How companies can cultivate meaningful workplace partnerships

We often talk about how people are in a “partnership” with others.

This usually refers to a type of relationship where two or more people are working together and cooperating, usually towards a common goal. Or, the word “partnership” can simply mean a legal definition of a business where people share the profits and liabilities. Calling something a partnership means that people have some type of relationship. But does that in fact make the relationship important?

In any important work relationship, the partners should be striving to have a meaningful partnership. In common discourse, we might say that a person like Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg led a meaningful life; that it is time for a meaningful change; or that two people in conflict need to have a meaningful conversation. In these cases, the word “meaningful” describes something notably above and beyond, fulfilling a higher purpose, and having considerable impact. This is how we see the potential of meaningful partnership at work.