Co-Leadership as a Management Option for Ecclesial Administration

Abstract

Traditional views of leadership as a top-down process are increasingly challenged by critical perspectives that acknowledge that leadership may involve several people. Using the seminal work of David Sally 1 as the launchpad for this critical conceptual analysis, this research explored co-leadership where members share several leadership responsibilities. The research traces co-leadership through its definitional, management, and ecclesial lens. It challenged the deep- seated traditional leadership of parish functions and Church administration by bringing to the fore some biblical and canonical precepts and considerations that should steer ecclesial thinking in co- leadership. Beyond its contributions to the current leadership research, this work conceives the Church as a living organization with strategies, norms, and discipline; a corporate of sorts in dire need of shared responsibilities and accountabilities. The overview of the existing literature, fused into ecclesial leadership models in the Bible and Post- Conciliar teachings should wake up fresh insights into the Church’s understanding of Gaudium et Spes, the Church in the modern world.