Partnership Leaders: Here’s How You Can Support Your Team Heading into 2025

Published by Chris Lavoie, PhD , Founder of Ecosystem University

As 2024 comes to a close, many partnership leaders are gearing up for another pivotal year in 2025. Your partnership teams are essential to driving growth, expanding your business’s reach, and executing on strategic initiatives. But are you doing everything possible to support their development and maximize their potential?

At EcoUniversity, we polled over 100 partnership managers across various industries, and the results were clear: less than 23% of partner managers say they receive good or great training and mentorship from their company or manager. This is a startling gap considering that nearly 90% of these same managers report having great relationships with their direct supervisors.

While you may be building strong relationships, are you investing in the growth of your team?

Why Your Team Needs More Than Just a Great Relationship

A good working relationship is a crucial foundation for trust and open communication, but it’s not enough. Partner managers thrive on learning and growth opportunities. They need mentorship, feedback, and consistent professional development to keep up with the fast-paced and ever-changing landscape of partnerships. Without these, they risk plateauing—bringing your partnership efforts to a halt as well.

Here’s the reality:

• Mentorship and Training: While your team may appreciate the personal rapport, they need your support in navigating the complexities of modern partnership management. Without proper guidance, they can fall into the trap of executing tasks without a strategic framework, or worse, they may rely too heavily on underperforming partners.
• External Learning & Development (L&D): Your team should not be limited to internal training sessions. Providing them with a learning & development stipend allows them to pursue external resources—whether that’s attending ecosystem-related bootcamps, certifications, or one-on-one coaching that can give them the edge they need.

3 Signs Your Team Needs Better Support

1. They hit roadblocks with the same partners repeatedly: If your team is struggling with similar challenges over and over, it might be a sign they lack the training to develop new strategies or the mentorship to offer fresh perspectives.
2. Their engagement with external resources is low: If your partner managers aren’t attending webinars, networking, or seeking mentorship from outside the company, they might not feel empowered to do so. Providing budget and time to explore these options can significantly improve performance.
3. You notice high enthusiasm but low skill development: Great relationships are the bedrock of strong teams, but if your partner managers aren’t developing new skills, they won’t be equipped to handle the challenges of 2025. It’s up to you to give them the tools they need to grow.

How to Support Your Team Before 2025 Arrives

To set your partnership team up for success in 2025, consider implementing these strategies over the final months of 2024. Nothing demonstrates your commitment to their career progression more than investing in their growth—both professionally and personally.

1. Prioritize Training and Ongoing Learning

If less than 23% of partnership managers feel they are receiving adequate training, the first step is clear: Invest in consistent, high-quality training.

• Onboarding: Make sure your onboarding process isn’t just a checklist. Equip new partner managers with strategic frameworks and key playbooks that they can reference as they build out their partnership portfolios.
• Ongoing Learning Opportunities: Provide access to advanced partnership development courses. Platforms like EcoUniversity offer tailored partnership programs, playbooks, and hands-on learning. By allowing your team to explore these, you’ll be preparing them to handle more complex relationships and challenges.

According to Chris Lavoie’s Top Partner Manager Traits at EcoU, successful managers are:

• Lifelong learners who embrace new knowledge and industry developments
• Technologically adept, integrating automation tools and CRM systems to improve efficiency
• Proactive thinkers who develop innovative solutions to complex problems

Provide the means for your team to acquire these skills through structured training.

2. Leverage Mentorship: Both Internal and External

As a leader, it’s your job to mentor your team. But they also need guidance from others outside their direct sphere. Create a culture of mentorship within your organization, but also encourage your team to seek external mentors.

• Internal Mentorship: Set up formal mentorship programs where senior leaders can offer insights to rising partner managers. According to EcoU’s Career Growth Playbook, mentorship helps managers develop both leadership and strategic thinking skills.
• External Mentorship: Encourage your team to network and find external mentors who have been in their shoes. Often, these external voices offer fresh perspectives that may not be available internally.

3. Provide Learning & Development Stipends

One of the simplest yet most impactful steps you can take is offering a learning and development stipend. Partner managers who invest in continuous learning tend to stay ahead of industry trends, build stronger networks, and adapt to changes faster.

• L&D Stipend Use-Cases: Your team can use these stipends to attend conferences, enroll in specialized courses, or hire professional coaches who specialize in partnership strategy. This will ensure they’re always growing and improving, making them more valuable to your organization.

4. Set Clear KPIs and Career Growth Paths

Great partner managers need more than just tactical goals—they need a vision for how they can progress. As we approach 2025, make sure your team understands the key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your company's growth, and how those KPIs link to their career trajectory.

• Career Growth Path: Outline the steps your team can take to move from Partner Manager to Senior Manager or Director. According to Lavoie’s career roadmap, team leaders must consistently exceed quotas, demonstrate leadership, and be seen as thought leaders within the organization. Help your team map out a similar path so they know what to aim for.

5. Foster Cross-Department Collaboration

No partner manager operates in a vacuum. The ability to collaborate across departments—whether it’s sales, marketing, or product—is critical to partnership success. If your partner managers aren’t regularly interacting with these teams, it may be time to open new channels of communication.

Encourage cross-functional projects that involve partner managers and other departments. This exposure helps them understand the broader business context and improves their effectiveness in managing external relationships.

Call-to-Action: Make 2025 Your Team’s Breakout Year

As 2024 winds down, the best gift you can give your team is an investment in their growth. Provide the training, mentorship, and development resources they need to thrive—not just survive—in 2025. Your team will appreciate the investment, and you’ll see the returns through stronger partnerships, increased revenue, and more engaged employees.

Act now:

• Start by assessing your team’s current development gaps.
• Implement learning programs that leverage both internal and external resources.
• Prioritize mentorship, clear career paths, and consistent feedback.

The partnership landscape will continue to evolve in 2025, and by investing in your team’s growth today, you’re setting them up for long-term success.