2 | Building Cross-Cultural Intelligence
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synergy. It is as if they create energy larger than themselves, an unspoken connection that helps them
succeed.
The Benefits of Partnering
• Increase capacity
• Increase quality
• Increase access to resources
• Boost innovation
• Gain support during chaotic times
• Add perspectives
• Gain companionship
• Do more in less time
• Create synergy
Where Do Partnerships Exist?
Partnerships can exist in any level of organization, any type of department, and any kind of company.
Partnerships can span geographic distance, organizational levels, departments, and cultural
differences. We've seen partnerships between:
• Team leads who rely on each other in order to bring a difficult project to completion
• Executives who negotiate resource usage from each others' divisions
• Directors who jointly lead an organization-wide change effort in record time
• Consultants who create close partnerships with internal partners
• Small-business owners who form alliances in order to expand
• Nonprofit leaders who develop partnerships to further their organizations' missions
• Administrators who span departmental boundaries in order to ensure consistency
• Academics who join together to create the book that will earn them tenure
• Screenwriters who collaborate on a script that wins an Academy Award
Each of these partnerships contributes to the extraordinary success of the individual partners and the
work they produce together.
How to Get Started
The first step is to recognize that a partner is desired and needed. Then, start exploring:
• Who are potential partners?
• What could you achieve together that would be more difficult to achieve apart?
• What opportunities could be better pursued together?
Do you have the bandwidth to commit to a partnership, since it does take some additional time to
build before achieving results?
Once these questions are considered, the next step is to explore the fit with the potential partner. That
person needs to also see the possibilities, desire the opportunities, and have the bandwidth to commit.
