Character & Collaborations

Forming profitable collaborations is a fast way to get new clients. Your cornerstone is a profitable project. You then need to find the right people. Here’s some qualities to consider when selecting collaborative partners:

1. Curious: Curiosity drives exploration and learning, sparking new ideas and perspectives. Curiosity opens the door to innovative solutions and reveals unforeseen opportunities, enriching the creative process.

2. Authentic: Authenticity fosters trust and transparency, laying the foundation for genuine connection and productive communication. People who are authentic share ideas openly and provide honest feedback. This builds strong bonds.

3. Honest: Honesty cultivates trust, essential for maintaining mutual respect and resolving conflicts effectively. By collaborating with honest partners, you create a culture of trust where feedback is constructive and decisions are made with clarity and integrity.

4. Conscientious: Mark Twain said there are two types of people: “People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.” Conscientious people tend to be reliable and diligent, and get things done, delivering quality work. When collaborating with conscientious partners, you can count on your project not only getting done well – but also achieving desired results.

5. Compassionate: Compassion eliminates judgment and criticism of others. When you each foster a supportive and inclusive environment, trust builds rapidly. Life is filled with difficulties and so when you partner with compassionate individuals, when the project gets misaligned or it’s a struggle to figure out something, kindness is like honey, sweetening your connection till you regain flow.

6. Generous: Generosity begets generosity. This week I witnessed one of my collaboration partners give generously to one of my clients – all in the midst of my client sharing generously with us. Collaborating with generous partners fosters a spirit of abundance, where ideas are freely exchanged, and contributions are valued and appreciated. And that then leads to flow. Fuel flow with generosity always. And if you ever feel stuck in your project, being generous will open the floodgates every time.

7. Committed: Commitment demonstrates dedication and perseverance, essential for overcoming challenges and achieving shared goals. By collaborating with committed partners, you can rely on their steadfastness and determination, driving progress and momentum in the collaborative process.

8. Grateful: Gratitude is when you see what you have instead of what you don’t. Appreciation and recognition ignite energy and build enthusiasm for the success of your project. Celebrate your individual and combined achievements, and your relationship will strengthen through mutual respect and acknowledgment.

Of course what we ask of others we must ask of ourselves. A profitable collaboration, therefore, is not just a great way to achieve your goals. If you let it, the project becomes a transformative journey where both you and your collaborator become more who you were born to be: Curious, Authentic, Honest, Conscientious, Compassionate, Generous, Committed, and Grateful.

Mahatma Gandhi shared “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Have fun finding potential collaborators. And mostly have fun being as much the brilliant person you are granted. 

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