ABSTRACT
The research raises questions about the global practice of co-leadership in the arts. Surprisingly, Anglo-Saxon regions and Northern Europe dominate. Practitioners and scholars worldwide were consulted for a better understanding of leadership configuration practice in the arts, revealing several determinants for its presence. The role of art and artists in society, cultural policy and funding structures, a presence and emphasis on arts management training, as well as institutionalized practices in certain arts disciplines play a role in determining these configurations. Further, three ideal types of co-leadership were identified. Two dimensions are influential in deciding the type of co-leadership practiced in the arts: A continuum of funding sources from public to mainly private and a range of organizational size-types between institutional and entrepreneurial. First, a collegial approach to work emerges from artistic start-ups. Second, formalized leadership role configurations with job descriptions are negotiated by founders or the current leadership group. Third, mandated by a board or funder, specialized and separate leadership roles require effort to jointly balance competing objectives and manage a range of governance issues. This research and typology provide a larger frame for study, thus normalizing researchers' efforts to distinctly define co-leadership.
