March 2026
Reflecting on a year of shared power and interim time
A feminist leadership transition, part three
By Ariane Alam and Sophia Seawell
Ariane Alam, Helene Wolf (© Ceren Saner) and Sophia Seawell (© Rae (Mee-Jin) Tilly) formed the interim co-leadership team from July 2024 until June 2025
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we are launching a blog series on feminist co-leadership at FAIR SHARE.
With several months of distance and reflection behind us, we look back on our experience of joining a co-leadership team and practising feminist leadership during a time of transition. In this series, we share what we have learned and the practices we would recommend to others navigating feminist co-leadership.
What does co-leadership look like in practice?
Which structures support this form of shared power?
In August 2024, we shared our decision to fill the interim co-Executive Director role internally, with two team members joining our co-Executive Director Helene to provide leadership for the organisation as we recruited her long-term counterpart. As the topic of leadership transition gains much-needed attention in our sector, we want to contribute to that conversation with our own experience and learnings.
This transition followed an important moment in the organisation: in spring 2024 we celebrated 5 years of FAIR SHARE and said goodbye to our Co-Executive Director Lisa Tatu Hey. During this period the whole FAIR SHARE team took on more responsibilities on programme and project levels, but also in fundraising and the recruitment process for our next Co-ED.
These internal developments were accompanied by external changes: the context for civil society organisations based in Global Minority countries had been growing increasingly difficult. In Germany, where FAIR SHARE is based, civil society in 2024 faced alarming national and international backlash and silencing when calling out human rights violations in Palestine. Funding was shrinking significantly, particularly for those working on (the already underfunded) issues of gender, feminism and social justice. By end of 2024, FAIR SHARE entered a financial crises mode – reinforcing the importance of organisational resilience and collective leadership.
Our learnings and recommendations
Leave time for the whole organisation to prepare the transition
Communicate leadership changes internally as soon as they are confirmed. Delaying the announcement can reduce the time available for the team to prepare, whether in terms of budgets, responsibilities, or organisational planning.
Collective decision making on next steps
At FAIR SHARE, three possible scenarios were prepared for the transition period:
- Appointing an external interim Co-ED
- Continuing with one Co-ED along temporarily
- The whole team stepping up in responsibilities and several team members stepping into an interim Co-ED structure
For each scenario, a clear overview of roles, implications and budget possibilities or limitations should be provided. The team should have several moments to discuss these options and reflect collectively on the path forward.
Plan the leadership transition intentionally
We began our interim co-leadership period, which lasted one year, by setting intentions for how we wanted to work together, using an exercise from www.feministcoleadership.com – an incredible website developed by Closer Than You Think (founded by former Co-EDs of FRIDA The Young Feminist Fund)
Co-leadership beyond the executive role: transparency, challenges and positionality
For us it was always very important to understand co-leadership as not only about the Executive Director role(s), but also, especially as an organisation of under 10 people at the time, something that involves and affects the whole team.
In practice, this also meant recognising that the transition required many team members to temporarily take on additional responsibilities so that the organisation could continue moving forward in its new constellation. Interim leadership was not confined to a small group of people; it became something collectively held by the team.
We learned then that transparency and internal communication was another key element to navigate the transition. While we tried to give our communication a clear structure – for example, sharing important organisational updates in writing before team meetings, when we could answer questions and discuss them – in the feedback survey, team members shared that they were sometimes confused or overwhelmed by the flow of information coming from different Co-EDs; others felt out of the loop and wanted more information. With a rather non-hierarchical structure and many bilateral conversations taking place, at times decisions slipped between the cracks and didn’t reach the person they should have on time.
At times, we struggled to find a balance between involving the team enough and recognising their increased workload and feedback fatigue.
Our learnings and recommendations
Ensuring transparency and clear distribution of roles & responsibilities within the leadership team:
At the beginning of the transition, we drafted a list of priorities for what we wanted to achieve as interim co-leadership team before the end of the transition period. This was shared with the wider team for their input, to ultimately create clarity around our focus and responsibilities.
Creating regular touch points to review individual capacities
At the midpoint of the transition, we revisited how team members were supporting the organisation and where responsibilities had shifted and set up 1-on-1 quarterly meetings with each team member and a member of the Co-ED team. This process also helped recognise how much additional work and leadership the wider team had taken on. Acknowledging this openly, offering support to those working over capacity, and giving visibility on which responsibilities would be redistributed once a new team member joined helped address fatigue and reduce the risk of burnout.
Provide opportunities for anonymous feedback
Different channels for feedback, including anonymous ones, help account for power dynamics within organisations and ensures that team members can share honest reflections without fear of repercussions. Anonymous feedback can also provide valuable insights into team wellbeing and how leadership practices are being experienced.
Clarify collective decision-making structures
Clearly defining which moments require collective decision-making and where leadership needs to take responsibility for guiding decisions can help reduce confusion and ensure smoother organisational processes.
Another complexity of the interim structure was positionality. Two members of the team had stepped into temporary leadership roles while still being part of the wider team structure and keeping on with their old roles. This meant navigating a delicate balance: being responsible for organisational decisions while remaining closely connected to their own and colleagues’ day-to-day work and concerns.
This dual positioning sometimes made it challenging to fully step into the leadership role while also remaining attentive to team needs and expectations. In some cases, decisions made within the interim leadership trio were paused or revisited as we navigated these dynamics; including the power dynamics between the two interim Co-EDs and the long-term Co-ED and founder.
Our learnings and recommendations
Defining clear and transparent decision-making processes
Both interim leadership and the team benefit from clarity around how decisions are made, who is responsible for them and how they are implemented over time. Establishing clear decision-making processes and timelines helps avoid confusion, reduces unnecessary pressure on individuals and allows teams to move forward collectively and with trust. If created with power dynamics in mind, it can allow all voices to be heard equally and all decision makers to have equal say.
Ensuring documentation and transparency of reflections & decisions on topics
Documenting discussions, reflections and final decisions help not only maintain transparency within the organisation but also accountability, prevent important considerations from being lost in informal conversations and reneging decisions because the implementation process might be uncomfortable.
Creating intentional moments of support and protect work-life boundaries
Given the mental load of a Co-ED position, we also looked for ways to support healthy work/life boundaries. With all of us working four days per week and taking different days off, we had an honest look at how to keep decision-making possible and established that two of us could take a decision without the third if that person was out of office. We also set up a Signal channel we used only if an issue needed to be addressed outside of working hours.
Clarify collective decision-making structures
Clearly defining which moments require collective decision-making and where leadership needs to take responsibility for guiding decisions can help reduce confusion and ensure smoother organisational processes.
Leadership and representation
For some of us, stepping into leadership can carry an additional layer of meaning. Seeing racialised women in leadership positions continues to matter in a sector where representation often remains limited.
At the same time – and we’ll never repeat it enough at FAIR SHARE – representation alone is not enough. Without meaningful support structures, fair compensation and transparent organisational systems, diversity without protection is tokenism and another form of exploitation. Organisations must ensure that leadership transitions, particularly when people of colour or people from the Global Majority step into these roles, are accompanied by the resources, recognition and structural support needed to sustain those roles.
Our learnings and recommendations
Allocating adequate resources from the outset
Planning appropriate budget allocations for interim leadership roles, including staff costs, team building and leadership development expenses and sharing these transparently before individuals step into the position.
Establishing clear decision-making processes and documentation ensuring that the voices and decisions of racialised leaders are respected, upheld and weighed equally to their white counterparts.
Recognising the additional pressures of dual roles
When racialised team members step into interim leadership while maintaining their previous roles, organisations must acknowledge the additional workload and the complex power dynamics involved; including both organisational hierarchies and racial power dynamics within the team.
Investing in anti-racism work
Providing anti-racism training, learning spaces and internal policies that actively address racial power dynamics across the organisation, not organised or facilitated by the racialised leaders and team members. To process global events after October 7, 2023, we organised internal workshops on anti-Muslim racism and Antisemitism.
Avoid recreating inequitable structures
Too often racialised team members are expected to accumulate roles and responsibilities while being paid less than their white counterparts or even more junior white colleagues. Representation without just structures is exploitation.
Our final reflections
This experience highlighted the complexity of feminist co-leadership in practice, but also the opportunities it brings, such as the chance to test out an executive leadership position without making a long-term commitment to it. We returned to our former positions with an enriched understanding of the organisation and its operations, experience which we will also bring to future work environments. In addition to this hands-on learning, the interim co-leadership period also allowed us to explore and develop our individual leadership styles further.
So, will there be challenges, difficult conversations and complicated decisions? Of course! The highly collaborative nature of co-leadership may bring some extra work, but it also brings rewards: a better work/life balance, a more accessible leadership opportunity, and less pressure on any one person to carry the whole load.
Continued explorations
In June 2025, Anusha Bharadwaj joined FAIR SHARE as Co-Executive Director, marking yet another new experience for FAIR SHARE, as the first Co-ED to be externally recruited. With Anusha based in India and Helene in Germany, it’s also the first time the Co-EDs have worked remotely.
Launched during the week following International Women’s Day 2026, this blog post is the first in a series on feminist leadership at FAIR SHARE. In the coming weeks, we will continue exploring the topic through reflections from our current Co-Executive Directors Helene and Anusha on their newly started co-leadership journey.
Ariane Alam (she/her) joined FAIR SHARE in March 2024, where she leads international and German communications and public relations. She is also responsible for developing a Donor Development framework and strategy.
She holds a Master’s degree in Political Sciences. With experience in international policies and feminist advocacy, Ariane has worked with organisations such as CFFP, Skateistan, and the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Division.
Sophia Seawell (she/her) has been at FAIR SHARE of Women Leaders since October 2020, first with a focus on international communications and is now leading strategic partnerships and community-building. She leads international fundraising, and manages the community of international Committed Organisations.
Sophia has an MA in Gender Studies and previously worked at international feminist fund Mama Cash.