The Role Of Compassion In Strategic Business Partnerships

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The Role Of Compassion In Strategic Business Partnerships

Eran Mizrahi is the CEO and cofounder of ingredient brothers, a natural ingredients importer.

In “The Art of Happiness,” the Dalai Lama describes compassion as a mental attitude that’s guided by “a sense of commitment, responsibility, and respect towards the other.” When those three ingredients are mixed together, one not only acknowledges someone else’s existence but also better recognizes the unique challenges they face and the value they bring to the world. It’s the roadmap toward true understanding and empathy.

In the online article “Compassion and the Individual”, the Tibetan leader further explores the role of compassion in society and how compassion is a conscious individual choice: “True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason.” When the choice for compassion is made, it becomes a vital element that keeps society together and growing. And yet, compassion and empathy aren’t often a staple of “what to look for in a strategic business partner” wish lists.

Why Compassion Belongs In Every Strategic Partnership

Viewed in the context of personal relationships, the impact of compassion has been discussed widely. But what about when it’s applied in the realm of professional partnerships?

When considering the impact of strategic partners, the things that come up most are cost-savings, increased resources, boosted sales, new markets, shared expertise and so forth. And all of those benefits are true; they should be the result of an effective strategic partnership. But the one that’s overlooked (and that can increase all the other benefits) is compassion.

In my experience, compassion—and the consideration of what someone else is facing—leads to partners asking better questions, seeing better opportunities, communicating more transparently and better goal alignment and conflict mitigation. Who wouldn’t want that in their business partnerships?

Garnering Compassion Through Systems

One study (paywall) found that non-compassionate workspaces are generally caused by the following factors: an excessive focus on short-term objectives, high work pressure, insufficient time to complete tasks, organizational politics and a lack of trust. Conversely, the same studies have found that compassionate workspaces generally share these traits: empathetic leadership, clearly defined ethical values, supportive culture, conducive structures and fair human resources practices.

Compassion is part of a highly emotive realm. But when you look at the traits shared by both compassionate and non-compassionate organizations, it becomes clear that the presence or lack of compassion is supported by the operational systems and structures that govern a company’s practices and workflow.

It’s important to note here that there’s a difference between empathy and compassion, and it lies with intent. Understanding your partner’s ecosystem and their journey is where it begins. But there needs to be an active intention to help your partners through every action for a partnership to really reach its full maturity. But how do you and your team move from empathy to compassion through key systemic changes?

Creating Strategic Partnership Teams Driven By Intent

Imagine if each employee could improve the outlook of an organization’s business partners. With compassion as the foundation of each interaction, they can.

Becoming aware of a partner’s operational challenges and experiences, and developing the compassion needed to try and change those circumstances (or at least be mindful of them at all times), can turn a strategic partnership on its head and make it into something entirely new. Here’s how to turn that awareness and empathy into compassion:

Provide empathy training.

Employees should learn how to listen more attentively to what representatives are saying—and to what they’re not saying. While personal emotional intelligence is a big part of this, employees should also learn how to take in the perspective of the persons they interact with. Perspective-taking exercises are great as both empathy exercises and team-building activities.

Reassess internal objectives.

Business shouldn’t be solely results-oriented. Yes, bottom lines exist, but they aren’t met when we’re so focused on them that we forget the organizations and people that get us there. When compassion and empathy become internal drivers, employees get to experience the impact it has on business relationships instead of just seeing it as a theoretical and abstract concept.

Create and embrace a questioning culture.

Employees need a safe environment to practice the art of questioning everything. Because that’s what compassion in a partnership requires, not simply accepting an organization’s limitations and existing structures, but questioning whether there’s something better around the corner. This is a skill that begins in their own work environment. Making questions and suggestions a formalized part of your company lets employees practice the art of analytical thinking without having to risk losing a partner. It also boosts their understanding and confidence in the impact their ideas and opinions can have.

Compassion may not be the first thing you think of when looking at possible business partners, and it may not be the skill you think your team needs to learn, but maybe it should be.


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