The Surprising Benefits of Shared Leadership

We woke up a week ago?to a text linking to an announcement by Lucy Bradlow and Bronwen Bock?of their intention to run as a job-share for Australian federal Parliament in the seat of Higgins. By the afternoon the messages were coming thick and fast. It was clear people were intrigued and excited about the media conversation that Lucy and Bronwyn had stirred up.?

We were delighted?- as proud advocates of workplace flexibility and accidental poster-kids for job-sharing - we are all too aware that this innovative model could deliver a fundamental shift of?representation in our Parliament as well as inspiring women and men across the nation to rethink their own flexible options for employment. ?

Job sharing has been one of the most rewarding and career-changing moves either of us have made. It has unlocked innumerable benefits, some of which we anticipated, but most of which were a delightful surprise. The most remarkable is the degree to which the partnership encourages us to be bolder, to take greater risks for greater payoff, and to remain steadfastly accountable to our shared performance. But more on that later... ?

The most obvious benefit (and the main reason most people pursue job-share), has been the opportunity to progress our careers whilst balancing the competing demands and priorities of life, particularly our caring responsibilities. Even more significantly, it has enabled us to contribute energetically and with total commitment to the performance of the role whilst maintaining?these commitments, as well as our own health and well-being. We have more stretch and capacity in our family lives to attend school events, schedule and attend appointments, pursue personal interests and ‘pick up the slack’ for the household. ?

Then of course there is the benefit of presence - to be available for our teams, peers, networks and bosses and meeting the considerable demands of the role. This is useful when one of us is unwell or on leave (although we are also sure to make acting opportunities available for our team too), to cover travel commitments or even just to step in for our partner when the other is worn out or having a bad day. ?

We had not anticipated, however, the enduring strength of our partnership and the bonuses offered though shared leadership (which are so rarely discussed in contemporary society). We both really?enjoy, for example, knowing that our job share partner, on their workday, is confidently making decisions, responding to enquiries, remaining available for the team, enabling us on our off-days to focus on life. Both women and men talk about the struggle of part-time work and the reality that it can mean a full-time mental load squashed into short hours for less pay. This arrangement instead enables a guilt-free break from this mental load of leadership. ?

We have also learnt an enormous amount from each other and benefited from the diverse skills and experience that we each bring to the partnership. Krista has a long history in sustainability leadership and project and program management, whereas Tiffany has a background in law, strategy and policy. These diverse backgrounds enable us to problem solve and challenge one another, while learning from the other’s perspective and experience. ?

When we are consulted by others about the semantics of our approach, we are careful to encourage others to find their own groove. There are a few models to adopt with lots of permutations. Ultimately, we adopted the ‘twin model’, where we split all accountabilities. Other examples either follow the ‘islands model’, where the partners split the role and are responsible for different parts,?or a hybrid, a mix of both. ?

One of the tenets of our arrangement from the outset was that we did not want it to be an impost on those around us. If this was to succeed, we needed to demonstrate that people would not need to have every conversation, every briefing, every decision made twice. We have trialled and tested a few initiatives to enable us and a handful of tools have changed the game. Firstly, the need for a cross-over day has been critical. This also allows us to schedule team meetings where possible on a shared day. All emails and invites must come to both of us and we manage the logistics and responses. This way others do not have to decipher who is working and who is not. ?

Another early commitment was to respect that whoever is working has decision-making authority. This requires trust and alignment of values. As we are so well aligned in our approach and communicate well, this in fact has never thrown up challenges for us. If there are any significant decisions (for example about people or budgets or strategic changes), we discuss it on the phone or on our shared work-day. ?

But the real game-changer has been a simple phone app through which we leave detailed, half-an-hour or so, voice memos at the end of our ‘shifts’. We brief on all meetings, phone calls, issues, upcoming meetings etc. This allows us to share the light and shade of all these conversations that can be otherwise missed in meeting notes. ?

Like all new relationships (although we were friends and colleagues going into this), there were some teething issues to work though.?After an?initial period of “tripping over” each other, finding the?maturity and vulnerability to leave our egos at the door, and slight awkwardness around decision-making, we found our groove and since then have developed a reputation for being a highly successful and functional job share partnership.??

Like many of society’s mega-trend issues, working on climate change issues can be tiring. The pace and scale of change is slow, appetites for change vary, and competing demands in public service are difficult. It requires a huge breadth of knowledge and ability to stay abreast of policy and technological changes. But through this partnership, our energy and ambition has not just been sustained, it has grown. We give each other a certain confidence to be bolder than we might otherwise be alone. We make tough decisions, we test and challenge each other, and hold one another to account. ??

Leadership does not have to rest in one person or the individual. Throughout history and across all societies there are remarkable examples of sports teams, scientists, complex organisations, teachers, performers and artists of all kinds who have thrived and been stronger through shared leadership.?

We wish Lucy and Bronwen every success and congratulate them for their creativity and ambition in pursing a new model for political representation. If (and it is still a big if) the current laws permit the duo, it has the potential to unlock many possibilities for others who might otherwise be deterred from the significant demands of political life. In the current context where contemporary Australian society continues to struggle with the debate around inclusive and diverse political representation, such an approach holds the promise of providing this diversity and complexity of thought and in our ‘shared’ view, will ultimately strengthen our democracy. ?

Let’s face it, leadership can be a lonely place in tough times, but through partnership we never need to be alone. ?