A Great Partner Says “Yes, And …”

It’s not that I don’t like being by myself.  Believe me, as an introvert, I spend a great deal of time in solitude.  But when it comes to work?  I value partnerships.

I’m wrapping up my 2024 Take the Lead season where I partnered with two amazing groups:

• Jamie Elrod and Massiel Diez, the Flipping the Barrel co-founders
• Robyn Marcotte of Aha! Leadership

We were also so grateful to have SLB as a program sponsor.

These partnerships were forged where I presented each of them the idea that we should host a women’s leadership conference.  Everyone met the proposal with an enthusiastic, “Yes, and … (insert their brilliant thoughts and ideas).”  In other words, they chose to not think about the risk, focus on the reward, and together we created exciting events that ended up selling out.  (I’m still riding high from last Thursday’s event in Detroit!!)

There’s actually a fancy word for this style of collaboration: bricolage.  Basically, it means we take what we have, put it together, and make something beautiful with our talents, resources, and tools. 

As an entrepreneur, I’m blessed to be around many creators.  Yet, as a consultant, I also partner with leaders in businesses that are so desperate for this style of co-creation.  They feel they’re surrounded by multiple supervisors who lead up the Department of No.  Maybe they don’t come out as strongly and say “no,” but it looks like:

• We don’t have the resources
• That’s not directly connected to the strategic plan
• That’s not really our job

So, you can’t always focus on the responses of people around you when you propose an idea.  You can, though, always be a collaborator and co-create with people around you.  Here’s some ideas on how to be a great partner:

-          Start with What, Not How.  Most ideas die on the vine when we think of how to do it.  Don’t worry about the how upfront.  Focus on the what, and then get clear in your mind what that looks like.  When teams mix what and how conversations, you go in and out of the weeds.  When you’re in the weeds, you’re missing a chance to be creative and think about the bigger picture.  Once you decide on the what, the how takes care of itself.

-          Be Curious and Inquisitive.  You might think “no,” but don’t be a collaboration killer.  Be curious, ask questions that allow you to get more information.  When you gather additional insights, you might discover that the idea that you originally wanted to say “no” to turned out to be a yes.

-          Be realistic about What You Can Commit to.  Before you forge a partnership, be realistic about what you can commit to – when you’re co-creating with others, people need to depend upon you.  If you’re flaky, you lose credibility and people begin to work around you.

I don’t always say “yes” to every idea that gets put in front of me.  I do, though, work really hard to explore potential collaborations and consider if these are good ones for me.  And when they are, I’m in “Yes, and …” mode!!

Speaking of “Yes, and …” We’re shaping up our Take the Lead schedule for 2025.  I’m excited to announce some new partnerships and some new, exciting cities.  Check it out – you might be excited to see us coming to your neighborhood!

 Here’s to an exciting new era of collaboration.

Massiel Diez Jamie Elrod Flipping The Barrel Aha! Leadership Robyn Marcotte Lyndal Cissell