The process of executing business strategy can’t happen solely through the efforts of a single person. Strategy execution is a team game, and it requires a commitment to collaboration and partnership within teams of people and across organizations. In fact, the people within high-performance organizations know this, and as a result, they strive to create a unique type of partnership: trust-based partnerships.

Trust-based partnerships differ from other types of agreements that people or organizations enter into in several ways.

First, the foundation of a trust-based partnership is rooted in the belief that all entering parties are pursuing a common, compelling purpose. Typically, when two are more parties enter into a partnership; each party believes that the goods and services it provides are similar enough to be complimentary to the other, but different enough to be unique. As a result, by entering into a partnership, all parties are able to enhance the value they provide, while at the same time advancing their unique mission. This is not so with trust-based partnerships. In trust-based partnerships, the foundation upon which the partnership is grounded is not to advance separate missions, but to pursue one common, compelling purpose or mission. Do you see the difference? In the traditional partnerships, both parties are free to move in separate directions, but in trust-based partnerships all parties acknowledge that there are differences in what they provide but they are joining together as they move in the same direction.

Next, trust-based partnerships require and build trust between the entering parties. There are two meanings of the word trust, which are both applicable when discussing trust-based partnerships. The first dictionary definition of trust is “an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” The second definition is “a charge or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship.” When describing trust-based partnerships within organizations, both definitions shed light on the nature of these partnerships. For a trust-based partnership to exist, there must be a belief that the other party is capable of delivering what it commits to and in a manner that brings value to all parties. In other words, in trust-based partnerships, trust is both given and earned.

These two differences noted in the blog are two of the most prominent differences between trust-based partnerships and more traditional partnering agreements. Ultimately, for strategy to be successfully executed, we believe that trust-based partnerships must exist between the various teams and delivery groups within organizations. Do you feel that you have entered into trust-based partnerships with your internal business partners? If so, please share your stories of how you were able to build these partnerships and the results your teams have been able to obtain in committing to trust-based partnerships.

Tags: Five Key Drivers of High Performance, High-Performance Leadership Model, Trust-based Partnerships

This entry was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 4:37 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.