Everyone talks about partnering but talking is very different than doing. Partnering is a new way of working and it can take time to realize that partnering requires a paradigm shift in how you work and adaptations in attitudes and behaviours.

Working in collaboration can be difficult, even when you're all in the same room, but how do you work with partners across multiple venues, technology barriers and even time zones?

Replay the webinar with Partnership Brokers Association Catherine Russ. In it she shares her belief that it is entirely possible for virtual partnering to be an opportunity rather than a problem – if we can use the challenges as drivers for breakthrough thinking and innovative practice.

Recently I was speaking with a colleague who was experiencing a common partnership challenge - I call it the “Partnership Drama Triangle.” This is a state I have adapted from David Emerald’s excellent book, The Power of TED (The Empowerment Dynamic). In the book he describes this drama phenomenon as the toxic three-way state, we can find ourselves in if we don’t pay attention to what’s actually happening. As with any triangle, it has three points – victim, persecutor and rescuer.

So often in partnerships we think that our success will be depend on one defining moment – a big win that changes everything. We often convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action. Then we put pressure on ourselves to make some earth-shattering improvement that everyone will talk about. In so doing, we underestimate the value of making small habit improvements and bringing them to life daily.

As partnership brokers, our work can range from bridging across partner organizations to delivering a specific project to systems change. How can we do our work in an anti-racist way?

Virtual collaborations are now a common occurrence with the global pandemic. Even after the pandemic subsides, virtual working is here to stay. How do we make sure partnerships are as effective while working online? A critical element is by building trust!

Overwhelming. Stressful. Uncertain. Passion. Hope. Change. These were the words used to describe 2020 that reflect both the profound challenge of the year, and the powerful hope that positive transformations will come out of it.

Although the path forward into 2021 may feel uncertain, one thing has never been clearer: to change the trajectory for the better, we must come together, collaborate, and form genuine partnerships. These efforts will support each other and leverage our joint strengths to co-create a more just, inclusive, and sustainable future that we all can share.

I am always looking for ways to strengthen partnerships and I found a great one in Nassim Taleb’s 2012 book, Antifragile. In it, ,Taleb shares the fact that there’s a big difference between being fragile, resilient, and antifragile. His idea is highly relevant for partnerships and offers an opportunity to learn how to see challenges as growth opportunities. What does this look like in the real world?

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson’s statement applies to partnerships, too – what a partnership decides to be is what it becomes! This simple but hard truth can be applied to many aspects of a partnership, but today I will apply it to power dynamics.

There is no roadmap to creating effective partnerships. No checklist, no simple, ten-step process. The good news is that building effective partnerships is not some mysterious secret that depends on hard-to-find geniuses. But a good compass is vital to help you and your partners on your quest. It can help get you started and support you during those inevitable times of disorientation, or even losing your way. A good compass can help you understand what direction you need to move towards.

Download Partnership Compass