Is co-leadership right for your organisation?
TYPE: DISCUSSION
This is a self-evaluation tool to support you in thinking about whether you or your organisation are ready to take up a co-leadership model. Successful transition to feminist co-leadership requires an explicit and full commitment by senior leadership, including the board and executive director/s themselves, to changing the current leadership.
Work with your senior leadership and board to answer the questions in this worksheet.
Self-evaluation statements
Yes / No / In Progress
We have broad support from the board to explore a co-leadership model.
We have clarity on why we are choosing this model of leadership.
There is a willingness to invest tangible resources and time into supporting the implementation.
We currently have the resources to cover the costs to operationalise a co-leadership model.
*If not, is there willingness to actively mobilise resources?
If there is an existing leader, they are whole-heartedly behind the idea of a co-leadership structure.
We are aware of how this model might shift power and enable shared decision making within the organisation and are conscious of the need for ongoing learning and reflection on this.
If there are other staff or relevant community in the organisation, they have been consulted on the decision and are open or fully endorse it
* If not, consider holding an internal webinar to share more about your intentions, plans and also perhaps findings from this research and hold a reflection space about. If appropriate, you could consider inviting co-leads from another organisation to share their experience.
The budget and salary policy to employ two (or more) co-leaders has been approved.
There is agreement on what the hiring process will be including where decision-making lies
Based on the answers, are you ready to proceed or are there still areas that require attention? If so, can you make a plan and timeline to work through them?
