The truth of the matter

The most important issues of our times require partnership... climate change, integrated health services, housing, mental health.  No one organization, no matter how innovative, can make a dent in the complex challenges facing our society unless they partner.  And yet, sitting at tables with partners and allies can be one of the biggest time-sinks in the human-services world. It can be frustrating. It can be slow moving. Results are sometimes scarce and incremental. But it doesn't have to be that way.  Nor should it. Because an effective partnership, one well-managed yet adaptable, can move briskly, make decisions and deliver results on a scale that no organization alone could hope to achieve.

Expect to change

If you enter a partnership hoping to change the world out there but not your own organization, prepare for frustration. Too often, we see participants in promising endeavours tackle important system challenges, set ambitious goals, and then throw up their hands when they are unable to get extra funding to move forward. We watch skilled executives design elaborate work-around strategies to avoid holding their partners accountable to commitments. We see people at the table hide their interests and compromise process.

With the right partnership skills you can avoid these pitfalls. With the right expectations you can see the positive potential in change—and grasp it for the benefit of all.

Break through the boundaries

Partnership tables are public arenas. People often feel constrained, unable to act on their instincts, weighed down by concerns their own organizations won't follow or by their own uncertainty about how to act. Understanding partnership as a discipline provides new perspectives and skills that allow you to break through these resistances and act—and engage—more effectively.