Organizing a Closet: Reflecting on Partnerships

Cleaning out the closet can be hard, especially when it involves two people. Last Saturday, my husband and I decided to tackle the mud room closet, which is sort of a small room.  

Bruce and I both like order but our approach to getting there is different. Bruce is methodical, I’m more Montessori. Bruce has a running checklist of our progress, and I bounce around to different corners of the closet, sometimes distracted by old notes or an interesting recipe. I like to purge, and Bruce is very sentimental. Sometimes I rid our closet of precious items that I didn’t know were so precious.  

We often partner at home to knock out a project like cleaning out a closet.

As the new Director of Partnership Engagement at Armstrong McGuire, I have been thinking a lot about what makes a partnership successful. My previous role at SHARE Charlotte also centered around building partnerships with corporations, philanthropists, nonprofits, and media outlets. Over the years, there are a few things I’ve learned about partnering to achieve a shared vision, whether at home or at work.  

Partnerships are most successful when:

They are built around trust

We might approach projects differently, but we trust each other and know that we desire the same outcome.

They have mutual appreciation and benefit

We have different strengths, and we play to them. We are thankful for the different perspective each brings to the table because it makes us better.

They are centered around shared values and goals

We have a shared vision and a set of values that drive us to our goal.

They lead to learning and growth

We learn from each other, and we are both able to stretch in areas that we didn’t even know had an opportunity for growth.  

In just a few weeks, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the values that drive Armstrong McGuire – integrity, experience, relationships, and results, all core to building successful partnerships. I am also learning that many of our clients are ambitious and tasked with managing and meeting high expectations. They need a trusted partner.

Whether I’m cleaning out a closet or partnering to build a strategic plan, I’m going to strive to stay mindful of the values that are key to building successful partnerships.