Even In Stalin’s time there was collective leadership. The Western idea
of a dictator within the Communist setup is exaggerated. Misunderstandings on that subject are caused by lack of comprehension of the real nature and organi- zation of the Communist power structure. Stalin, although holding wide powers, was merely the captain of a team and I t seems obvious that Khrushchev will be
the new captain. However, 1t does not appear that any of the present leaders will rise to the stature of Lenin and Stalin,so that it w i l lbe safer to assume that developments in Moscow will be along the lines of what is called collective leadership, unless Western policies force the Soviets to stream- line their power organization.
From the CIA’s assessment
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00810A006000360009-0.pdf