Reflections on returning to co-leadership
Co-CEOs Leyla and Yeri reflect on the past year, having returned to a co-leadership model within Routes. Co-leadership is becoming increasingly common in the charity sector, which we love to see, but there are still some people who see it as a luxury. This blog shares why it works for us, why we think it’s more of a fundamental than a nice-to-have, and why we’re committed to it as a model going forwards.
It comes as no surprise that this past year at Routes has, once again, been jam-packed, full of several big milestones as well as hundreds of small, thoughtful acts that nurture our ever-growing community. Despite an intensifying political and social climate towards refugees and asylum seekers, including a rising tide of hostile immigration policy and anit-immigration protests, and shrinking funding and resources for refugee-specific causes, our programmes have continued supporting refugee and asylum-seeking women to achieve, or get closer to, their education and employment goals.
As we prepare our 2025/26 impact report, it's easy enough to show the numbers; how many women we've worked with, how our programmes have expanded and evolved. What's much harder to capture in a report though, is everything that sits behind those numbers: the effort it takes, year after year, to stay responsive, responsible and ambitious in a climate like this.
So the honest answer to what actually got us through is: an inspiring and dedicated team, a supportive board, an insightful Lived Experience Leadership Group, the compassion of our volunteers, reciprocity with our partners and funders, and a deep commitment to the cause and community we support. And crucially, one very important decision about how we choose to lead: the return to a co-leadership model.
The case for co-leadership
Despite co-leadership growing in popularity, we know that some people have concerns about it; they say it leads to slower decision-making, the difficulty of splitting responsibilities cleanly, the risk of mixed signals to funders or staff. But our experience has taught us the opposite: co-leadership makes us more effective, resilient and sustainable.
We recently started recruiting for maternity cover for our co-CEO role, and this has led us to reflect on why we made the decision to return to it, and why we’re committed to continuing it despite the increasing challenges that are being faced by our sector.
Better decisions, made together.
No single person holds all the perspective, experience, or expertise a growing organisation needs. Having two CEOs means every major decision is pressure-tested by someone who sees it differently before it reaches the board or the team. What comes out the other side is sharper than either of us could have produced alone.
A model that mirrors our values.
We aim for reciprocity and collaboration to sit at the centre of everything we do, in how we work with the women we support, our Lived Experience Leadership Group, our partners, our volunteers. Co-leadership means our senior leadership actually practises what the rest of the organisation is built on, rather than being the one place where it stops.
Sustainable leadership, in an unsustainable sector.
Running a small, values-led charitable organisation in this political and financial climate is relentless. Co-leadership means neither of us is carrying that weight alone, which is crucial to avoiding burnout and keep going for the long run. It also means there's someone who understands the specific pressure of the role, who can share the load, catch what the other misses, and support each other’s wellbeing.
Increasing organisational stability and momentum
Co-leadership means we’re more able to weather uncertainty, and this year has definitely shown us that. Whether faced with periods of sickness or absence, a changing political landscape, funding and partnership losses, or opportunities for new and exciting projects, having two people at the helm keeps us stable and gives us a better foundation to move forwards from. We think of it like riding a bicycle instead of a unicycle!
Co-leadership is not a solution to everything, and a lot of it’s success depends on the relationship built between the two individuals themselves. It requires trust, honesty, vulnerability, and a willingness to do the ongoing work of maintaining a relationship under pressure. As we head into the next chapter - welcoming maternity cover into our leadership, navigating an increasingly difficult funding landscape, and continuing to show up for the women who deserve so much more than the world is currently offering them - we do so knowing that we are not doing it alone. In this respect, co-leadership is part of the reason we believe we can keep going.
