Stage Three: Operations

• Communication is the lifeblood of partnership -- keep it flowing.
• An on-going leadership or facilitation team needs to be in place to provide training opportunities, mentoring of new working group facilitators, and the cultivation of new participating partners.
• Keep the vision and goals up front and before all.
• Always evaluate what you are doing and look for ways to make things even better.
• Be flexible in order to adjust and adapt as needed.
• It is more challenging to maintain a partnership than to launch one.
• Establish a process to evaluate the success and lessons learned from your partnership activities.

Key Principles of the Operations Stage

• Effective Partners recognize that partnership development is an on-going process, not an event.
• Effective Partnerships keep their eyes on the ultimate Vision. It is easy to focus on the "means" rather than the "end". Focus on the long-term vision and do not get overly distracted by the day-to-day operational demands.
• Effective Partnerships impart the vision and skills for partnership development to all the partners continuously. You need to expect problems and develop a process for managing them.
• Effective Partnerships do not come free. Just participating costs time and money so all partners are investing in some way. Deeper commitment involves even greater investment, but the benefits outweigh these costs.
• Effective Partners have an "advocate" for partnership in their own organization.

For more in depth education in the stages and practical application of partnership principles, check our training schedule for upcoming courses in your area or contact us to explore which one is best for you.