Effective partnerships have the potential to create new and ground-breaking solutions to existing problems and add value to the beneficiaries, partners and community. So, what does it take to build effective and meaningful partnerships that drive positive change?
Effective partnerships require three essential and mutually supporting elements: a collaborative mindset, skillset and toolset.
Mindset: mental models, cultural attitudes, and ambient beliefs (often subtle or even invisible) that exist within the partnership.
Skillset: the collection of “meta-skills” that need to be contained within the partner group to keep the partnership running smoothly.
Toolset: the tools required to help the partnership achieve its objectives.
Without all three of these in place, working in concert, a failure to effectively partner is the likely outcome. Let’s explore each in more detail.
Collaborative Mindset is how you perceive working in partnership. It includes a set of beliefs and a habitual mental attitude that determines behaviour and outlook. Mindset drives the culture of a partnership and determines how partners will work together. A partnership mindset can be built through:
Intentionality: Being intentional about how the partnership is designed, managed and implemented is critical. This includes thinking through the whole partnering process, being selective about who becomes a partner, carefully co-creating the partnership work and spending time building strong relationships among partners.
Co-created partnership culture: A culture will exist in any partnership, whether it is defined or not. When partners take the time to jointly identify the core values and principles of their partnership and then work every day to make sure every partner member personifies these values, it makes the partnership more durable and strengthens outcomes.
Attention to the partner relationships: A collaborative mindset pays attention to the relationships between and among partners, understanding that gaining insights into the shared and individual interests and acknowledging and addressing conflicts and opportunities that arise, is an ongoing task that helps keep things moving forward.
Collaborative Skillset includes the partners’ capabilities and abilities, knowledge and understanding, and motivation and ability to use these capabilities and knowledge.
Soft skills: When we partner, we work with people from a variety of cultures, organizations and disciplines, whose worldviews and values are often markedly different from our own. This kind of work requires an increased focus on the "soft skills" such as listening, empathy, facilitating, and consensus building.
Connect the dots skills. Partners who are able to “connect the dots” are forward thinkers, innovators, and leaders. They have a unique ability to see the smallest of details while also keeping an eye the big picture. Dot-connectors are tuned in to key pieces of information and they understand the importance of how each relates to the others, often creating patterns that help build solutions or identify new opportunities.
Reflection skills: Reflecting on your partnership is about questioning, in a positive way, what the partnership is doing well and what needs to be improved. This is a key skill in ensuring continuous improvement of the partnership and its work.
Collaborative Toolset refers to the methods, techniques, approaches and frameworks that can create value and advance the partnership work. While there are many tools that can be used to help you get the results the partners jointly desire, they must be chosen for what is “fit for purpose”. This requires a deep understanding of the unique circumstances of the partnership at a given time.
The Partnership Cycle framework: This is a core framework used by the Partnership Brokers Association. We find it invaluable both as a big picture tool and as an on the ground, for “what’s needed now” tasks
“Fit for purpose” tools: There are a multitude of tools and techniques that can be used for any circumstances. The key skill is ensuring they can support the desired outcome. One of our favourite books/websites/apps is Liberating Structures. This site shares a host of techniques for different circumstances depending on what needs to be achieved.
By identifying and giving careful attention to all three of these essential elements— mindset, skillset and toolset effective partnerships can be built, positive outcomes can be achieved, and value added for the community, the beneficiaries and the partners!
Interested in strengthening your essential partnership elements? Sign up for the new online “Building Effective Partnerships” starting May 19, 2020.