5 Co-Leadership Practices
A core part of the work of Invoke Coaching is about enlivening the diverse ways that human systems organize themselves. Our focus is primarily on non-profit organizations, social innovation-based businesses and intentional communities. The following is based on lessons learned from a conversation about co-leadership within a specific nonprofit organization, an interview with Jessica, Byron and Anna (1).
There are many benefits we discussed in our interview, and I will write specifically about the benefits at another time. For now, I want to focus on the application and practices. It’s also worth saying that co-leading may be practiced in a variety of ways, there can be incredible diversity in how people co-lead. At the same time, the below themes focus on what might be taken away and learned for any application of shared leadership. During this conversation, it became evident that much of what these wonderful leaders discussed could be applicable to the traditional hierarchy (that is, if you want your team to be empowered and highly functional) and could be applied to deeper democratic or distributed leadership models.
Below are 5 of the core practices that became evident during the discussion, these are attitudes and attributes to develop as leaders leaning into co-leadership. These are outlined as practices, due to the fact that they are ongoing and active.
Cultivate Self-Awareness: Core to co-leadership is developing the ability to be aware of ourselves. More deeply, Byron and Jessica both spoke about the role of ego. It is not about being egoless (is that even possible?). In our discussion, it was more about leveraging shared leadership as a way to manage our ego and build more awareness of ego. This is a reminder that as human beings operating within organizations, we aren’t meant to do things alone. We can and should leverage our relationships to create more intentional awareness of ourselves, our default responses and our ego. This is intentional and vulnerable leadership work, but creates more whole system resilience and the conditions for greater diversity in thought.
Practice Relational Awareness: in Team or Systems Coaching (2) we call this Relationship Systems Intelligence. In witnessing how these organizational leaders work together, collaborate and interact, it is evident that they move beyond self-awareness and tap into a more collective intelligence. They watch what’s happening within each other and within their systems. Cultivating this type of awareness happens with intention and practice. Evidently, that allows them to function well. It also supports them in managing the complexity of their work and the stress associated with it.
Engage in Courageous Conversations: When we commit to relationship and co-leadership, we commit to not holding anything back. When speaking to these leaders, they referenced that even little things needed to be brought into their discussions and to be learned from. Having differing opinions and perspectives can be leveraged as a strength, but only when we’re willing to name it - bring it up and “Reveal the Invisible” (3). This is true even with a power differential, but when we share leadership the need seems more pressing.
Leverage Humour and Fun: One of the core strategies these co-leaders use is humor -- which has been notable in all of the conversations. Humour allows them both as individuals and as a team to hold their ego lightly, to access humility and to just be human. Within organizations, we don’t often enough leverage humour and fun appropriately. We need that type of energy to take risks and feel safe in relationships. It provides us with the conditions to feel safe to fail and therefore innovate! It is clearly a core part of what can make a co-leadership model effective.
Commit to the Evolution: Shared leadership systems don’t get cultivated overnight. Trusting relationships can be built from the beginning -- AND they develop strength over time. We can’t just throw two people together and say “go forth and co-lead,” often more intention, preparation and conversation needs to go into the development of a co-leadership model and more fundamentally the co-leadership relationship. We must give this time, space and resources - including outside professional support like a coach. When given space and resources - relationships, collaboration and co-leadership can thrive!
Reflection Questions:
What were your core takeaways?
What do you see as key building blocks for successful co-leadership?
What is possible when we lean into co-leading more?
What disruption do you think our non-profit systems need?
Notes
This article was written based on a conversation with Byron Chan and Jessica Cope Williams and Anna Loomis of Catholic Family Services, Calgary (video below). If you’re interested in the recording of the whole conversation, find it here.
This is a core coaching skill within the Coach Social Change model and training program
