There is a symmetry to partnership
Today I consider what it means to partner with. To be in partnership.
It is something I love doing more than almost anything.
Partnership implies the absence of a dominator hierarchy. We are in this together. No one person is the boss as a primus.
We may have different levels of authority within a partnership based on our skills and experience. And in the bringing of our natural and learned attributes to the partnership we can enable synergy to occur, where the sum of the whole is greater than the parts when considered separately.
Partnership is a dance, an orbit. It has a shape and movement. It does not include the archetype of the rescuer, martyr or victim.
There is a symmetry to partnership that is informed through action by all partners.
Therefore partnership is active. Passivity and dependency will cause the partnership to collapse. Dominance will cause it to explode.
In a healthy partnership, the full value of each partner is seen, acknowledged and honoured. There is a profound recognition that each individual is better for the partnering. This is key.
With you as my partner I am better. And with me as your partner you are better. If these conditions do not exist then it is not a healthy partnership.
A partner has your back when times are tough. A partner celebrates with enthusiasm when times are good. A partner asks the other to be bolder, bigger, and more whole…from a place of love.
A partner will not leave the room when the relationship is in hot water. The partnership matters to them more than being right or winning.
Good partnerships are rare. They take an investment of time and attention. Both partners have to want it to work very much.
Great partnerships unleash magic, invite synchronicity and enable exponential possibility.
February 13th 2018
Photo Taken January 3rd 2015
