Get Out of the Patriarchal Box and Share Leadership

[This story is a part of a blog series – Return to the main blog]

Just as the government isn’t monolithic, Mónica and Teresa decided from the beginning that they did not want to have a hierarchical organization under one CEO. They pioneered the co-director model long before it caught on among progressive groups in Mexico and elsewhere.

Teresa and Mónica credit their shared leadership and rich relationship as essential to Centro Mujeres’ success. The two leaders are in constant conversation and dialogue with each other, their community, Board, advisors, and allies.

They see the issues from different vantage points: Mónica is the public health expert, Teresa, the experienced NGO administrator. Their diversity of experience pays off in several ways:

• Organizational stability — having the technical skills to be credible and to gain funding
• Strategy — thinking through communicating with politicians and community members before conversations happen
• Benefits for partners, constituents, and allies — staying connected with the community and with colleagues, supporting each other for the long haul.