Collective forms of leadership and team cognition in work teams: A systematic and critical review

In today's increasingly complex professional environments, collective forms of leadership and team cognition have emerged as critical mechanisms for effective collaboration. These constructs are interconnected and enable teams to coordinate and integrate specialized expertise and knowledge to meet team needs in demanding contexts, underscoring the importance of examining their relationship. Despite growing interest, the literature lacks a comprehensive review of how these constructs relate, and there is no consensus on the directionality of their relationship. Clarifying this relationship is crucial to acquiring a better understanding and improving team functioning. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review to explore the nature and direction of the relationship between collective forms of leadership and team cognition - particularly shared mental models (SMMs) and transactive memory systems (TMS). Following the PRISMA method, we analyzed 20 peer-reviewed studies from major databases. Our analysis revealed that both constructs are examined as either antecedents or outcomes of the other, suggesting a bidirectional relationship. Based on these findings, we propose three process models that illustrate how collective forms of leadership interact with SMMs and TMS over time. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of these models.