Operating Agreement Doesn’t Eliminate Disagreement
Teamwork transforms your weakness. Keep that in mind when you draft your operating agreement. Build your roles with an eye towards reciprocal exchange and roles growth.
A summer storm damaged a tree branch. The branch fell over my house’s power line. I have the ability to climb, saw and remove the branch. If I carried out the process alone; I risked the limb falling on the wire. And ZAP!
To safely removed the obstruction I needed help. My wife, Jennifer reluctantly obliged. I climbed the ladder and sawed the branch. She grimaced trying to keep the fallen branch off the wire.The tree branch was too heavy to lift using arm strength. Soon she expressed trouble.
One conclusion, (and the wrong one if you value your partner) is that my teammate sucks and can’t handle the task. Another conclusion, we can switch roles. We tried with me lifting the branch and her climbing the ladder and sawing. It didn’t work. But that simple lab test opened up a significant detail. The tree branch really is heavy and at best all you can do is brace it with your body and keep it off the power wire. I suggested that we switch roles. This time, I showed Jennifer how to brace the branch with her body core. When the branch was sawed free. I could then take on the role of lifting the branch away and free from the wire.
This all happened really quickly. Several keys helped us achieve success. We wgreed upon a common outcome: the tree branch needs to come off the wire. We communicated our struggle: I can’t lift the tree branch and keep it stable. We experimented with roles: you try to saw the limb; I’ll hold it. When you find a technique that works teach it to your teammate. We can’t lift it but can brace its weight with our body.
A standard Operating Agreement doesn’t lend itself easily to these kinds of flow nuances. So don’t be standard. Extend to your teammate an agreement that encourages a mutually agreed upon outcome or long term goal. Structure the agreement for role exchanges. Stimulate awareness, listening and speaking truths. You are not playing monopoly. You are tasked with allowing the creative flow to illuminate exciting results. Write an agreement that meets that goal. You might surprise yourself and your teammate.
