Last year, RVC made a big shift as an organization and moved into a shared leadership structure with four co-Executive Directors taking on hybrid roles (both in programs and as co-ED’s). In fact, this shift in our organization involved about half our staff moving into new positions.
From week one, we got questions about our process and what we have learned. This led to us hosting a Q&A event last week…our first virtual thought leadership event!
We were delighted so many folks from our community could join us for our lunch hour conversation where RVC’s co-ED team answered some of the most frequently asked questions, as well as sharing lessons from the past year! Take a look at — or listen to — the recording if you didn’t get the opportunity to join us. The transcript lives here, and here’s a small excerpt from the end of the event where our co-ED team shared advice for those of you who are thinking about having shared leadership in your organization:
“Set your foundation. You’re building a structure. You take time. You’re very intentional…And be very intentional about how you build on that.”
– Chris Rhodes
“Really take time to understand what are the needs of your organization and…what’s the right sizing of it, so you can understand what kind of structure could be really helpful around that. And I would say just have fun with it at the same time, and make sure that you have fun with it with the team that you decide to do it with!”
– Anbar Mahar
“Don’t launch another new thing if your shared leadership is a big thing…let that be your project.”
– Roshni Sampath
Roshni also recommended that folks interested in pursuing shared leadership consider parity in the roles and responsibilities.
Thank you again for joining us if you had the opportunity! Gratitude to our sponsors Progress Alliance Washington and Optimism Brewing. If you would like to hear about the next thought leadership virtual event, don’t forget to join our mailing list!
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