Boomer Leaders Should Learn to Share Their Power — Like I Did

I’m used to being in charge. For 14 years, I was a Louisiana state representative and prior to that served as deputy secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, the state’s largest agency. From 1994 to 2017, I was pastor of the Star Hill Church in Baton Rouge. And over the past 11 years, I have led the organization I founded — MetroMorphosis, a social enterprise that works with organizations and individuals to transform their communities.

Recently, though, I realized it was time for a change. I wasn’t ready to retire, but I sensed that the organization needed something different. I studied up on alternatives to traditional management and was especially intrigued by one: shared, intergenerational leadership. Not coincidentally, one member of the team was unquestionably a rising star.

Today, Sherreta Harrison and I are co-leads of MetroMorphosis. Sherreta, who began her nonprofit career at age 19 working in adult education, is a gifted and brilliant millennial. I’m a boomer. Together we practice intergenerational co-leadership.

We believe we’re operating on the cutting edge of an important shift in leadership dynamics. But we — well, largely I — had to overcome hurdles to effectively share power.

After 10 years as the only chief executive of MetroMorphosis, I had to make a critical maneuver to achieve co-leadership: moving over but not out. Simply put, I had to authentically make room for Sherreta’s partnership, leadership, and individuality. I wish I could spend the next few paragraphs extolling the dexterity with which I mastered this move. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

To be clear, I have an ego. There, I’ve said it. You don’t exist in public life for 40 years, most of them in leadership roles, without some sense of your own self-worth. Watching your vision become reality, and even go beyond your expectations, leads to a level of personal pride. Moving over requires relegating my pride to a place of lesser concern.

At its core, moving over is the intentional act of creating space for emerging leaders to further develop their leadership skills and support the organization’s continued growth — while also maintaining the knowledge of accomplished older leaders.

Our approach offers lessons for other mission-driven organizations that want to strengthen leadership capacity, increase organizational effectiveness, and approach sustainability.

Managing this new leadership dynamic requires more than letting go of ego. It requires pragmatic steps on the part of both the leader and the organization that will likely feel unfamiliar, even uncomfortable.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

Master the art of stepping back. For years, I was the face and voice of MetroMorphosis. Moving over has meant stepping back from that role so that my partner could step into it. Sometimes that involves being absent altogether.

For example, a long-term and valued partner organization recently decided to undertake a major shift in strategy. An important component of this shift involved the effective engagement of a significant number of key stakeholders. Having built the capacity to convene diverse stakeholders and help them build consensus over the years, MetroMorphosis is frequently sought after to assist in situations like this one.

Early on in discussions, we offered Sherreta as the point person for our organization. In the past, I would have led this effort. Cultivating the partnership and designing strategy would have been my responsibility alone.

The engagement process involved out-of-state travel and a dozen gatherings in Baton Rouge. I didn’t attend any of them. As a result, my partner’s skill at facilitating complex engagements and delivering valuable outcomes is now widely recognized among a diverse group of community members.

Transfer important relationships. Whatever MetroMorphosis is or does today is not the result of my effort alone. Many others have shared this journey, several of whom are still involved in some manner. Most of these individuals, including donors, partners, and volunteers, are in these roles because of their relationship with me.

To honor their commitment and investment, and to support the long-term strength of the organization, I’ve needed to share these relationships with my partner. This requires skill, tact, and patience. For instance, a group of six donors, who often give collectively to increase impact, are the product of 25 years of nuanced relationship building. Some were the result of family connections, others from my time in the legislature, and still others from my days as a pastor.

It has taken more than a year and several well-planned encounters to position Sherreta to navigate these connections on her own. She has had to start from scratch, getting to know people in formal conversations, at community events, and over lunch. She has had to take the time to build trust.

Embrace reciprocity. Co-leadership is about teaching and learning, guiding and following, giving and receiving — all in equal measure. This is not a mentoring relationship. To the contrary, this is an opportunity for both partners to expand their horizons.

I am continually intrigued and informed by Sherreta’s millennial wisdom — her insights into the values of her own and other generations, her perspectives shaped by different times and experiences. But to truly approach reciprocity, the dynamics of power must be disrupted. I am a 67-year-old man, and Sherreta is a 39-year-old woman. I am the founder and the only chief executive the organization has known. She began as a member of our community leadership cultivation effort and later was the contract program manager of a small grant.

To miss or ignore the historical, cultural, and perceived imbalances is to doom our shared journey from the beginning. Moments of unexplained tension have shown up between Sherreta and me at various times. We were only able to defuse that tension by acknowledging the inherent imbalances in our relationship.

Mastering the art of stepping back, transferring important relationships, and embracing reciprocity are just the important first steps in the evolving process of learning to lead together. But one thing is clear. MetroMorphosis is stronger and more powerful because Sherreta Harrison fully shares leadership with me. The way we function as a team, engage with partners, listen to the community, and ultimately hold ourselves accountable are all better because our leadership is better.

For all of this to be true, the most important act I could take was to move over … but not out.