Abstract
As healthcare organizations evolve, experiencing market and technological changes, as well as pressure to reduce costs and become more efficient, leadership practices have not remained stagnant. In the healthcare context, a physician leader and a non-physician administrator have specialized skill sets and roles. The complexity of healthcare organizations necessitates collaborative arrangements between physicians and administrators for a better integration of clinical and administrative functions. These conditions have propelled healthcare organizations to implement emerging leadership models such as dyad leadership, to bridge the divide between these separate functions. Considering the novelty of the dyad model, healthcare organizations face challenges while transitioning to this leadership practice. With the focus on the dynamic between physician and administrator pairs, this study addressed how roles are practiced within a dyad leadership model as contextual forces evolve. A qualitative case study approach was used to explore the dyad leadership model. The study uncovered three salient themes: role clarity between administrative and physician leaders, leading together within the dyad model, and frequent interaction and communication. These themes revealed that sharing and practicing the role space in a dyad model is a dynamic, collective, and relational process that occurs between the dyad leaders. The proposed solution came in the form of an integrative framework for the dyad leadership model, as well as recommendations that leaders and leadership practitioners can use to implement the dyad leadership practice in their organizational settings.|Keywords: Dyad leadership model, healthcare leadership, dyad roles, leadership-as practice