Last time we explored the area of Accountability. Now we are going to take a look at Partnership, which we define as: ‘holding oneself to account for the success of each member of the team'.

But What do we Really Mean by ‘Partnership'?

Perhaps you've heard the story: There was a man who wanted to see both hell and heaven. He goes first to a land where all the people have delicious food to eat. But they have spoons longer than their arms, so they go hungry and suffer horribly. Then he goes to another place where everyone has the same wonderful food and the same long spoons. But here, they use the spoons to feed each other! This is the nature of hell and heaven, and the hair's breadth that divides them.

We use this parable, which exists in many cultures, to demonstrate the difference between what people normally call ‘partnership' and the partnership which could possibly exist in a team or an organisation of people working together. How would it be if you and everyone else in your team came to work committed to ensuring each other's success?

What Kinds of ‘Normal' Organisational Behaviour Would You No Longer See?

• You would never fingerpoint (or be fingerpointed at!)over failureto deliver a promise
• You could not be at ease with delivering results and getting recognition, when other members of your team had struggled to achieve their targets
• You would neversuffer from anxiety and overload, while other team memberswere happy, thriving and successful in their work

• The whole team takes accountability for everyone's results - if one team member is struggling to produce results, the whole team feels it has failed
• The leader is a full member of the team, not set apart from other team members in any way, though he has a specific role to fulfil. And it is their job to have him succeed, just as it is his to have them succeed
• The satisfaction, motivation and well being of other members of the team is just as much a part of your job as is achieving your targets
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  e Really Mean by ‘Partnership'?

  Perhaps you've heard the story: There was a man who wanted to see both hell and heaven. He goes first to a land where all the people have delicious food to eat. But they have spoons longer than their arms, so they go hungry and suffer horribly. Then he goes to another place where everyone has the same wonderful food and the same long spoons. But here, they use the spoons to feed each other! This is the nature of hell and heaven, and the hair's breadth that divides them.

  We use this parable, which exists in many cultures, to demonstrate the difference between what people normally call ‘partnership' and the partnership which could possibly exist in a team or an organisation of people working together. How would it be if you and everyone else in your team came to work committed to ensuring each other's success?

  What Kinds of ‘Normal' Organisational Behaviour Would You No Longer See?

  • You would never fingerpoint (or be fingerpointed at!)over failureto deliver a promise
  • You could not be at ease with delivering results and getting recognition, when other members of your team had struggled to achieve their targets
  • You would neversuffer from anxiety and overload, while other team memberswere happy, thriving and successful in their work
  In a team where the ‘long spoons' model of partnership exists:
  • The whole team takes accountability for everyone's results - if one team member is struggling to produce results, the whole team feels it has failed
  • The leader is a full member of the team, not set apart from other team members in any way, though he has a specific role to fulfil. And it is their job to have him succeed, just as it is his to have them succeed
  • The satisfaction, motivation and well being of other members of the team is just as much a part of your job as is achieving your target
    Entrepreneurs Understand how Opportunities Make Money
    number six in a series taken from:How to Evaluate and Profit from a Business Opportunity - The Entrepreneur's GuideIt's important that you understand how the business makes money. You must take that business down to its essence. For example banks make money by loaning it out at higher rates than it pays to get the money. What it pays to investors as interest, to its shareholders as dividends, and what it pays in interest to the other insti
    f hell and heaven, and the hair's breadth that divides them.

    We use this parable, which exists in many cultures, to demonstrate the difference between what people normally call ‘partnership' and the partnership which could possibly exist in a team or an organisation of people working together. How would it be if you and everyone else in your team came to work committed to ensuring each other's success?

    What Kinds of ‘Normal' Organisational Behaviour Would You No Longer See?

    • You would never fingerpoint (or be fingerpointed at!)over failureto deliver a promise
    • You could not be at ease with delivering results and getting recognition, when other members of your team had struggled to achieve their targets
    • You would neversuffer from anxiety and overload, while other team memberswere happy, thriving and successful in their work
    In a team where the ‘long spoons' model of partnership exists:
    • The whole team takes accountability for everyone's results - if one team member is struggling to produce results, the whole team feels it has failed
    • The leader is a full member of the team, not set apart from other team members in any way, though he has a specific role to fulfil. And it is their job to have him succeed, just as it is his to have them succeed
    • The satisfaction, motivation and well being of other members of the team is just as much a part of your job as is achieving your target
      Focus on Learning, Not Training
      Nearly every organization I have ever worked for or with has a serious problem with training. They concentrate on training rather than learning.The first indication of a problem is that the mediums chosen to impart learning are the poorest at retaining learning but are the easiest to organise.Learning retention rates vary depending on the medium that is used to impart the learning. The usual training methods of lectures, reading, audio vis
      ee?
      • You would never fingerpoint (or be fingerpointed at!)over failureto deliver a promise
      • You could not be at ease with delivering results and getting recognition, when other members of your team had struggled to achieve their targets
      • You would neversuffer from anxiety and overload, while other team memberswere happy, thriving and successful in their work
      In a team where the ‘long spoons' model of partnership exists:
      • The whole team takes accountability for everyone's results - if one team member is struggling to produce results, the whole team feels it has failed
      • The leader is a full member of the team, not set apart from other team members in any way, though he has a specific role to fulfil. And it is their job to have him succeed, just as it is his to have them succeed
      • The satisfaction, motivation and well being of other members of the team is just as much a part of your job as is achieving your target
        Naming Your Local Business
        Pothole Pictures: Normally this name wouldn't create a positive image for a movie theater. But in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, where glacial potholes in the Deerfield River running through the village are a cherished part of the landscape, the name works well.When naming a business whose geographical reach and clientele are mainly local, you can use nicknames, regional or city lore, local in-jokes and historical references that might be lost o
        s accountability for everyone's results - if one team member is struggling to produce results, the whole team feels it has failed
      • The leader is a full member of the team, not set apart from other team members in any way, though he has a specific role to fulfil. And it is their job to have him succeed, just as it is his to have them succeed
      • The satisfaction, motivation and well being of other members of the team is just as much a part of your job as is achieving your targets
      Why Should You, as a Leader, Create Partnership? You could argue that, in the presence of a powerful leader, partnership is unnecessary - you will get the job done with or without others' involvement. But in today's organisations, this is not sufficient. You might achieve the result,but at what cost? If you don't involve others, you leave them disempowered and demotivated. You don't train them in how to produce results. Your organisation is the poorer, and if you leave, your knowledge and skill leaves too.

      Then too, many organisations these days are moving to a matrix structure, where it is increasingly difficult for any one person to get the job done without involving others. In fact it's often positively destructive to focus single-mindedly on your own targets when so many others' success depends on your cooperation and involvement.

      Working in partnership maximises the chances of success for you, and for everyone else in the organisation. Leading the charge on a white charger is a very lonely position to be in, especially when you look round, and there's nobody behind you!