When Two Co-CEOs Share One Scorecard

Two names on the door can work. Two private scorecards cannot. Most co-CEO pain is not chemistry. It is a board that wanted both people and refused to say who owns cash, people, and the external voice.

Coach the structure first. Personality work without a card is counselling.

Write the card in public

One page, shared with the chair: revenue, cash, risk, and the two or three operating metrics both will be judged on. If each co-CEO has a private dashboard, you already have two companies.

See How CFOs and CEOs talk past each other on capital allocation if finance is the silent third. See Executive Coaching Ethics & Confidentiality before one coach works with both.

Decision rights that prevent theatre

Domain	One owner	Shared	Tie-break
External voice	Named spokesperson	Major announcements	Chair
Capital above a line	Named owner	Below-line ordinary spend	Board
Hiring of direct reports	Split by function	The other is informed	Chair if blocked
Firing in ExCo	The people owner	Both hear it first	Chair
Product bets	Product owner	Cash owner can stop	Written kill rule

When to unwind the model

Unwind it when the organisation starts routing around one of them, when the chair becomes a weekly referee, or when customers ask who is really in charge. That is a succession problem. Use Succession-Planning Coaching.

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