Broadlight Global – supportive and enabling partnerships

As I sit on a plane heading to China, on the way to spend time with my son who is coming up to 11 years old, I start to think about the lengths we go to as parents. The unflinching determination to be there for our children; the care, attention and time that is needed and the attributes of being a parent that create a rounded happy and successful individual.

When I first started my own businesses my son had not even been born. 12 years later I find myself reflecting both on his development but also on the journey of the businesses. I think “what have the essential ingredients been in our partnerships which have created success for so many individuals, teams and organisations”.

Being in this reflective mood with another 6h and 58min to go I thought I would jot down a few key takeaways:

Be human – our partnerships with clients have thrived because we treat each other not in instrumentalist terms but as equals collaborating together to reach a beneficial state. We don’t hide behind contracts or change control, we talk openly as trusted partners on a mission.

Listen, really listen – listen to what is said, listen to what is not said, understand the subtext. It is through active intelligent listening that we come to understand the totality of needs and goals and start to develop a route to achieving those shared outcomes.

Provide safety - psychological safety to be open, to deal with difficult subjects or to consider a variety of risks is fundamental to a successful partnership. Without this there are many unknowns that later on in a project can be its undoing.

Guide, using experience gained – guiding a client by sharing examples of specific relevant experience that is tailored to their situation (which becomes known through active listening) helps them to put context to their aspirations and gain a view of the practicalities and risks.

Allow for time and attention – giving your time is essential; building trust, understanding and rapport are all key to being able to deliver the end results and benefits for our clients, where we all win from the partnership. This takes time and effort, always plan in extra time to ensure success.

Value, always be adding value – when is enough, enough? It is important to go the extra mile and deliver beyond expectations. Truly valuing a partnership and a relationship is about much more than doing the minimum to achieve an accepted outcome. It is about leaving a sense of pride, over achievement and success which enables that extra mile to be attained, and then built on.

There are many more callouts I can add here but with 5 hrs and 58 minutes left I might get a little shut eye to adjust to the undoubted jetlag to come. For all the conversations about AI, business process automation, technology and everything else we discuss on LinkedIn there is one thing that we all need to remember. It’s still people, building trust and making technology and partnerships work that makes the world tick and ensures successful outcomes. Something we should always remember. AI won’t care for my son and nurture him and help him grow and learn about the true realities of human relationships. That’s still my job, for now, thankfully.