11 Mar Personal Growth
“Turbulence is life force. It is opportunity. Let’s love turbulence and use it for a change.”
–Ramsay Clark
A partnership is a lot like marriage: the reasons two people stay together are usually not the reasons they got together in the first place. As life progresses, each person evolves and changes. Unless individuals adapt to the other person’s personal growth and development, the relationship can stagnate or even become antagonistic.
Personal growth and development occur at several levels. On the individual level, a person may experience changes in attitude, interest, abilities, and goals over time. What might be personally intriguing at age 30 may be less motivating at age 50.
A competitive basketball game may be replaced by a doze at the beach. Similarly, being the biggest sales person may be exciting when you’re younger while training and mentoring others to succeed may be more rewarding later in your career. In a successful partnership, each individual is attuned to the evolving interests, needs and competencies of the other. Within a partnership, partners must also change as the needs of the business change. For example, making an enterprise work when it’s in an early entrepreneurial state of development requires skills and competences that are different from a partnership that has weathered the obstacles of a start-up and has grown into a more professional entity.
Partners may find themselves evolving from a “fighting for our lives” kind of company, driven by constant sales, 60 hour work weeks, multitasking and a sparse personal life to a company characterized by excellent customer service, a more concentrated work focus, a shorter work week, and a focus on nurturing relationships.
As partnerships evolve, partners may learn to empower and mentor others, hone their negotiating skills and exercise better judgment. They learn to better harness their energy, impulses, and competitiveness. Empathy, generosity, and compromise become the standards for engagement.
Bottom Line
- As needs and motivations evolve, partners grow and change over time.
- Different skills and talents are required at different times in the life of a partnership.
- Successful partners appreciate the changing currents of life, adapt to each other over time, and develop compassion in the process.