Complementary Partners

Partnerships form around us every day. They are formed for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include:

To “make up” for a lesser talent. For instance, if a person has a lesser pattern in the Strategic theme, he or she may want to partner with someone with intense talent in this area when it comes time to create strategy for achieving a specific objective on a short timeline. In this way, one person leverages the talents of another to accomplish the objective.
To “take over” where one person leaves off. For instance, in a car dealership, one person might help you decide which car to buy, and another person will write up the purchase agreement. Both people contribute something unique and important to the purchase of your car.
To “enhance” what one person already possesses. For example, a person high in Focus might partner with someone high in Achiever when it is crunch time on a specific project. In doing so, both people bring the best of who they are and the results can be extraordinary.

In short, one of the main reasons we form partnerships is to achieve something greater together that we could not achieve apart.

Ask your mentee if they have ever thought about why people seek them out to form a complementary
partnership? Ask them: With whom are you a partner? What do you contribute? What makes the partnership valuable to you and to each other?

Consider your own partnership as mentor - mentee and utililize this activity.

Use your own creativity to make this even more engaging, perhaps create posters using art materials or magazine clippings to create their complementary partners picture. Help your mentee make connections on the basis of one or more themes.

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