Partner Alignment
Services
The Problem
In the beginning, it was great. You saw eye-to-eye. Decisions were quick and success seemed inevitable. But lately, something’s changed. You spend more time defending investments and decisions. You seem to disagree on almost everything. Your team is less efficient as they second-guess overall direction. It’s hurting business and, if your honest, it’s hurting you.
The Solution
Solving partner disconnects takes work and often requires unbiased, third-party support. That’s where Radiant Forest comes in. We work with you and your team to get to the root cause of your disconnect. Often, this comes down to weakened trust caused by differing perspectives on corporate vision.
Through a fact-based process, you can pull emotion out of the equation and focus on actions. The outcome varies by client, but the result is always better for everyone involved.
The Outcomes
No two organizations or outcomes are the same. That said, often the outcome includes one or more of the following….
Restoration
In many cases, a third-party, fact-based approach is all partners need to restore a great working relationship. This is our first goal in each engagement.
Compromise
Probably the second-most common result is meeting in a middle ground, on one or more key decisions. Then the partnership resumes stronger than before.
Role Definition
When businesses start, partner responsibilities are fluid. As you scale, it often becomes necessary to define your roles in a more formal manner.
Silent Partnership
Sometimes, one partner decides to step back from daily operations but remain engaged by supporting and profiting from business growth.
Buy Out
What partners refuse to consider at the beginning of an engagement may be the preferred path by the end of the process. While it is rarely the goal, it can often leave everyone much happier – and wealthier, in the end.
The Process
Discovery
We begin by listening. A series of interviews are conducted with the partners, direct reports and other stakeholders. These are often conducted with the utmost confidentiality. In Discovery we develop a clear Statement of Understanding, highlighting the greatest challenges in a fact-based, unemotional format.
Definition
From the Statement of Understanding we know and agree on the engagement objectives. In Definition, we expose symptoms and root-causes inhibiting leadership alignment. This is accomplished through a variety of interviews, assessments, and other tools, depending upon Discovery. Definition closes with the Alignment Gap Report.
Design
In Design we create the plan to address root-causes defined in the Alignment Gap Report. The primary deliverable from Design is the Action Plan for Deployment.
Deployment
At this point the team understands the objectives (Discovery), root-causes prohibiting alignment (Definition), and the plan to address those problems (Design). Now, it’s time to do the work. Deployment is the implementation of the Action Plan. Every Deployment is unique, tailored to the client objectives.
Determination
Following Deployment we review our progress against the objectives from Discovery. Has alignment improved? Is the leadership team more effectively engaged? If not, why not? If so, what do we put in place to sustain alignment?
Ready to Start Fixing This Issue?
Let’s have an exploratory conversation.