Building Intentional, Strengths-Empowered Partnerships

Called to Coach Webcast Series -- Season 12, Episode 18

Below are audio and video plus a transcript of the conversation, including time stamps.

The future of work will involve strong partnerships. What does that look like in a hybrid world where, if anything, partnering with others may be harder -- yet even more important? How can you and those you coach build strong partnerships? And how can partners' strengths and the I Bring, I Need framework fuel your efforts? Join Gallup's Jillian White and Jim Collison and be more intentional and effective in your collaboration.

You have to be much more intentional in this [digital] world to have that collaboration and connection.

Jillian White, 3:22

The research shows when you've got a great partnership, you're actually just as excited when your partner succeeds as when you succeed yourself.

Jillian White, 8:21

Jim Collison:
[0:01] I am Jim Collison, Gallup's CliftonStrengths^® Community Manager.

Jillian White:
[0:04] And I'm Jillian White, our Lead Subject Matter Expert for CliftonStrengths here at Gallup.

Jim Collison:
[0:09] Jillian, great to be with you today. Always a great day to be with you. Thanks for coming out today.

Jillian White:
[0:13] Why, thank you. It's always a great day to be with you, Jim.

The Future of Work: Strong Partnerships and Collaboration

Jim Collison:
[0:17] We are talking about partnerships today, empowering stronger partnerships and collaboration -- never a boring topic, because everybody wants to collaborate. Everybody needs those partnerships. Jillian, talk to us a little bit about that. Why, why are strong partnerships and collaboration important in this thing we're calling the future of work?

Jillian White:
[0:37] Yeah, Jim, I see two connections with why partnership and collaboration are so important right now. The first thing is, the future of work is demanding it. You and I just did a conversation and connection around what the future of work is looking like. And we know we can expect that agile teaming is going to be a part of it. We have more diverse talent that's working together in more gig-like ways, often in a hybrid environment. And so we have to find ways to collaborate and partner well. And when teams play to their strengths, we know there's increase in productivity, profitability, resilience for those teams. So current and future of work is really demanding it. And I would add a second one that is just a little closer to the human reason behind it, and that is, when we look at our data, 20% of global workers are chronically lonely. And when I think about the role that partnership and collaboration plays, look at things like our Q^12® data, all of our science around what creates high-performing teams. We know a part of high-performing teams is that they have a Best friend at work [item Q10 of Gallup's Q¹² employee engagement assessment]. And that's something that not only helps us perform well, feel connected to our companies, but it's something that actually contributes to our overall wellbeing, our social wellbeing, and helps employees thrive in life. So we've got an opportunity to help, help people collaborate in team for the future of work, but also for, I'm going to say, the good of humanity, Jim.

Jim Collison:
[2:02] Yeah. Let me, let me ask you a question, maybe a little off script on this one, but as we thought about the collaboration that we had before all this explosion of hybrid, do you think we struggled with it as much then as we do now? In other words, is collaboration a human problem that's always there, that we just always need to be working on? Or do we have some opportunities in the workplace to, to maximize it in some way? Not all workplaces are looking or acting the same. So maybe one tool doesn't fit all problems. But I don't know, any, any thoughts as we think about that collaboration is maybe a human condition, right?

Jillian White:
[2:40] Yeah. Well, and I think what technology has done, as good as it is, it's also accelerated what was already there or maybe exposed what was already there. We've been tracking loneliness for a while. We know it's been a growing epidemic. But think about even our early millennial research that we were doing. We found incredibly digitally connected group, but very limited social connection and opportunities for that. Right. And so, we know there's, there's been opportunities for helping to build greater partnership and collaboration. But I think with becoming a more digital world, with working more hybrid and all of these things, it's actually just making that pop even more and making it a bit harder. You have to be much more intentional in this world to have that collaboration and connection.

Eight Dimensions of Powerful Partnerships

Jim Collison:
[3:27] Yeah, I agree. We have some tools, we have some thoughts around partnerships. And thinking, the reason I asked that question is because in the world we live in now, it's just, it's all, the agility at which we move, the speed at which we move is very, very fast. But it doesn't mean it's impossible. So as we think about great partnerships, even today, we can make great partnerships. What do those look like, Jillian?

Jillian White:
[3:50] 100%, Jim. It's fun, by the way, to even think about, you know, how we partner on this or anybody listening in, you know, think about who your best partner is. I have found myself going back to some of our initial research that we published in our book called Power of 2. And a lot of that was studying what makes great partnerships. And in that research, we saw eight different dimensions. So when we think about how to actually create great partnerships, it's helpful to go back to that research. Let me refresh us on a few of those things here.

Jillian White:
[4:21] Jim, you may have some insights to share. I know you've done tons of interviews with people through Called to Coach and get to hear strengths come to life across partnerships, across teams and through leaders. But go back, what are those eight dimensions of powerful partnerships? One of the first things we know is that great partners have complementary strengths. And so there's an element of when we partner with somebody, we recognize, I bring something to the table that you don't, and you bring something to the table that I don't. We do not have to be well-rounded, but we're more powerful when we're bringing our two strengths sets together. The second thing we know, powerful partnership, is that you become partners when you have a common mission. This is true in life and in work. You've got to have something that unites you and something that allows you to even make some self-sacrifice at points, for the good of what brings you together. The third thing we see is actually, great partners have a sense of fairness.

Jillian White:
[5:13] This doesn't mean, it almost feels like you're going back to, you know, the playground in grade school, right? And it doesn't mean that you're necessarily doing things 50-50, but that you're giving credit to where someone is doing the work, and there's that overall sense of fairness. And then the fourth one in here -- Jim, you might have some insights on this one as well -- is a level of acceptance that actually comes out in great partnerships. And what we mean by that is an understanding that we are human and that I can't actually be all things to somebody. And so when we partner together, I actually understand there's things you might not be good at, and there's things you are good at. And how do I accept that and work with that? Jim, I would imagine you've seen some of that across the interviews you've done over time.

Jim Collison:
[5:58] Well, we see that a lot. And, you know, humans are really good at differentiating very, very quickly. That's what's made us who we are. And I think adding the strengths, we're going to talk more about this here in a little bit, but adding strengths into that, this understanding of, oh, wait a minute, there are some great things about you. In the past, we wanted to find the bad things, because that helped us survive. Today, right, in the modern workplace, we can think about, Oh, wait a minute, our differences actually make us better together, right, instead of having to fear each other. So I hear a lot of that. That's that Aha! moment some teams have, where they begin to go, Oh, wait a minute! If I just took advantage of those instead of fought against them, we can work together and collaborate. So that's, that's what I hear a lot of out there.

Jillian White:
[6:43] 100%. I think, I think there's sometimes a misnomer out there that a strengths-based approach means, you know, everybody gets an individual trophy. But in reality, I think it's reminding us that it takes a dose of humility, because we say we, we can't be everything, and we actually need other people to help balance us out. And then, Jim, just going back to those dimensions, the final four that are on there -- trust, obviously a huge component of powerful partnerships. I think back to, you know, one of our engagement drivers of high-performing teams is that people feel like their coworkers are committed to doing quality work [item Q09 of Gallup's Q¹²]. And I remember our, our researchers actually talking about this as an indicator of trust on teams. Because, imagine that in a partnership. If I know that I can trust the quality of work that you're doing, we work in a much more agile way together. We can pass that baton faster, we're much more efficient, we're much more effective as partnerships.

Jillian White:
[7:36] And then, final things around this, you know, great partnerships have good communication -- got to keep those lines open, understand where people are coming from, address any misunderstandings. And then the final two elements that popped out in the research are so human. It almost sounds funny talking about these in a business context, but it just shows that businesses are made up of humans. And those final two elements of powerful partnership are forgiveness and unselfishness. So go back to being human -- there's going to be moments in partnership where we mess up, and we've got to be able to forgive and be able to move forward. And then finally, that unselfishness element, I went back and looked at the research on this today. And what I, what I love behind this is the research shows when you've got a great partnership, you're actually just as excited when your partner succeeds as when you succeed yourself. And we actually find that can bring a great sense of fulfillment to both partners when they have that level of partnership. So even as you're listening to this, I find myself being like, I want more great partnerships! Doesn't that sound awesome?

Powerful Partnerships and Strengths: I Bring, I Need

Jim Collison:
[8:45] Yeah, when they, when they work, they are magical. And I just think about, even in my role here and what I'm doing with, with social media, the more I can make other people a big deal, the better it is, right? And so that's my value proposition in these partnerships. When we think about bringing in strengths, then, to this -- I mean, it's great that we say all these things, But what are some, what are some tools we can use to actually help with this? We have a few of those. Jillian, why don't you highlight, why don't you highlight them?

Jillian White:
[9:15] Yeah. And Jim, I was thinking about this. I was just with, I was just with a leadership team of a client a couple weeks ago, here in Chicago, where I'm based out of. It was their North America leadership teams -- huge organization, over 700,000 employees around the world. And they had this team coming together for the first time. And so this was a very real challenge for them, to say, How do we quickly assimilate this team and know how to partner together well? One of the most simple and effective exercises -- I led this in the room with them -- was using the Bring/Need framework. And that was simply saying, What does each person bring to this team, based on how they're wired, who they are, what their strengths are? And what do they need from this team, to be set up to do their best work? So that's actually the conversation we had in the room.

Jillian White:
[10:01] And if you go back to what we are working on as part of my role as our Lead Subject Matter Expert for our CliftonStrengths work within Gallup, we're doing a lot of work with our technology, taking what we're hearing from our clients, and using that to create really practical tools to help people. And one of the things, in fact, at last year's Summit, Jim, we got to introduce and see our CEO on the stage, Jon Clifton, showing one of our new Gallup Access tools that's a result of some of those tangible things we're trying to provide people. And what we put into that tool is an easy way for people to share their strengths with someone else -- for an opportunity to be able to pull up our strengths side by side. So, Jim, we've got your strengths and my strengths on the screen. And all of a sudden, we go, Jim, what do you bring and need in this conversation? Jillian, what do you bring and need? And so, we're hoping that things like that technology and what you have access to in Gallup Access actually helps support the conversations, which drives the relationship, which drives the partnership. That's an easy starting place.

Jim Collison:
[11:02] Yeah. And I think it's a lot easier than people think to go through that. You can do that -- let's, you and I try this really quick. We did not practice this in advance. But let's, let's try this. I think, as we're doing this exercise today, you and I creating media to help people, what I bring through, through Activator^® and Woo^® is energy and influence. Here, in the moment, in the day, that's what I bring for you. What I need from you, Jillian, is your expertise. I need your focus. I need your discipline. I need your knowledge and all the expertise you have, because I want you to shine on this stage and help people, right? That's what I want at the end. I want to help people be better. You'll bring that for me; I can't do that. What would you say? What do you bring and what do you need?

Jillian White:
[11:49] I love that. Well, first of all, I'm going to connect, we said, great partnerships have a common mission. You're speaking to my Responsibility^® and Belief^® in saying you want to help people. That's why I do what I do. I love helping people be stronger leaders, create better cultures, create better teams, create better lives. So that's, I think, a common mission in our partnership. And if you look at my strengths -- Achiever^®, Input^®, Learner^®, Belief, Responsibility -- what do I bring to our partnership? What do I bring to this conversation? I bring purpose with my Belief. I bring some passion with some of my 6 through 10, having some Positivity^®, Woo, you know, all of those kind of energy strengths with them. And I bring expertise, Input and Learner. What do we know about those two? You smash those two together. They like to go deep. They like to bring you insights. So in some ways, I think that's a really great partnership. If I look at what I need, sometimes because those strengths go so deep on things, I need somebody who can have a little activation like you who says, OK, Jillian, let's move to the next thing. Let's make that tangible. Let's make that practical, right? And somebody who can help kind of keep the conversation moving and get to the insights.

Jim Collison:
[12:56] That's great. I think as we wrap this up, I would add a ninth component to those eight, and say recognition is important for this. So let me recognize you. Thank you for putting the notes together. Your Responsibility made sure we had notes today. And thank you for the work that you do for us. I appreciate it. It's great partnering with you. With that, Jillian, why don't you wrap this for us? One-, maybe a one-minute wrap of how do we bring this all together and encourage folks today?

Jillian White:
[13:26] Oh, well, thanks, Jim. I'm just going to, I'm going to point that back at you, too. So you've done such an amazing job just creating a true community of strengths practitioners through all the work that you do with Called to Coach. And today is just a tiny little nugget of that. So it's fun to get to partner with you and all of those, all of those skills that bring a community together. I would just say, encouraging everyone who's listening to this, think about, once again, your simple, simple starting point. Use that Bring/Need framework and just, the next person who you're partnering with, do exactly what Jim and I did today. What do you bring? What do you need? Help people take that conversation between an individual and their manager, between a team and another team. That simple conversation will be incredibly effective in helping us think about how to partner better and collaborate together around our strengths.

Jim Collison:
[14:15] Jillian, love that. Thanks for joining me today. For those listening, if you'd like any help with this or have any questions, contact us. We want to thank you for listening today. And with that, we'll say, Goodbye, everybody.

Jillian White's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Input, Learner, Belief and Responsibility.

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