How to Form Partnerships that Work
The 5 Ways to Build Partnerships that Last
If you want to create positive change in the world, you have to know how to partner.
This isn’t opinion. These are best practices!
For any real social change, lots of different groups have to come together and collaborate. Impact is a team sport — and since we all have to work together to achieve any goal, let’s talk about getting great at partnership.
1) Make sure you genuinely believe in each other
Money, prestige, or power as a motivating force won’t cut it — because instead of focusing on the issue at-hand, you’re focusing on yourself.
Why is belief so important? Even in the best of scenarios, things won’t go according to plan. Your team will thrive based on how much admiration, self-belief, and belief in each other and the mission is there. If you’re about to embark on the journey of social change or launch something new — whether that’s a company, campaign, or initiative — it’s imperative that you truly believe in each other.
Real life example: Over the past year, I’ve had the true honor of working with founder, investor, and philanthropist Amy Dornbusch as she created and launched AtlasDaughters, a transformative travel company designed for philanthropic mothers to move millions and inspire the next generation of families to give more. We met when she took my first group coaching course in 2023.
AtlasDaughters has been a PLEASURE, but there are always bumps in the road. What has always stayed consistent is my belief in Amy and her vision. She’s a force of nature of the best kind. Another way to put it is — “when you know, you know.”
Amy is above with her two beloved daughters. AtlasDaughters is truly Amy’s “legacy magic.” Click on the photo to learn more about our upcoming journeys!
2) Have the same values and priorities
I’m very clear with the people I work with of what’s most important to me — showing up, relationships, and quality. The most important part of any partnership is making sure you’re fit, which comes down to wanting the same things. This also means performing due diligence, especially if you have a personal relationship. You should talk to each other’s clients or partners to see if what’s being said is actually true. Know what you’re getting into with clear eyes.
Real life example: Over the past year, I formalized a partnership with Alix Lebec at Lebec and Joe Flippin at Morgan Stanley. We’ve hosted several events together and have a very holistic and complementary approach to wealth and impact for families and institutions — Joe takes care of the financial assets, Alix does the strategy and value proposition, and I do the coaching. What differentiates us is our unified values beyond money and educating our communities on the creative and innovative ways in which capital can be deployed to generate more impact—and truly respond to the needs of our time. What we prioritize more is how we can do right by people, each other, and the planet. This is rare in finance when the industry is focused on competing over collaborating, but it’s exactly what makes us the perfect fit for each other.
Here’s the dream team — we’re all smiles at our first event in NYC last May!
3) Commit to excellence
There’s no replacement for excellence and the best business model is excellence. If your product, service, talent, organization, or whatever you offer is EXCELLENT, you’ll succeed. It may take time (even decades) for your work to pay off, but talent always has a way of revealing itself and rising to the surface.
Real life example: I’ve been an advisor to the founder of Half the Story, Larissa “Larz” May, for over a year. Larz started Half the Story, a nonprofit organization focused on digital well-being in her college dorm room 10 years ago. We went to World Economic Forum together last January, and I saw how she seamlessly spoke for 3 days straight about mental health, social media, and teens, and would then hop on a final round foundation vetting call late at night, Davos-time, to make sure her mission kept moving forward. I saw Larz commit to excellence when no one was looking, but I also wasn’t surprised when her excellence landed her on the front page of WSJ and an interview with Oprah (below) this past spring.
4) Go all-in, together
This is usually referred to re: marriage, but I think it’s relevant for all partnerships that matter. Relationships aren’t 50/50, they’re 100/100. Each person must commit to showing up in the big and small moments, accepting feedback, and learning to evolve if it’s what’s best for the relationship. Resentment is the outcome when one person clearly puts more work in than other, so it has to be 100/100. According to the science, it’s the “sliding door moments” or very small moments that matter in building trusting relationships — so aiming to show up 100% of the time on both sides is the only recipe that works long term.
Real life example: The first person I ever, ever coached over 5 years ago was my friend Lori White. She was open enough to take a chance on me when I was embarking on this coaching thing as an experiment. Over 5 years later, Lori is WxL Partner’s marketing advisor. We do an exchange of expertise — I offer Lori coaching and Lori offers her marketing gifts to help build my brand. Lori has read almost every blog post, looked at every word that has graced this website, and has been available for every question I offer. In turn, I always do the same for her. It’s 100/100, which is why our partnership works and why it’s lasted after all these years — even as my focus or messaging shifts of pivots. It’s our 100/100 commitment that’s resulted in the continued blossoming of our friendship after all these years of working together.
5) Be kind
This is going to be short and sweet. According the research from the Gottman Institute, negative interactions are weighed 5-20x more heavily than positive interactions, which is why a negative comment can ruin our day. To avoid this, work with kind people. Keep your eye on the prize and your eye on the impact!
Real life example: True kindness is especially important because the EQ of Wealth crosses into the world of family and close personal relationships. The only way I’ve seen partnerships work when it’s family members or friends working together (such as the above!) is always maintaining a baseline of kindness. To learn more about the effectiveness of kindness, please check out Kindness.org and their science-based research.
Take a look at your partnerships and check in on them. How many of them are firing on all 5 cylinders?
Let me know what you discover. Many of these lessons have been used in impact, in life, or both. We have big things to do — so partner wisely!
