When Collaborations Flounder

Great collaborative partnerships are created, not found. Creating a profitable collaboration requires great self awareness at all times.

Often it takes a relationship fallout for us to stop and reflect carefully so we can transform ourselves. What a relationship fallout asks of us is to discover more about we are and what we are truly committed to.

If you've defined a profitable project, selected a well suited collaboration partner, and negotiated a best deal possible, then likely your project is faltering because of competing commitments. 

Competing commitments are the other things we need to do to run our lives. They too take our time, energy and resources. We all have competing commitments. In fact if you don't have any, it's a sign you are playing too small a game. So we need a way to address competing commitments. And the best way  personal reflection.

Personal reflection is rewarding on many levels because it puts you into a position of personal responsibility. It helps you remember how great you are and what you can provide to make the project work. It also helps you discover what is getting in the way of giving the project your all. 

Your courage is in the commitment. Share your reflections and have open honest communication with your collaboration partner about the mutual support you need from each other to make the project succeed. Renegotiate if need be so you keep the win-win going. When you are self aware of your competing commitments, you can then recommit to the project and get on with it. 

Without relationship difficulties, how else can we become a great collaboration partner? We really cannot. The secret is to make it personal first, discover and address competing commitments, and then communicate with one another our recommitment to the partnership and the project.

Jennifer Beale helps leaders build strategic partnerships for business growth. Her clients call her "the Queen of Connecting," "formidably connected," and an "ace" at matching people. Jennifer cuts through the networking confusion so you build the right connections fast. An award winning networker and event producer, her connection strategies have helped hundreds of business professionals earn hundreds of millions of dollars.

If you want to get more referrals and build strategic partnerships, Jennifer leads workshops, trainings, and interactive keynotes. Her ideas have been featured in major media including the National Post and on Global TV. If you're looking to get bigger results in a shorter amount of time through strategic partnerships, connect with Jennifer at https://www.JenniferBeale.com