We recently read through Stephen Covey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The truths laid out in this book, written over 30 years ago, have transformed how we think about personal growth, company growth, and, yes, even partnerships. As we grow at CoPort, seeking to help companies grow through partnerships, we took the content in that timeless book and applied it to what we do everyday.
We're going to take the next several blogs to lay out each habit, provide inspiration, and then give practical application so you, and I, can grow as partner leaders.
Because we know that when we get better with partnerships, our companies win.
"What is synergy? Simply defined, it means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It means that the relationship that the parts have to each other is a part in and of itself. It is not only a part, but the most catalytic, the most empowering, the most unifying, and the most exciting part.” - Stephen Covey
Partnerships thrive in synergy. So many of our campaigns declare “Better Together!” and then in practice it’s hard to elevate the relationship to actually “better together.” There can easily be an undercurrent of “we make this partnership” successful, rather than through cooperation and trust elevating the sum of the partnership’s parts. In order for our communication to be synergistic, we must build a greater level of cooperation and trust. Partnerships thrive in openness and transparency, and what psychologists call “psychological safety.” It means we are safe to talk through our questions and our challenges of each other for the purpose of growth and elevating both sides.
It means we believe in another way—a third way. It’s easy to think that when one party brings their idea and the other brings theirs, both end up with 2 ideas. But in synergistic relationship, 1 plus 1 doesn’t equal 2, but 3 or 10 or 100. Exponential growth comes in the sharing of ideas when we’re looking for a 3rd way, or a better way—that can only come when both parties are practicing all the previous habits. New ideas get birthed out of collaboration and trusting the other side. It comes out in our quarterly business meetings where we dream of what’s possible together, and conduct post mortem to our events and campaigns we’ve run.
Stephen Covey says this is a transformation. “Instead of a transaction, it’s a transformation. They get what they both really want and build their relationship in the process.”