The Double-Edged Sword of Leadership Task Transitions in Emergency Response Multiteam Systems

Multiteam systems (MTSs) operating in complex and dynamic environments often have a formal hierarchical leadership structure. However, it is unclear whether individuals should stick exclusively to performing their designated tasks within the hierarchical leadership structure, or if, instead, they should switch between different types of tasks to align efforts with changes in the environment. We refer to such task switching—an individual shifting to or from tasks designated for a particular leader position—as leadership task transitions. Our qualitative study of six MTSs responding to live-actor mass-casualty incidents revealed that leadership task transitions are a double-edged sword as they can simultaneously help manage the MTS–environment interface and harm MTS internal functioning. More specifically, leadership task transitions benefit the MTS by rapidly reallocating effort to alleviate the dominant environmental pressure at that time. However, they also harm the MTS by disrupting its internal task-based cycles. Rapidly restoring the disrupted cycles mitigates this harmful effect, but such cycle restoration is not successful when there is a high level of cycle activity or when multiple areas of the MTS are disrupted. Our findings generate new knowledge on how and why leadership task transitions impact MTSs. Implications and future directions are discussed.

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Work Title The Double-Edged Sword of Leadership Task Transitions in Emergency Response Multiteam Systems
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Margaret M. Luciano
  2. Virgil Fenters
  3. Semin Park
  4. Amy L. Bartels
  5. Scott I. Tannenbaum
Keyword
  1. Intergroup relations
  2. Group/team processes
  3. Qualitative orientation
License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Academy of Management
Publication Date August 2021
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. 10.5465/amj.2019.0707
Source
  1. Academy of Management Journal
Deposited June 15, 2022

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  • Created
  • Added AMJ 2021 Luciano et al 09_19-0707_Luciano_Accept-1.docx
  • Added Creator Margaret M. Luciano
  • Added Creator Virgil Fenters
  • Added Creator Semin Park
  • Added Creator Amy L. Bartels
  • Added Creator Scott I. Tannenbaum
  • Published
  • Updated Work Title, Keyword Show Changes
    Work Title
    • The double-edged sword of leadership task transitions in emergency response multiteam systems
    • ! The double-edged sword of leadership task transitions in emergency response multiteam systems
    Keyword
    • Intergroup relations, Group/team processes, Qualitative orientation
  • Updated Work Title Show Changes
    Work Title
    • ! The double-edged sword of leadership task transitions in emergency response multiteam systems
    • ! The Double-Edged Sword of Leadership Task Transitions in Emergency Response Multiteam Systems
  • Updated Work Title Show Changes
    Work Title
    • ! The Double-Edged Sword of Leadership Task Transitions in Emergency Response Multiteam Systems
    • The Double-Edged Sword of Leadership Task Transitions in Emergency Response Multiteam Systems
  • Updated