Despite my intentions to stay focused on launching new materials into the world, the last couple of weeks have seen a flurry of activity around forming partnerships. When I look at the very real challenges we are facing today and the urgency with which they need to be addressed, establishing relationships might seem like the last thing we should spend time doing. However, I’m reminded of something Jim Selman often says: “Relationships are the foundation of success.”
 
The world today is too complex, too fast, too interconnected for any of us to be able to solve—let alone see—everything in its totality. When we try to do things alone, we can be blindsided by things we are unaware of or cannot see from our limited point of view. If we are to succeed, we can only do so by sharing our perspectives, by listening to each other generously, by embracing everyone’s concerns and creating a collective vision that addresses them all. We will succeed by making sure we’re aligned before we move into action. That is why Obama’s actions before his inauguration inspire me with hope. I am, in my own way, mirroring his gradual gathering of people around him to ensure success—I am committed to taking the time to establishing my own team of partners, allies and advisors.
 
As I look at all the opportunities for partnership I have been presented with in my life, I am more and more aware that success happened when I took time to get to know the person well—who they are, what they’re committed to, what they’re up to in the world and what their concerns and issues were. It’s only then that I could see whether working side by side with them would benefit us both, whether what we wanted to achieve would best be done together, and whether they were someone I wanted to ‘play the game of life’ with.
 
For me, at the end of the day, success of a partnership is not something I leave to others to measure. Whether we succeed or fail, we’ll have done what we did. We’ll have learned what we learned. We’ll have grown in the ways we grew. I measure the success of a partnership in the moment by asking myself whether we are both enjoying exploring the possibilities we represent for each other. Whether we are having fun with what we are doing—and our relationship—every step of the way. Whether we share the challenges, the breakdowns, the excitement and the glories with each other. Whether we express our gratitude for the opportunity to share our journey. Whether being partners makes our lives richer.
 
In every case, together beats alone—hands down.
 
So I am relaxing into what the Universe is presenting me with—opportunities for relationship—and seeing each person as possibility. And trusting that the materials will be produced at the perfect time for us all to be successful.

Written by eldering at Leadership

Tagged with: partnership possibility relationship success time