Co-Leadership - Management Challenge

The Question: 

Dear Business Solutions,   I have been asked to co-lead with another colleague.  I am wondering "what is your definition of Co-Leading"?  I want to make it a happy working environment and want to make sure our boundaries are set.  Do you have any advice please?  Signed Leadership.

Our Response:

Dear Leadership,

The very fact that you are searching for a definition of “co-leading” would indicate that your company/organization may not have done its homework in terms of clearly defining its expectations of you and your colleague.  You are wise to do research; particularly as they relate to boundaries.  As the great poet and philosopher, Robert Frost told us, “Good fences make good neighbors.”  We all need our boundaries.  It is also true that we need the tools to do our work.

Rather than to attempt to define this term which may be not sufficiently used in business as to have a clear set of definitions, I’ll focus on the implications of the term – that is of more than one person trying to provide guidance, direction and support to the same group of people assigned to the same tasks.  The implications are 1) internal to the co-leaders, 2) external with the supervised group and 3) external with the supervisors of the co-leaders.  I suggest, therefore, that you build guidelines for all three interactions considering at least these elements.

1)      Internal to the co-leaders:

a.       Who will be responsible for what roles

b.      When they will be responsible for those roles

c.       How roles and assignments will be decided

d.      How communication will take place between you

e.       Who has the right of veto, if anyone

f.        How you will handle disagreements with each other

g.       How will you handle discipline with your supervised group

h.       Who will communicate to 2 and 3, when and how

2)      External with the supervised group:

a.       How will you avoid confusion in the supervised group

b.      How will you insure consistency in communication

c.       How will you insure consistency in supervision

d.      How will you enforce accountability

e.       How will you handle any attempts, willful or not, to take advantage of dispersed leadership and accountability

f.        What management style or styles you will use

3)      External to your supervisors:

a.       How performance will be measured

b.      What their expectations are of you

c.       What your specific goals are

d.      How will you ensure that you both have the same information going to and from supervision

e.       How credit and blame will be shared

You have the opportunity to be thorough and prevent problems by considering these three groups independently.  You are more likely to be appreciated and respected by all involved when you address the different implications and needs.

Collaboration and teamwork are cornerstones of successful management.  If you are lucky enough to have team members with whom you are compatible, you have a better chance of success.

In any event, the skills of principles of teamwork may serve you well.  Books and resources on teamwork may be more useful to you than generalized texts on management.  Here is a very good book you should find very useful: 

Communication is central to success as a leader and as a team member.  Our site www.positive-way.com, is filled with articles and tools that can help you communicate.  Do a site search and/or try this link:  http://www.positive-way.com/communication_articles_that_can.htm   Try all our communication resources; they are very effective at work as well as at home.

We wish you the best,

Business Solutions -The Positive Way