If you can see it, you can be it — how role models, mentors and the right partner make job sharing work
In Episode 39 of Jobshare Stories, Laura spoke to Linsey Craike and Megan Bradish, Deputy Directors in Department of Health and Social Care. Together for just over four years, Megan is Linsey's second job share partner — which made for a particularly fascinating conversation about what it takes to find the right person, how to transition between job shares, and the profound difference that visible role models make in normalising job sharing across an organisation.
Megan Bradish & Linsey Craike - Deputy Directors in the Department for Health & Social Care
Seeing it before you need it
One of the most striking things about Linsey's story is how early the jobsharing seed was planted. Long before she had children or was thinking about flexible working, she was line managed by a jobshare pair — who were themselves line managed by another jobshare pair. Jobsharing was simply a visible, normal part of how her organisation worked.
That early exposure mattered enormously. When Linsey returned from maternity leave and found that four days a week wasn't working — she was logging on during her baby's nap times, feeling stretched and out of balance — she remembered those early role models. Jobsharing, she thought, might be the answer.
For Megan, the story was similar. She'd been working three days a week on her own in a demanding role and found it unsustainable — stressful for her, pressurised for her manager and her team. Jobsharing felt like the sustainable solution she'd been looking for. And when a senior colleague spotted that both she and Linsey were returning from maternity leave at almost the same time, and thought they'd be a good match, the pieces fell into place.
The power of the matchmaker
Both of Linsey's job share partnerships came about through people who knew her well enough to spot a potential match — a mentor, a line manager, a trusted senior colleague. It wasn't luck exactly, but it wasn't a formal system either. And that, she reflects, is both the beauty and the limitation of how jobsharing tends to work.
There used to be a matching tool available across the Civil Service that helped people connect with potential partners, but unfortunately it no longer exists. Both Linsey and Megan feel strongly that something like it should be reinstated – because the talent is there, the interest is there, but without infrastructure to bring people together, too much depends on knowing the right person at the right moment. This is consistent with what we see across our work at The Jobshare Revolution – so often, the opportunity to jobshare is a matter of luck – and we’re on a mission to change that!
For Megan & Linsey, the good news is that when the match is made thoughtfully — by someone who knows both individuals well — the results can be transformational. In both of Linsey's partnerships, the person who made the introduction understood not just the role, but the people. That kind of human intelligence is hard to replicate in a matching algorithm, but it's exactly what organisations should be trying to build into their culture.
Starting a new jobshare — what actually works
When Megan joined as Linsey's second jobshare partner, she was new to jobsharing entirely. Linsey had an established blueprint from her previous partnership, but was flexible enough to adapt it. They kept what worked, dropped what didn't, and built something that was genuinely theirs.
The first few months involved talking to other job share pairs in the organisation, absorbing different approaches, and working out what suited them. But for all the variation in how different job shares operate, Megan identifies a few things that are universally non-negotiable: communication, handover discipline, and shared ways of working — from a single inbox and calendar to a shared understanding of how decisions get made.
They also came into a brand new role together, which Linsey reflects was actually quite a positive thing. They were both on unfamiliar ground, learning together, neither of them carrying the weight of existing relationships or established ways of doing things. It meant they could shape the role — and their partnership — from scratch.
The challenges of a fast-paced, high-pressure role
As Deputy Directors leading a busy policy team, Linsey and Megan's role is demanding. The work is fast-paced. Their team needs support and guidance throughout the week regardless of whose day it is. There is no pausing for the weekend.
But this is precisely where job sharing delivers. Megan describes the experience of knowing that when it's really tough on a Tuesday, someone else is coming in to take the baton on Wednesday. That built-in resilience isn't just a personal benefit — it's an organisational one. The team always has leadership presence. The work keeps moving. And crucially, neither Linsey nor Megan has to sacrifice the other important things in their lives to make that happen.
"Job sharing brings enormous resilience. I personally find having somebody who really shares the issue with you, and who wants to solve it as much as you do, who you can bounce ideas off — that's invaluable."
Two brains, they both agree, are mostly better than one. As long as they're adding to each other's thinking rather than contradicting each other, the quality of the output is better than either could achieve alone.
Top tips — from four years of doing it well
After four years together, Linsey and Megan have developed a clear sense of what makes job sharing work. Their top tips:
Invest in the handover. This is the invisible engine of a successful job share. Linsey spends time on a Sunday getting across everything she needs to know before the week begins. Megan does the same before her working days. It's time that others don't see — the paddling beneath the surface — but without it, the seamless front wouldn't be possible. The key is going into it with eyes open: the handover is an investment, and it's worth making.
Get the right partner from the outset — and be honest if it isn't working. Choosing the right partner matters. Megan talks about the importance of professional respect and personal rapport — you need to rate them and like them and know that you share values and approaches, so you trust their judgement when you're not in the room. Linsey adds that it's worth being prepared to acknowledge if it isn't working. Like any partnership, knowing when to step back is important too.
Carve out time together.On a busy handover day, it can be tempting to divide and conquer — both dashing off to separate meetings and barely seeing each other. Linsey and Megan try to protect at least an hour together each week to talk through the big issues: where are we, where are we trying to go, what's on our minds? It's in those conversations that misalignment surfaces — and gets resolved before it becomes a problem.
Share a jobshare contract with your team and manager.Linsey and Megan have a document that sets out how they work together, what people can expect from them, and how to flag it if things aren't working. When their new manager joined — someone who hadn't managed a job share before — those conversations were invaluable. You can't assume everyone knows what to expect from a job share. Setting it out clearly at the start makes everything smoother.
Create a feedback loop. One of the risks of a job share is that you're the last to know if something's going wrong. If a team member is having to repeat information to both partners, or if expectations aren't being met, it's often those around you who notice first. Making it easy and normal for people to give feedback — and actively asking for it — is how you catch things early.
Megan and Linsey are fantastic role models – and their story is an excellent example of the ripple effect of visibility. Linsey was inspired by job sharers she saw early in her career and now she and Megan are Deputy Directors — senior, visible, successful. The next generation of civil servants is watching. And if they can see it, they can be it.
Want to hear more?
To hear Linsey and Megan's full story — including how their partnerships came together, their advice on finding the right job share partner, and how they navigate a fast-paced senior role as a pair — search for Jobshare Stories wherever you get your podcasts.
To find out more about how jobsharing could transform your organisation, get in touch at hello@TheJobshareRevolution.co.uk
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