these theories is the analysis of the leader as the person who holds the power. Moreover, in recent studies, leadership has been seen as a shared amongst workers, this process is also known as bossless, which can extend throughout the organization without having to name one single person as the leader (Manz, Manz, Shipper & Adams, 2011; Manz, Shipper & Stewart, 2009). Therefore, all workers have the opportunity to become a project leader if they are able to increase their credibility and demonstrate their knowledge, skills and experience in a particular facet.
 In bossless organizations, power is implemented in a non-hierarchical manner, and is supported by some basic elements. For example, direct communication between workers, setting appropriate targets to the employee`s ability, and sensitivity for the welfare of the workers, are some manifestations of these elements.
On one hand, employees are able to flourish without obtaining the acceptance from leaders through the strength of their personal initiative and innovation (Tannenbaum, Salas y Cannon-Bowers, 1996). However, on the other hand, one major downfall is shown by the increased amount of time it takes for employees to make decisions, because this is done through consensus between colleagues.
The innovative approach is used at W.L. Gore and Associates. This company has almost 35 thousand employees, and was named by Forbes magazine to be one of the 500 biggest companies in the United States in 2007. This company specializes in electronic, industrial and medical products. Leadership at Gore is characterized by continuous creation and a lack of project leaders. Gore’s success is based on its support of shared leadership between employees. This is done through technical and social employee training. The training period promotes rewarding workplace relationships and employee involvement through their “Building on the Best” practice. This exercise highlights the employee’s central role as a stakeholder in the organization. The perception that workers have of this practice favours the development of more individual responsibility and contribution to the company’s operations and success.
The analysis of shared leadership can help promote both scholar and practitioner reflections. Academics could consider this new type of leadership in relation to different types of organizational processes. For example, analyze could be done to determine whether substantial differences exist with other organizations that use different leadership styles and approaches. These differences could heighten the scientific interest and promote studies which support the bossless organizational management.
In turn, the vision of leadership has gradually changed among upper level organizational positions. Although the presence of the leader is common in Western Culture, it should be noted that employees are a potential source of ideas and resources for organizations. Thus, companies should learn how to manage this potential in order to develop and improve organizational wellbeing and offer competitive products in the market. In addition, by means of this vision the worker is viewed as an indispensible element of support, necessary for the fulfillment of the organizational mission.
 
REFERENCES
Bolden, R., Gosling, J., Marturano., A., & Dennison, P. (2003). A review of leadership theory and competency frameworks. University of Exeter.
Manz, C. C., Manz, K. P., Adams, S. B., & Shipper, F. (2011). Sustainable Performance with Values Based Shared Leadership: A Case Study of a Virtuous Organization. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 28(3), 284-296.
Manz, C. C., Shipper, F., & Stewart, G. L. (2009). Shared Influence at W.L. Gore & Associates. Organizational Dynamics, 38, 239-244.
Tannenbaum, S. I., Salas, E., & Cannon-Bowers, J. A. (1996). Promoting team effectiveness. In M. A. West (Ed.), Handbook of work group psychology. Chichester, UK: Wiley.