Better together: Finding success through collaboration

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things”~ Mother Theresa

Successful partnerships take a lot of blood, sweat and tears. As a profession, public relations involves working in teams and partnering with your client to ensure a successful result. I find myself navigating different partnerships in my role as a consultant. It’s fun when things click and everyone works together smoothly. But sometimes you require help, especially as workplaces are changing, getting more digital and hybrid. Here’s my view on what a good partnership entails.

Good partnerships celebrate differences

We may find that a partnership is one where not everyone is the same and that’s ok. For example, today’s partnerships are more diverse than they have ever been. They involve people of different age groups or backgrounds and from different cities who work together as equals. We may find clients that are younger than us! It’s important for both/all parties to respect these differences. A younger person may have a fresh idea, while an older person can figure out the execution. The trick is to encourage complementary skills and views. Whatever the difference, everyone brings certain strengths and contributions to the table. Each person can then work according to their strengths and the partnership will achieve success.?

Good partnerships are high on trust and transparency?

A successful partnership is like a successful marriage (I had to bring in a cliché )

We once worked with a partner who used to call journalists to find out if we spoke to them. We always did, but it was such a waste of effort on his part.

If you don’t trust your partner, what is the point of working with them? This is especially important today where partners or collaborators may not be in the same city or perhaps even time zone. A good partnership depends on the trust shared between the concerned parties. If you work closely with someone, stop second guessing their actions. Share all information transparently. As long as the output is good, do you really need control over every minute of their working day??

Good partnerships value clear and consistent communication?

This is a classic issue in an agency and client set-up. Sometimes, the briefs given are generally haphazard and the feedback is vague. In such cases, it’s easy to blame the other party. What matters is being clear in how you communicate your needs and ideas, every time.?

This is particularly true when partners are in different cities and have never met. However, at the risk of generalizing, over the course of my career, I have found that foreign teams working with PR teams in India give clear briefs, but Indian teams are usually unclear about deliverables.

It is also important to remember that everyone is a human being and will have different points of view. Keep the lines of communication open so that any and all issues can be ironed out.?

Good partnerships understand common goals and values

Good partnerships ensure that both parties understand what is valuable to the other partner. This will help to come up with value metrics, milestones and measurements for success of the project.

It is??also important that the partners understand the end goal and work towards it. Thus, everyone should have the same view of what achieving these goals look like. Taking a simple example; In PR there is always a quantity V/S quality debate. While PR professionals would keep crowing over the large Economic Times feature they achieved for the project to be successful. Clients would wax eloquent about how they got smaller mentions ( 2-3 lines) in more publications. This goes to show there was no common goal or values established.

I feel that these pointers are applicable to all kinds of partnerships and not just working relationships. Is there anything you think I have missed out? Let me know in the comments below.?