Tag: co-leadership

Shared leadership is a trend that’s gaining global traction, with companies like Oracle and Netflix transitioning to a co-CEO model. While splitting leadership has benefits, it can also come with a heavy emotional toll, such as identity loss, as well as feelings of rejection, stress, and even grief. 

If you’re facing a co-leadership challenge, you’re not alone. However, you can still hold onto your individual power and impart your values into the culture despite splitting roles. What’s important is that you do not lose your sense of self or the reason you stepped into leadership. Also, you should commit to radical self-inquiry to uncover and uproot the underlying causes of your reactions.  

Deliberate self-injury  

Every reaction has roots. As a leader and a human being, it’s your job to uncover those roots. Not so you can control your reactions, but rather to understand why they exist. With time, learn to pause and reflect before strong emotions govern your decisions. It’s not an exact formula; you will make mistakes. But you can start by asking yourself these questions:  

• Am I afraid? Of what?  
• Do I feel invalidated or threatened? Why? 
• How do I see this partnership unfolding?  
• Why do I feel threatened or angry?  
• What truth is behind these emotions?  
• Are my feelings based on past experiences? Are those experiences clouding the present?  
• What will it take to find even ground and calmness? What would that look like?  
• How can I get to a place where I am OK with this change?  

I’ve never seen a leader find peace overnight. However, you can start to answer these questions and see if they lead to more questions. Shared leadership cannot exist without trust. Taking the time to pause and reflect will leave room for clear-headed decisions and future collaboration. However, it will require thought, reflection, and an understanding that the legacy you want to achieve is still attainable.  

Letting go to grow 

To let go sometimes means finding who you really are. It’s terrifying, but it’s also the place where you rise. Who you are as a leader does not have to change, even when you share space. There’s no attack on your values or what you bring to the table—the opposite may even be true. I’ve seen co-leaders claim respective spaces bigger and better than they had the capacity to do before.  

Concepts that had no space or time to grow can now be claimed. Goals that might have been unattainable due to time constraints may now grow. The leadership role you once held may no longer be yours alone, but the person you are and the foundation you built still exist. Initial feelings of threat or rejection may be strong, but they will fade as you find your new footing.  

Being asked to share your leadership space can be difficult, and it will take time to find a new flow. However, letting go to move forward doesn’t mean shrinking. It opens a space where both your influence and self-understanding can grow.