Ramblings from the chrysalis: Transform your impact and income through collaboration

One of my favorite mentors likes to say: “Words don't teach but stories do,” so may I share a story with you?

Once upon a time there were 3 little brothers.

An older brother, a middle brother and a baby brother.

...Stop me if you have heard this one before.

They grew up as kids often do, and as teenagers really gave their old father a lot of stress with their shenanigans. Their old father thought to himself that perhaps the solution to all his problems was to figure out career paths for his beloved sons and send them off to school. The eldest son, wanting to be like his father, went off to Germany to study engineering. He became a successful, sought after civil engineer, managing engineering projects for a large local city.  

The middle son who had a great talent for drawing went to architecture school, he went on to work for a large architecture firm in the capital and was well respected by all.

And of course the baby: who if you have been keeping track, was not such a baby anymore. He may have been the most difficult of the brothers and his father finally sent him off to join the RAF (Royal Air Force.) In the RAF he learned and matured so very much, and when he was honorably discharged or whatever it is that happens when you leave the military, having studied building, contracting and management, he ended up the owner of a multi million dollar construction company just a few towns over from his eldest brother.

Ok! I know what you are thinking: Great story! Great for those guys, and what exactly does that have to do with me? So glad you asked! This story is actually the true story of my uncles, great guys if you got to hang out with them individually but for some reason they just couldn't get along long enough when together.

You probably have looked at their career trajectories and correctly realized that they worked in allied fields: One was brilliant in engineering, his younger brother could take any client idea and take it from concept to construction, and as for the baby, his business acumen was unparalleled. 

" ...they just couldn't get it together. Couldn’t see beyond whatever was holding them back..."

But they just couldn't get it together. Couldn’t see beyond whatever was holding them back from collaborating. Couldn't see that if they could have gotten past their differences, that today I would not be writing this blog but would be a big muckety muck at Mclaren Global! These three brilliant men missed out on such an outstanding opportunity to grow their impact and income. What opportunities might you be missing that could catapult you to the next level? How can collaboration grow your impact and your income?

I get it. I know that there may be very good reasons for you holding back. Even though I consider myself the queen of collaboration, even I have questions sometimes as to whether a collaboration is right for me. It has been my experience that for the majority of us there are seven things that hold us back from considering collaboration.

For many of us we have bought into the idea of the competitive vibe. Hear me out on this one. It’s no one’s fault. We have been socialized to believe that there is not enough abundance for all and that if one succeeds then it will be at the expense of another, and so we hold on to the idea that we must be in competition with each other.

Sometimes the problem lies in a lack of trust in the other, we might not be sure the other person is as competent as we might hope, or that they will indeed pull their own weight. Most of us have moments of trauma remembering the high school project partner that caused everyone to get a lower grade because of their failure to do their part. And then there is the control issue: the wanting to just do everything myself. The belief that if I want something done well I have to do it myself. I mean, who among us hasn’t felt that way at some time or another? Trust issues might extend to not feeling comfortable letting others behind the scenes of our businesses, just not opening ourselves up to that kind of vulnerability!

Every one of these reasons: VALID. And yet there is an argument for putting these ideas aside for a moment to consider the PROS of collaboration. That list is so long dear one that we won’t have the time or space to cover all of them here but let’s get a list started? And maybe you can keep adding to this list as more ideas come to you? Awesome.

"... there is an argument for putting these ideas aside for a moment to consider the PROS of collaboration."

One of my favorite mentors told us the story once of how she went from having an eviction notice tacked to her small apartment door. This apartment was of course where she lived but it also doubled as her office where she saw clients. Through collaborations over a few years, she has been able to inspire many with her rags to riches story. She now owns a $50M business. She tells about how as a business coach, she formed a collaborative relationship with a financial advisor. All day long they would refer business back and forth. She would send her business clients for financial advice and her partner would send her finance clients over for business advice. Back and forth until both women become forces to be reckoned with.

When we get together, suddenly we are working at a level of consciousness where 1+1>2. If you combine your reach with that of your collaboration partner, together you can achieve explosive growth. The beauty of collaboration is that many of us do many things, but do a few things very well. If each person plays to their strengths in a partnership the result is a win. And let’s get a little woo woo for a minute here: You may have read Napoleon Hill and you know about the idea of a Mastermind, the exponential increase in knowledge that takes place when two or more minds come together.

More reasons to consider collaboration: It’s more fun, you can have bigger visions, big values and often there is safety in numbers because someone is always there to watch your back. There is more energy, there are more ideas, we learn from each other and there is an increase in “abundance thinking” when we intentionally work together. What else can you think of? What other reasons can you think of for working together in collaboration?

“Ok,” is what you are thinking now. “Fine you’ve got me thinking there may be something to this idea of collaboration, to this idea that the power of the collective is greater than the sum of its parts! Fine and dandy, now what, where do I start?” Well, again, I'm ecstatic that you are asking all these questions.

"In my experience we can go from Alone in our business to Abundance through collaboration in five simple steps..."

 

In my experience we can go from Alone in our business to Abundance through collaboration in five simple steps: Ask, Alignment, All in, Assignment and Apps. Let me explain.

-The “ASK” piece is between you and the universe. I am not sending you out to go ask for a collaborator just yet. That dear one, would just be premature. Start by spending some time in contemplation, think about and maybe journal about what your ideal collaboration would look like, what pieces of the puzzle are necessary and what is the best next step. Meditate on it, ASK your questions and trust that you don’t need to see the whole picture of how everything is going to pan out, you just need the next step.

-Step 2 is alignment but I feel as though it’s a part of every single step of the process: Opportunities are always all around us. Tune in to what your inner knowing is saying about these opportunities. Do you feel trust for the other person? Are you trusting the universe to yield to you? Are you open to what is available? Are you open to what is possible? Are you open to learning? Maybe learning a better, different, more lucrative way?

-Step 3 asks: “Am I all in?” Am I bringing my best talents to the table? Can I truly get behind this concept that there is abundance for all and let go of the competitive mindset? Am I intending to be the one on the project who brings it 100%?

-Step 4 Invites Assignment: Are you working in your brilliance. Is everyone on the team assigned to do what they do best? In the team that is me and my office staff, I treat the patients, I’m pretty good at that; Sandy manages the staff and all things creative, she is brilliant at that; Marin takes care of all things social media and promotion etc, and on the days when we are working well together we are like a well oiled machine and everyone’s happy.

-And step 5 is Apps: get familiar with technology, tools, resources and personnel that can help keep track of important things like the MONEY!!! There are apps to track affiliate commissions, to ensure payouts to participants and things of that nature. Be sure to discuss all details ahead of time, if counsel is needed be sure to take advantage of experts to deal with the nitty gritty.

I have time to share one final super short story. Bear with me: Once upon a time, there were two real estate agents who met in a networking meeting. Instead of the traditional: “We do the same thing so we can’t possibly support each other,” they actually decided to become partners. One of the first properties they ended up listing, turned out to be a part of a large estate. Some super rich person had died and there were additional properties as well as just a ton of high priced stuff that needed to be disposed of. The executor was so  impressed   by their work ethic and their ability to work together that he entrusted them with the entire estate. Today, these two small town realtors are big city auction house owners and they are now considered the go to team when it comes to getting your fine pieces sold over here in our neck of the woods. 

 

"Today, these two small town realtors are big city auction house owners..."

The point of this is that they couldn’t have seen the opportunity that was coming, but through the power of collaboration they paved the way for great impact and great income. Look, if you catch me in person, I have a hundred stories like this that I could share with you. Stories from members of our women's group Ladies Power Lunch. Stories of women who INTENTIONALLY support each other and who are open to the power of collaboration and the power of the collective. 

So… what do you say? Are you ready to take the quantum leap to the next level of leadership? Will you join this growing movement? I invite you to request to join our facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ladiespowerlunch/