tbaari October 16, 2020“Alone we can do little, together we can do so much.” This global truth is shared by cultures and communities that are separated by distance as great as the ones that kept Keller isolated as a deaf and blind girl. “ If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, walk together” is an African proverb that also echoes the same learning.
Partnership is a way of thinking, a mindset, an art and a science. Partnership is an adage that “together, we can do more”,one on her own is not good enough. Partnership invites commitments, eliminates pessimism and encourages a feeling of ownership, responsibility and pride.
Through coming together, businesses recognize problems and clearly find solutions-together. Partnerships leads to mutual respect across the various levels, business, groups and communities. Partnership offers enormous advantages to all agencies and businesses across sectors.
Through partnerships, agencies get to define the problem, plan strategically with co-partners and potential co-partners, explore collective solutions, implement and evaluate their options and results. Pitfalls are common and should be expected. However, cohesive partners should be able to come up with amicable solutions.
In order for organizations to build and enjoy the power of partnerships, the various entities should;
Establish ground rules;
It’s necessary to set expectations. It is important to set out clear objectives, a plan on how to achieve them and the benefit of doing that-both for the partnerships as a whole and for individual partners. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities creates accountability within the partnership and helps to prevent misunderstanding.
The partners should be explicit about how they expect to have things done in their partnership to avoid making assumptions. Assumptions are dangerous and destructive in a lot of partnerships especially when things are not going as planned.
Open and honest conversation, early in the partnering process about the partner expectations of the partnership will be great to avoid tension, confusion and/ or conflict, in future.
Communication;
Communication is critical in any form of partnership. Partners ought to keep the lines of communication open. This includes asking questions and seeking clarification where necessary. This will ensure that partners are on the same page.
The ways in which partners communicate can make or break a partnership. Trust is crucial-open and honest conventional achieve partner buy-in and encourage commitment to the partnership at a deeper level.
For most partnerships, lack or poor communication is the single most reason why partnerships fail. Partners should therefore clarify their preferred means of communication and time. Regular communication with business partners will radically increase chances of success and enhance better relations between partners.
Give more than you take;
Business partners should seek ways to give more than they receive in their dealings and interactions. When partners approach partnerships with this philosophy, they have a better chances at successful partnerships.When partners feel like like they are contributing to the partnership, then they will remain interested and committed which will make partners more inclined to contribute.
Creating partnerships therefore involves identifying shared value and leveraging the combined strengths of each partners to achieve a level of impact that could not be accomplished by either of the partners independently. This therefore means that the partners have to consider why and how they need to go into partnership as a means to unlock their total potential.
Whereas each partner is unique, there are commonalities that link the most successful ones hence setting a clear case for partnership from the onset hence critical for success-establish the need for partnership and identify what is required for it to be successful.
Partnership translates values into action, striving to make a difference in the various sectors business partners operate in through developing authentic partnerships that are grounded in mutual trust and respect for shared values and goals.
Through these authentic, mutually beneficial partnerships with various partners in public, private sectors or with non-profits, impact is enhanced-organizations achieve more by working together.
Two heads are better than one, so the saying goes. And that is certainly true in the business world where a collaborative approach can hold the key to scaling impact, innovation and solving complex challenges.
Article By:
Andrew Kiserema,
Freelance Writer, Blogger & Customer Experience Practitioner.
