Collab & Create: 3 Tips for Impactful Partnership || Side Effects of the Called Creative, The Series

Hey Called Creative!

Do you feel that? The shift that’s taking place?

As I always presumptiously align your journey with my own, today’s episode will be no different. We have similar callings so if you’re not experiencing it now or haven’t ever, you may later.

For most of my “career”, I’ve been a lone wolf. I’ve worked with a heap of others but mostly in the context of independent contracting, consulting, and contributing in isolated formats but rarely in true collaboration or partnership arrangements.

But lately, it’s been so different!  Opportunities of partnership have been springing forth from the most unexpected places.

For the sake of our conversation moving forward, let’s take a look at a few definitions:

Collaboration: the act or process of working together or cooperating; a product resulting from working together or cooperating

Partnership: the state or condition of being a partner; participation; association

• Partner:  a person who shares or is associated with another in some action or endeavor

I’m partnering with a good friend of mine to facilitate a community of single women expecting marriage. I’m collaborating with owners of an event and content studio to host an event promoting just that: collaborations and partnerships! 

As I find myself in this new territory, I’m allowing the Lord to teach me about what makes partnership impactful. Here are three tips:

1. Partner In Alignment

Let’s be clear: our discussion is not in regard to casual dealings with others like receiving from an investor or providing a product or service to a client or customer, but solely about partnership and collaboration.

When you are collaborating and partnering with someone else, you come together to procreate and birth an idea. Just as you are hopefully thorough, thoughtful and careful about choosing a natural partner to lay down and procreate with, so it should be in the spiritual.

Creativity is spiritual. To conceive an idea with a partner and then birth its execution is spiritual. We should take it seriously that we are rightfully aligned with our partners in order for there to be Kingdom impact.

Remember, we’re not creating, producing, pioneering and trail blazing for our own personal missions and glory. This is about funneling the agenda of Heaven into the earth in whatever unconventional way He has graced us to do so.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16:

Do not be joined to unbelievers. What do right and wrong have in common? Can light and darkness be friends? How can Christ and Satan agree? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? How can the temple of the true God and the statues of other gods agree? We are the temple of the living God.

This doesn’t only pertain to marriage as we find in most contexts, this pertains to all partnerships in our lives, Called Creative. Business, creative, friendships. 

Now the following thoughts are my personal revelation and as with anything from a human vessel, chew the meat and spit out the bones. 

If you are unashamedly showing up in the name of Jesus Christ with a Kingdom-focused end goal and your potential partner loves, accepts and agrees with that goal, even though they are not as “sold out and sanctified” as you, I believe the Lord can use you and that collaboration to showcase His nature and love to that not-yet believing partner. 

Now, of course, I would strongly recommend that you wouldn’t move forward with coming into partnership agreements with those who proudly and defiantly profess allegiance to false gods or to wicked practices; which probably wouldn’t happen anyway since they wouldn’t be excited about your creative concept to glorify Christ. Always use discernment & never lean to your own understanding.

On the practical side of rightful alignment, ensure that you and your potential partner have the same core values and moral barometers; ensure that you share the same vision for your project and agree with the idea of what success is. Just because someone is a Christian doesn’t automatically mean that they’ll make you a great partner or collaborator and vice versa.

2. Be Efficient

The definition of efficiency is performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and effort; having and using requisite (necessary) knowledge, skill, and industry.

A partnership approved and graced by God shouldn’t be severely toilsome and unorganized. Efficiency is the result of implementing the wisdom He has given us into how to impactfully collaborate.

Identify the competencies and abilities of both you and your partner then delegate the tasks that make the most sense between you.

If your gifts are administration and budgeting, take on the paperwork and finance portion of your project. If her gifts are creative vision and marketing, it’ll be a great idea for her to take on social media promotion and creative direction.

It would probably be a good idea also to consider partners who are not directly similar to you. Potential partners who think about a matter from a different angle and have a different skillset can afford great benefit to the overall project.

Efficiency also means taking advantage of the resources available to you. As a valuable partner, what resources can help you perform or function in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and effort? 

Could Chat GPT help you write a caption or create a marketing calendar? Would the scheduling tool on social media save you time? Will accounting software quickly allocate funds? Utilize your available resources. I’m a firm believer in working wiser and not harder than necessary for the sake of efficiency.

3. Embrace Confrontation

As you can tell by now, Called Creative, I’m good for a definition. 

Confrontation: an open conflict of opposing ideas, forces, etc; a bringing together of ideas, themes, etc., for comparison.

Confrontation is not a bad thing. It is natural and contributes to healthy partnerships. The Bible says

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another

Proverbs 27:17

When one brilliant Called Creative is walking alongside another dynamic Called Creative, opposing ideas or viewpoints is inevitable! 

So when that happens, how can we embrace confrontation the correct way? Let’s pull from what Jesus instructs in Matthew chapter 18:

First, if you find that your partner has done something wrong, go and talk about it to that person and keep it between you two. Of course, do so with the fruits of the Spirit abounding like patience, gentleness and kindness. Sometimes, that alone can be enough to make all things well again.

However, if that’s not the case, go and talk to your partner again, but this time take two or three others as mediating witnesses. They are there to either agree that wrong was done or gently let you know that you’re tripping.

If they also agree that your partner has done wrong but your partner still won’t agree or take accountability, Jesus said go get your pastor on them! Lol. Now if the partner doesn't even care what your church leader is saying, then “stop being his friend [because] He is like somebody who refuses to obey God.” 

You see why it would be best if your partner was a believer in the first place? Because from jump, they would have Holy Spirit to convict them before you even have to bring the two to three people in your business!

I believe the time has come for many innovators, producers, trail blazers, thought leaders, creatives, etc to come out of isolation and partner together for greater works! 

Use the aforementioned tips as prayer points as you transition into collaboration.

I pray that what is birthed will be exactly what the world needs and pleasing to the Lord.

Happy Partnering!

Comment below with your thoughts.

xoxo,

Khiara

A Called Creative for Called Creatives

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