Partnership

In life and in leadership partnership is truly dedicating yourself to the development and growth of the other just as much as your own growth and development. It is caring about the other just as much as you care about yourself. It is being able to depend on that person to support you in your ups and downs and providing that same level of support. In all of this it is developing an awareness of the other with the intent of supporting and appreciating them enough to want to partner with them but then also applying emotional intelligence skills to create a healthy partnership. This includes good communication, developing a sense of support, respect, appreciation, and trust. 

At the root of all partnership is trust and that requires opening up to being your true self, voicing what it is most important to you, not arguing over the little things, and creating an environment where it is safe for the other to voice what is true for them, disagree with your opinions and/or thoughts, and truly feel like they can be supported by you. As a leader it is imperative to have these skills so that others will want to be influenced by you, follow you when you have a vision, and truly feel safe to be their authentic self. In the end if they feel like this they will want to follow you to the ends of the earth as it feels good to be around you and they are moving towards the vision that they feel also fits their needs, dreams, and skills as well.

As leaders pick the right people to partner with (e.g. - with similar goals, values, ideas, and vision) but also enhance your emotional intelligence skills so that when you find those partners you can truly work with them to develop a healthy way of interacting so that it is safe and nurturing for the both of you. How are you interacting in your partnerships? Is there anything you need to tweak to make them better?