Question #7 – Is it time to move on?

Q7

Is it time to move on?

Have we passed the ‘best before’ date?

Partnering initiatives, can last for months, years – sometimes decades. At some point the partners will have cause to question how much longer the partnership should continue or whether it is time to move on.

Some partners may be continuing to meet and propping up an initiative that has long outgrown its use. Triggers such as the decline of a funding source or a strategic review can instigate a critical review of your partnering.

Even very successful partnerships that have delivered outstanding results should be evaluated in terms of their value to all the partners in the longer term.

Whatever the catalyst for reconsidering the partnership it is important to recognise when to move on and take the right approach to doing so.

A major factor in this decision will be the impact the partnering is achieving. Has it delivered on the original purpose? Does it need to change direction or be reinvented? Has there been some external change that has impacted on the ability to continue the partnering?

There can be a tendency for partnering processes to drift and end up in very messy endings.

By this stage the partners should have enough trust to be able to have open and honest discussions about just where their partnership is going.

Options to consider

When the partnering is no longer working in its current form it’s time to look at other options. These could be:

> Continue in the same direction (but ensuring it delivers results)

> Formalise a new entity from the successful initiative (to continue the work, but relieve the burden on the original organisations)

> Reinvent the partnership with new goals or focus (toward a new purpose)

> Continue the partnership with some refreshed milestones and actions (toward the original purpose)

> Wind up the partnership (and celebrate success or reflect on what didn’t work)

Partnership life cycles

It can be useful to consider partnering as having a life cycle.

As partnerships move into the Sustaining Stage, they reach maturity as shown in the diagram below. Knowing where your partnership is on this life cycle and when to readjust requires stepping back and acknowledging any changes that need to occur.

It is far better to finish a partnering arrangement cleanly and decisively so that relationships remain intact, than let it drift and possibly damage reputations and goodwill among the partners.

Once you have determined where you are on the life cycle, the question to ask is how to manage the transition? Especially as partnering processes are dynamic and continually evolving.

Being proactive, as well as discussing and agreeing the strategies and actions that need to be in place will be crucial.

Outcomes

Partnering Life Stages

Reinvent

New Institution

Exit

Creating Developing Sustaining Stage

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