Leadership in partnerships of equals

One dimension of leadership is about how a leader works with others (Hackman & Johnson, 2009). Initial approaches to leadership focused on individuals at the top of organizational systems having the exclusive power to decide and to direct followers toward implementation. More recent studies view organizations as living systems where knowledge and decision-making are distributed across the company, resulting in more informed decisions (Fletcher & Kaufer, 2003). Fletcher (as cited in Fletcher and Kaufer, 2003) explains that shared leadership is distributed and interdependent, embedded in the nature and process of the leader-follower interactions, and it is a learning process for leaders, for followers, and for organizations as a whole. Some leadership practitioners have gone further to use the term coleadership. To them effective leadership requires that leaders and their lieutenants or co-leaders be valued equally, and that decision-making and credit for success be shared. Why coleadership, and how does it work? Which challenges does it present and which are the pitfalls to avoid for successful coleadership processes?

Why coleadership?

Waddock’s (1989) research on partnerships identified six external forces that draw independent organizations nearer to each others: mandate or legal system, existing networks where useful power and resources are shared, third party with an interest in linking companies, common understanding about how an issue should be tackled in a community, crisis, or visionary individual leadership. These factors can lead individuals and organizations to joined ventures which are headed by teams of leaders and co-leaders rather by solo star leaders. “The old corporate monotheism is … giving way to a more realistic view that acknowledges leaders not as organizational gods but as first among many contributors.” (Heenan & Bennis, 1999) But how does coleadership work?

How does coleadership work?

Leadership in partnerships of equals is about interdependent and complementary contributions. It is characterized by synergy, shared emotions, shared credit for successes and responsibility for failures. It may take the form of leaders jointly occupying the leadership position, or leaders allocating different leadership functions to partakers of the coleadership relationship, or even the form of co-leaders taking turns in assuming the same leadership responsibility (Hackman & Johnson, 2009). But for coleadership to work effectively, certain conditions should be fulfilled.

For coleadership to work smoothly, leaders and co-leaders must operate in an environment of trust, authenticity and abundant communication. Just like a marriage does not succeed simply with a successful wedding but by a sustained process of authentic engagement alongside significant adjustments, coleadership can only be successful if parties commit to a long term dedication to pursue a common objective together (Fons & Maarten, 2012). Also, a safe learning environment where leaders and co-leaders are committed to sincere exchanges and openness to value each others will only increase the quality of decisions at the top of organizations.

According to Eisner and Cohen (2010) Liking each other is another important element for working as partners. They note that strong bounds within the coleadership process create a foxhole, from where leaders and co-leaders can stand, “fighting the world together to achieve something special, fighting their competitors, fighting to protect each other, being friends, and keeping the institution together.” (p. 19) Weak relationships at the top of companies can lead to conflict and to failure. While looking at factors that foster effective coleadership, it is important to equally consider elements that impinge on the coleadership process.

It is worth noting that certain behaviors can seriously undermine the coleadership process. One is pride and self centeredness. Without humility, leaders and co-leaders are unwilling to learn from each others, and they fight for “the spot light”. This negative behavior becomes more toxic when partakers of the coleadership team are from a merger, with the challenge to create a new corporate culture that results from each previous entity’s identity and values. Also, dishonesty is a very dangerous behavior in coleadership. Buffet as cited in Eisner and Cohen (2010) says “You’re looking for three things, generally, in a person [you lead with],… intelligence, energy, and integrity. And if they don’t have the last one, don’t even bother with the first two.” (p.50)

References

Eisner, M. D., Cohen, A. R. (2010). Working together: Why great partnerships succeed . HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Fletcher, J. K., & Kaufer, K. (2003). Shared leadership. In C. L. Pearce & J. A. Conger (Eds.), Shared leadership: Reframing the hows and whys of leadership (21-47). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Fons T., Maarten N. A. (2012). The Global M&A Tango: How to Reconcile Cultural Differences in Mergers, Acquisitions and Strategic Partnerships (2nd ed.). Human Resource Management International Digest,20 (7), - Available from http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.library.regent.edu/journals.htm?issn=0967-0734&volume=20&issue=7&articleid=17062351&show=html#sthash.HjQqAUem.dpuf

Hackman, M. Z., & Johnson, C. E. (2009). Leadership: A communication perspective (5th ed.). Waveland Press, Inc.

Heenan, D. A., Bennis, W. (1999). Co-leaders: The power of great partnerships. New York, NY: John Willey & Sons.

Waddock, S. A. (1989). Understanding Social Partnerships: An Evolutionary Model of Partnership Organizations. Administration & Society, 21 (1), 78-100. doi: 10.1177/009539978902100105