Why leadership partnerships work (why every Dec needs their Ant!)

Having always worked with at least one business partner, the debate of whether it's better or worse to have two people running a business as Co-Founders or Co-CEOs is one that I follow closely. Some say it works amazingly well, some say it's a recipe for disaster.   For me I've always seen it as a real positive.  Running a business on your own can be a lonely place and like with everything in life when the going gets tough, a problem shared is a problem halved!

Having "Co's" to run a business, in recent years, has become more popular than it ever has been before mainly due to the start up culture, "Gen Xers and millennials are taking entrepreneurship to a new level. While they are creating innovative products and services, they are also innovating the way leadership works. If a strong partnership started the company, can that same partnership also take it from no revenue to billions in revenue?" (1)

Topical I know, but I feel that the successful modern day Co-Ceo relationship tends to mirror the Ant and Dec formula and why they have worked so well and been such a sustainable successful partnership over the past 20 years. As an article in the Radio Times from earlier this year acknowledged, 

"...most double acts have assigned roles – the straight one and the funny one, the mad one and the straight one. Ant and Dec are almost unique in the history of British light entertainment about refusing to be pegged. Think of your favourite Ant and Dec moments – sometimes Ant is playing the fool, sometimes it’s Dec larking about. It’s very studied and always surprising. It allows them to remain incredibly versatile, incredibly fresh.” (2)  

In my opinion, it's the versatility and freshness that is so key to a leadership duo, working well together. Yes, it's important that day to day, duties and responsibilities can be clearly defined but it is the ability to be able to adapt and 'play each others role' that is so key. 

People get obsessed with role and responsibility definition but when starting up it's the agility and ability to be able to morph into each others roles that is key.  

Being great all rounders who excel in different areas really does play it's part. It helps with a unified front.  You always know where the other person is coming from and the challenges that they are facing in their day to day tasks. You should be able to finish each other’s sentences off. You should be on the same page. 

No one individual leader has strengths in all of the required areas needed to be the complete package.  Therefore having two people, acknowledging and then playing to each others key, yet different strengths can really create a wholesome leadership unit for the business and staff to thrive off. 

The foundations and ground work most certainly have to be there too, with clear synergy on objectives and the reasons why you are doing what you're doing in the first place.  As Suz O Donnell, a senior exec coach writes in her Forbes magazine article,  

"You absolutely must agree on mission, vision and leadership values to make sure you are aligned on goals and expectations. These are vital for the entire C-suite of any company, but in a co-CEO relationship this foundation must be unshakable." (3) 

Then the key to it working is all around communication and making the business aware of the parameters to which each of you is going to operate. As business author Gwen Moran writes on the Fast Company website,

"Once roles have been clarified, it needs to be communicated to the team, Martin says. If employees receive mixed signals, some will become disengaged, while others may try to play the co-leaders against each other to get what they want" (4)

The text books will tell you the following points are key: 

1. Ensure clear division of responsibilities.
2. Stay in your lane. 
3. Disagree productively. 
4. Commit equally.
5. Treat your relationship like a marriage. (5)

"One of the first things that needs to be done is a division of responsibilities," says management coach Rhett Power, author of The Entrepreneur’s Book of Actions. "The relationship won’t work if toes are regularly being stepped on. Determine the areas in which each has the final say, and put it in writing, which can be referred to if conflict arises."

There are of course the counter arguments with people who claim that it doesn't work: David Martin, founder of leadership consulting firm David Martin & Company, says having two people in a role where there is typically one decision maker “almost never works.” When two people are working in a fast-paced environment and need to make decisions quickly, having to check in with another person can make an organization less nimble."

However, I think that this is where trust in the relationship is so important. If there is upmost trust there, and a decision needs to be made quickly, then I am always of the belief that my business partner will make the right call, in line with our core values and framework in which we operate, therefore the nimbleness becomes a non issue. 

I personally wouldn't want to go it alone.  Find the right partner and you have double the skillset, double the drive, double the ambition and most importantly... double the fun! Through the good times you have someone to celebrate with and through the bad times you have each other's backs and moral support...  By the way I’m the funny one! 



references: 

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-03-23/why-do-ant-and-dec-matter-so-much-to-itv/ (2) 
https://www.fastcompany.com/3068272/are-co-ceos-a-great-idea-or-a-total-disaster (3) (4)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/11/09/co-ceos-might-be-increasing-but-do-they-mean-twice-the-trouble/#6cad25233c48  (1) (5)