Co-Leadership Preparedness for Organizations

Co-Leadership: A leadership structure where two or more individuals share executive authority and decision-making responsibilities

Readiness Assessment

A readiness assessment is a checklist of critical areas of preparedness that sets up organizations and co-leaders with support they need to thrive. Attention can be given to readiness gaps, before co-leader onboarding. Preparedness then transforms co-leadership from an idea into a deliberate, well-supported structure — significantly improving the chances of long-term success.

We can help you prepare.

Reasons to Prepare

Reasons to complete a readiness assessment before adopting a co-leadership model:

Organizational Clarity

  • Ensures the board understands what co-leadership actually requires before committing

  • Helps distinguish whether co-leadership is the right fit vs. other structures (e.g., executive director + COO, interim arrangements)

  • Surfaces assumptions board members may hold about how shared leadership works

Risk Mitigation

  • Identifies structural vulnerabilities — unclear decision-making authority, ambiguous accountability lines — before they become crises

  • Prevents costly leadership failures that can destabilize staff, funders, and mission delivery

  • Reduces the likelihood of conflict between co-leaders that stems from poorly defined roles

Relationship & Culture Readiness

  • Assesses whether the organizational culture can support shared power and collaborative decision-making

  • Evaluates whether staff are prepared to report to or work within a co-leadership dynamic

  • Identifies trust gaps between board and leadership or within the leadership team itself

Financial & Operational Sustainability

  • Determines whether the budget can sustain two senior salaries and benefits equitably

  • Examines whether systems, policies, and infrastructure can support the model operationally

Board Governance Preparedness

  • Forces the board to examine its own capacity to oversee and support a co-leadership structure

  • Clarifies how the board will manage performance reviews, conflict resolution, and succession for two leaders

  • Ensures bylaws and governance documents are updated to reflect the model

Stakeholder & Funder Confidence

  • Helps the board anticipate questions from funders, donors, and partners about accountability

  • Provides evidence-based rationale for the model rather than an ad hoc decision

Equity & Intentionality

  • Ensures the model is adopted for mission-aligned reasons (e.g., shared lived experience, equity values) rather than convenience

  • Reduces the risk of co-leadership being used as a workaround for difficult leadership decisions