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Dismantling patriarchal systems with non-hierarchical leadership
By Katie Didyk and Song Sha, Collective Managers at Times Change Women’s Employment Service
As the nonprofit sector endures ongoing changes in their environment, we’re being called on to work in new ways. Reimagining Leadership is a project exploring what the future possibilities are for leadership in the nonprofit sector by engaging with those who are approaching it in bold, and diverse ways.
What if the best form of leadership is to not have a traditional leader at all? No single person at the top, but rather a collective body that solves problems, approves budgets, and brainstorms strategic plans together? This is the case for us at Times Change Women’s Employment Service, a grassroots movement-turned-agency that’s transforming the typical patriarchal power structure found in the nonprofit industry. Annually, we support 1,200 women in finding meaningful, dignified, and well-paying employment.
Often shortened to simply Times Change, we were founded on a revolutionary non-hierarchical model, abolishing top-down leadership, and instead opting to lead by collective decision-making. We take shared responsibility for the outcomes of our decisions, both good and bad, and lean on each other for support.
Life without an Executive Director (ED)
The responsibilities of a traditional ED are split amongst the Collective. We divide up the roles of an Executive Director amongst our frontline staff. For example, we have an Employment Counsellor, who’s also our Employment Ontario Liaison, and an Education Counsellor who is our liaison with the United Way. Two other members of the Collective represent the organization at board meetings.
The Non-Hierarchical Model has also had a positive impact on funder engagement. This drives confidence as funders notice that each of the Collective members knows what’s happening at the agency level. They also get quicker responses from us, which helps build stronger relationships.
No silos in collective leadership
At Times Change, all voices are valued, regardless of tenure or past experience. Each of the ten members of the Collective — what we call full-time staff — are both frontline workers and managers. Every member is on the ground and in management meetings, providing quicker responses to immediate issues, and higher levels of detail.
We’re often asked how we’re able to make decisions effectively and efficiently with so many leaders at the table. The thing is, we’ve come up with a diplomatic system that works for us. This ultimately leads to increased buy-in and expediency as all members move forward in confidence. An example of this was during the pandemic when uncertainty affected many organizations. While some ED’s in the sector were burning out, we stayed resilient by sharing the load, and leveraging each of our individual strengths. Because of this, we were recognized with a leadership award for our effectiveness in navigating the pandemic.
Non-hierarchical systems and staff retention
Times Change attracts talent in all capacities, from staff to board to volunteers, with its radical leadership model, feminist positioning, and equity idealism. This has led to an ability to retain talent for years, even decades, despite the sector’s staffing crisis.
One of the success-factors for this high degree of retention is that we are clear in what we represent, leading candidates to easily envision if this model is right for them from the onset. We are also transparent about our wages, as every member of the Collective is paid the same. This level of equity is vastly unheard of but is indicative that we are sharing both labour and financial growth.
By sharing leadership, labour, and wages, staff directly see their efforts flourish. We believe this is why Times Change has become a gold standard for staff retention in the sector.
The need for collectivism in leadership
Applying the lessons of a non-hierarchical model doesn’t mean an organization needs to adapt to it fully. Many organizations can benefit from implementing key components, such as creating safe spaces to share ideas, praising accomplishments, enabling transparency, building support systems, and empowering staff. Bringing multiple heads to the table adds so much value, it brings perspective, and keeps staff engaged.
Innovative organizations need innovative solutions, and alternative ways of leading is how we’ll get there. So, maybe it’s not about a leader, but rather a group of leaders that moves the sector further together.
NOTE: Since initial writing, Katie Didyk has left Times Change after 20 years. We are wishing her the best on the next stage of her career!
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