Shared Leadership

We’ve created a unique situation at Floodgate. And unless you dig deeper, you probably won’t know it. There are three owners of the company – three coequals – all steering the ship, together. There is no boss, and no one has more influence than the others.

When we launched in the Winter of 2006, I was personally counseled by Christian business leaders to NOT establish a business this way. “The buck needs to stop with one person”, they said. “Leading in a committee of three will hinder progress”, another friend told me. But almost three years later, things are expanding and moving forward, with no hint of slowing down.

As I reflect on what’s making this all work, there are several answers. But the answer at the top of my list is a simple one. It’s a certain permission – an unspoken blessing the three of us give each other every day. And honestly, I’ve never seen it played out in any business I’ve experienced.

Except here.

The reason the shared leadership model is working for us is because we give each other the constant permission and blessing to say “no”. When a job comes in, we all have the ability to respectfully decline our personal involvement. There doesn’t need to be a reason, because we trust that our “no’s” have legitimate reasons, sometimes shared, and sometimes not. When life gets too busy for us to function at peak professional levels, we simply say, “I’m sorry. I can’t do that right now.” And the other two respect and honor that.

I wonder what this would look like in a church setting? Can you imagine a staff environment where you’re given permission and blessing to say “no”, and have it honored, even trusted? Maybe you work in that setting. Maybe you dream of it.

Could it ever really work?

Play it out in your imagination and, if God leads, work toward making it happen.