“There is only one prediction about the future that I feel confident to make. During this period of random and unpredictable change, any organization that distances itself from its employees and refuses to cultivate meaningful relationships with them is destined to fail. Those organizations who will succeed are those that evoke our greatest human capacities - our need to be in good relationships, and our desire to contribute to something beyond ourselves. These qualities cannot be evoked through procedures and policies. They only are available in organizations where people feel trusted and welcome, and where people know that their work matters.”

Margaret J. Wheatley,
Finding Our Way: Leadership For an Uncertain Time

FROM COUNTRIES TO COMPANIES
WE RELATE TO EACH OTHER AS ADVERSARIES

IN THE UNITED STATES:

• Corporate scandals rock our most trusted establishments.
• Exclusion, secrecy and division pervade our political process.
• Attack advertisements override possibilities of collaboration.
• Outsourcing of jobs undermines trust and loyalty.
  

IN BUSINESS:

• People work in silos…divided and excluded.
• Distrust, frustration and complaint are the prevailing attitudes.
• Fear of conflict, turf wars and downsizing stifle honesty and integrity.
• Long hours and lack of recognition thwart innovation.
• Lack of company loyalty has created a war of talent.
• “People are a dime a dozen” leaves workers resigned and defeated.
  

“Something big is happening in American culture at the moment. We are on the cusp of what sociologists might call a Great Awakening. If we sell or market products or manage people, we’d better pay heed to this trend”.

Rich Karlgaard, Digital Rules
Forbes Magazine, April 2004

We, at The Partnership Advantage, are pioneering the move from employee, stakeholder, etc. to partner. In today’s climate it is vital that employees “own” their job and their work in a cohesive and collaborative way. Key to accomplishing this requires that people operate as powerful partners throughout every organization…from the CEO to the line workers. In a partnership culture the work environment becomes satisfying, productive and profitable.

The conscious and deliberate way of relating
that provides trust and respect so that
the unique gifts of each person are
realized, expressed and contributed.

We engage with profit and not-for-profit businesses and organizations that are committed to bring about the “partnership culture” as their way of operating. Below are the basic programs we offer, all of which are customized to meet the needs of our clients.

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THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS

1. PRACTICES FOR PARTNERSHIP

This pivotal program introduces and teaches the seven distinctions, or fundamental principles, of committed partnerships. When these principles are practiced on a consistent basis, the results are extraordinary levels of teamwork, increased organizational speed and agility, superior productivity and performance, and a more enriching and satisfying work environment. These fundamentals are not merely steps to take but rather, form a new paradigm from which to think and act so that people can work together powerfully toward a shared vision of the future.

2. PARTNERHIP IN ACTION

This course is designed as an intervention with a work team to instill the practices for partnership through action learning activities. In so doing, the team enhances their communication skills, learns to operate accountably, deepens their trust and appreciation for each other and renews their commitment to a powerful future. This program can include monthly follow-up sessions to ensure that the practices are integrated and become the team’s natural way of operating.

3. MODELING PARTNERSHIP

This specially tailored intensive for executive management ensures that they model the behaviors and create the environment necessary to operate from a partnership culture. This program also includes TPA coaches attending key executive management meetings to empower the executives to walk the talk of partnership.

4. CUSTOMERS AS PARTNERS

This 2 ½ day program shifts the attention of any service organization from what can be accomplished within the constraints of the current conditions to full out customer service and satisfaction. In comprehensive and authentic conversations, the truth about the way customers are treated is revealed. A new context of accountability is then established, the practices necessary for creating customers as partners are taught and people take on the work necessary to fully satisfy the customer.

5. PLANNING FOR PARTNERSHIP: Your Best Year Yet

Your Best Year Yet is a fast-paced, easy process that provides a simple and powerful way for committed partners to plan for success. This one-day program has proven to be inordinately useful for individuals, teams and entire organizations. It provides a safe and meaningful assessment of past experiences and learned lessons, awakens individuals and teams to how they prevent and inhibit their own achievement, and finally enables them to overcome those barriers and design powerful, specific goals for the year.

6. FOLLOW UP

All of the “Power of Partnership” programs can include customized follow-up courses, meetings or coaching designed to fit the needs of the specific situation, people or organization.

7. COACHING

Individual, partner and team coaching is available upon request, via telephone or in person, on an hourly or daily basis.

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THE PRACTICES

Based on years of research and experience in the public and private sectors, we employ advanced partnership practices including:

Being Accountable

Listening Intentionally

Speaking Effectively

Authentically Apologizing

Honoring Your Commitments

Clearing up Commitments

Handling Upsets Accountably

Expressing Appreciation

THE BENEFITS

• Tap into people’s natural desire be inspired, make a difference and work with others creating results they can be proud of.
• Provide people with the skills to form powerful partnerships that grow and strengthen even in the face of adversity.
• Shift ordinary work groups into championship teams that communicate effectively, resolve historical and current conflicts, trust one another and appreciate each other’s contribution.
• Develop an environment in which people view management as an ally and are motivated to work together in powerful partnerships to fulfill a shared future.
• Empower people in committing themselves to producing extraordinary results, increased personal satisfaction and enhanced relationships.
• Attract, harness and retain valuable talent thereby reducing the cost of turn over and establishing an abundance of explosive and expanding genius.
• Satisfy customers and employees alike by partnering in the invention of a “true service” environment from the inside out.

THE RESULTS

The following are time tested and consistent results, however, additional unpredictable benefits often occur.

• LOYALTY
  When people are given a new framework for relating as powerful partners and the skills to create them, they deliver only their best work. They tap into that elusive quality of spirit that makes for champions and championship teams. The ability to operate at this level creates a loyalty between the workforce and the company.
• OWNERSHIP
  Today’s employees want responsibility and the opportunity to experience the success of the organization as their own. They want to be able to operate without the need for strict controls, the freedom to act quickly and the experience of making a meaningful contribution. In a partnership environment, people step up to levels of ownership neither they nor the company would ever have dreamed possible.
• COLLABORATION
  When people have the framework and skills for creating powerful partnerships, internal politics and turf wars are replaced by an appreciation for diversity and the commitment to a shared vision. People naturally cooperate. They willingly take accountability and support each other in being accountable, not to point the finger, but from the commitment to each other’s growth and each other’s goals.
• EXTRAORDINARY PRODUCTIVITY
  The practices, that are the foundation of powerful partnerships, help people to self-correct quickly, to unleash their creativity and imagination, and to resolve problems in ways that open up new possibilities, save time and produce remarkable and often unpredictable results.
• CUSTOMER LOYALTY
  When a company operates from a partnership culture everyone is beneficiary, including the company’s customers. As service agents are treated with trust and respect they naturally grant that to the customers they serve. The agents find ways to delight and amaze customers….often moving past the expectations of the customer. As a result, partnerships are built and return business is inevitable.

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