Co-founders, business partners, and other business leaders and owners who want to build stronger working relationships with their partners and other key stakeholders will benefit from improved business partner communication through partnership coaching. This can be a wide range of different types of partnerships, from families, to couples, to business partners, to friends and so on.

The coaching I offer takes the form of guided sessions with a professional, with the goal of putting you at ease and working alongside you to solve the challenges ahead. The standard coaching process will follow these steps.

• We begin with a business partnership assessment consisting of questionnaires and structured one-to-one interviews.
• After reviewing that data, we determine how to proceed. This often involves building on communication skills and getting a sense of other underlying issues.

It varies by client, depending on initial issues as well as the willingness to open up and work through them. Coaching should result in:

• More constructive communication
• Resolutions for issues that are difficult to discuss
• A clear, joint decision-making process in place
• A sense of ease with organizational structures, roles and processes
• Addressing blindspots and committing to future personal goals
• Other underlying issues resolved
• Generally, less tension and friction, with greater collaboration

Usually, their needs are not being met either, and they might see a benefit in participating to meet their own needs.

However, if they won’t, and your partnership disagreements mean you’d rather work
through issues separately for now, we can work on your side of the partnership and
organizational dynamics. Doing so will have some positive impact albeit less than what
could be accomplished by working together.

Also keep in mind that In most cases, the lack of willingness to work through the issues
means the partnership issues will get progressively worse. Being prepared for this and
having a course of action in mind will help decrease the negative impact on you and your
company.

It’s confusing but generally:

• Coaches work to improve performance and abilities
• Mediators facilitate conflict resolution
• Consultants offer analysis and directive guidance
• Therapists help to address mood and thought disorders
• Couples conselors help with dysfunctional dynamics in relationships

Co-founder and business partnership coaching requires a professional with training and experience in most, if not all, of the above.

For the best outcomes for your business success and the future of your relationship with your business partner, it is worth being especially thorough in your selection. Ensure that your coach has a full range of training and professional experience. Check their model, core principles, methodology and assessment process. See if you can find reviews or referrals from past clients.

I offer online/remote sessions, especially as many of my clients work remotely. For clients who are in the San Francisco Bay Area, we can meet in person in SF, Oakland, or the North Bay. I may also be able to travel to your office or a convenient professional space.

Sessions are 90-120 min long which gives us enough time to address your concerns and help you get to a better place, without having to wait for the next session.

Typically, I work with clients from three to nine months. Sometimes it takes very few sessions to achieve results, but it might be that you want to maintain a regular interval of sessions to better monitor your progress and build on those keys to successful business partnerships.

I provide customized packages so the price varies based on what we determine to be needed for your partnership. When you call for a consultation, we can discuss what is appropriate for your needs and budget.

You’ll need to give 48 hours notice if you wish to cancel or reschedule a session. With less than that, you will be charged, unless I have someone else who takes your scheduled time.

Here are the next steps to take.

• Begin a free consultation before deciding to work together. We must ensure that this is the best fit for both of us. If not, I’m happy to provide referrals to alternative coaches.
• I encourage you to read more about me, my services and my perspectives via my blog. You can also catch a case study that one of my clients has created.
• After that, we can spend our consultation discussing your business partner issues and exactly what your needs, preferences and expectations are.