Abstract:
This study aims to explore the phenomenon of joint leadership by learning the experience of two
leaders and the perceptions of staff and faculty working together in a multicultural team in an
educational institution; to find out attributes, benefits, and challenges, as well as communication,
negotiation, decision-making process carried out within joint leadership; and to contribute to the
development of dual degree programs in terms of management. Since joint leadership is new for
Azerbaijan, the desired level of research has not been conducted in the literature. In this sense, it
is considered important to add the deficiencies of the research in the literature. This research is
important in terms of contributing to the theory and practice of joint leadership that might be
required in the Azerbaijani context.
The target population and sample size of the study consists of 2 leaders, 2 staff, and 2 faculty
members. To collect the primary data, semi-structured interviews were used. Research findings
imply that joint leadership can be considered as a leadership approach in which two or more
employers are involved in managerial actions and processes, and managerial decisions, take an
active role and experience mutual relationship and interaction among employees. One of the
benefits of joint leadership is that it involves sharing the work among the group members and
thus doing it based on the interaction of more than one leader. Relational difficulties between
leaders are considered one of the main challenges of joint leadership.