Celebrating Partnerships

Eleven years ago, I interviewed a young, bright virtual assistant in Ohio who possessed all the technical skills I needed to support my growing speaking and coaching business.  She was professional and timely.  She had experience in helping to make busy professionals’ lives easier by handling all the little details behind the scenes like travel arrangements, client scheduling, shipping, bookkeeping, editing, website maintenance, and a million other little tasks that were not my strong suit and not a good use of my time.  She knew nothing about dentistry, professional speaking, or consulting, but she had a master’s degree in counseling, great references, and an eye for detail.  I hired her the next day.

Looking back, it was one of the best business decisions I’ve made, and I owe a lot of my public-facing reputation to her ability to be agile and precise as well as a natural self-starter, critical thinker, problem-solving professional with a strong set of ethics. She has clear personal boundaries about her private time and family commitments which I respect and yet is loyal enough to make occasional exceptions for me on an evening or a Saturday when it’s needed without making me feel bad about it.

Of course, like any partnership, we’ve had to work on and work out a few things in our relationship, but we’ve done so with mutual respect and a shared desire to be honest, kind, and supportive.  She has taught me as much as I’ve ever taught her and brought a perspective of efficiency and common sense that has been invaluable to me.

It takes two willing and committed people to make any partnership work.  They must be willing to speak up, comprise, listen, debate, ask tough questions and have hard conversations.  They must also be willing to praise, forgive, laugh, and love.

This week, please help Kelly and I celebrate our 11^th “workaversery” and let it serve as a reminder to take inventory of your own work relationships as well.  Are you saying what needs to be said?  Are you acknowledging what needs to be recognized?  Is there something you need to forgive?  Are there some fun and laughs that need to be had?  Is there a milestone that needs to be celebrated?

Work and life are better when we have good people in them.  Don’t forget to honor those who helped you get to the place and success you enjoy.

Thank you, Kelly Case, from the bottom of my heart!

“People who uplift you are the best kind of people. You don’t simply keep them. You have to treasure them.”

~ Dodinsky