Examines the system that underlies the structure and operation of most of our organizations.

• Describes partnering versus patriarchy.
• The questions you need to ask when considering a shift from “hero myth” to the “myth of relationships.” Page 22.
• Provides guidelines on how to organize differently if you don’t want to play by the traditional competitive rules any more. Sample questions to ask yourself to change the paradigm. Pages 40-41.

Explores the partnership model and how it applies to organizations.

• What are the principles of partnership that make collective progress truly possible? Pages 41-42.
• How partnership is possible at ALL levels of society. Pages 44-45.
• Does your organization display the characteristics of a partnership organization? Find out on page 49.
• Common misunderstandings about non-hierarchical structures. Page 54.
• 5 high-level strategies that help you move towards a partnership organization. Find them on pages 57-61.

Explores different ways of keeping and expressing power. Dr. Marc Porter presents a special section on “Powerful Partnerships in the Common Ground”

• Differences between power-over and power-with and what you need to know BEFORE you begin to shift from one to the other. Page 63.
• The “laws of power” and why you need to understand them. Page 68.
• What life looks like within a power-with organization. Pages 79-80.
• Why “valuing diversity” is not the same as power-with. Page 82.
• How the “underground” chips away at morale and you may not recognize it. How you can move from “underground” to “Common Ground” without the organization falling apart. Page 83 ff.
• How one organization moved from “underground” to “Common Ground” and the surprising effect on revenues. Pages 93-96.

Explains basic differences between traditional management practices and soulful leadership, including the mentor as midwife who helps birth new growth.

• Do you know the differences between traditional management skills and skills required in a partnership organization? See page 100.
• The “stories” that traditional organizations are built upon and how they affect everyone. Pages103-104.
• 2 basic organization types and how they play out in everyday operations. Which one is yours? Pages 113-115.
• How people at all levels can create positive changes by practicing “servant leadership.” Pages 120-121.
• The mythical origins and importance of mentoring, and how soulful mentoring supports soulful leadership. Pages 123-124.

Describes successful partnership models in corporations, non-profit and grassroots organizations past and present. Presents a case study of a state-level organization of a federal agency.

If you think your organization is too bureaucratic, authoritarian, or hierarchical for the partnership model, this case study will change your mind.

Examines a variety of partnership community models past and present. How do you create a community around partnerships, and what are the benefits you can expect?

• What building community really means. Pages 151-154.
• How partnerships can help us navigate confusing and ambiguous times. Pages 160-162.
• “Calling the Circle” as a way to begin building a partnership community. Pages 162-166.

Provides insights into the process of transition. How it relates to ancient initiation patterns. Transitions required to shift organizational culture, myths and relationships.

• Do you know the critical distinction between transition and change? Learn it on page 179.
• Mythical transition metaphors that shed light on transitions in organizations. Pages 184-192.
• 10 key actions that are important in ensuring a successful transition. Page 193.
• A model to follow during your transitional journey. Read about it on page 177.

"Cynthia King's Creating Partnerships - Unleashing Collaborative Power in the Workplace is a must read for senior managers and organizational change agents. Cynthia's framework for a new model of leadership within organizations contains an in depth analysis of management theory coupled with proposed strategic interventions that can create profound and positive organizational change."
  - William Batty, Executive Director, Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara

“Cynthia King has a book that penetrates to the very core of nature's basic design of social synergy as applied to the workplace.  It is a profound offering to all of us as to the elements necessary for learning creative partnerships in the workplace, and beyond, as we aim toward a Partnership World.”
- Barbara Marx Hubbard, President, Foundation for Conscious Evolution, and author of Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our Social Potential

“There’s nothing more important than rethinking power for both personal and planetary well-being. Cynthia King shows us the way!”
- Frances Moore Lappé, co-author of You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear and The Quickening of America

“Globalization, technology, environmental and cultural challenges have seriously eroded the value of the traditional organizational model and its ‘hero leader.’ A shift from the hierarchical model is a cultural imperative, and this book points to a mandate and techniques for power sharing and collaboration at the level of organizational communities. Bravo.” 
   - Bob Vitamante, Corporate CFO

"Dr. King's work provides extraordinary clarity to both the rigorous work of creating and the power of authentic partnerships. Whether people are looking to renew and revitalize their organizations or are creating new ones, Creating Partnerships: Unleashing Collaborative Power in the Workplace will give a strong foundation for the journey and allow organizations to finally redeem the true potential and value found in people working together collaboratively. Dr. King has captured the spirit and extraordinary value embedded in collaborative partnerships, and she provides practical, concise, and relevant steps in her chapter on "Weaving New Patterns and Changing the Story.”
- Tom Henry, Director, Summit Charter Academy

Cynthia King goes far beyond just describing a leadership model of collaborative partnering--she gives practical steps for (1)why the "power-over" model delimits the opportunities of the 21st Century workplace and (2)for how to successfully transition to a partnership business environment where boundaries are constantly blurred--between management and employees as well as between corporation/supplier/customer. Cynthia's book is a savvy contextual challenge to unleashing the creative power of the individual as well as the corporation. As such it engages the reader in the evolving dialog of enterprise and community--a dialog that will ultimately describe our work-life environment. It is a must read for anyone seeking to improve the economic, social and psychological aspects of the workplace--or any aspect of our culture.
- Deborah L. Talbot, “Social Entrepreneur”

Organizational consultant Cynthia King presents Creating Partnerships: Unleashing Collaborative Power in the Workplace, a guide to crafting enduring partnerships that rise above the all-too-common turf battles, office politics, and micromanagement that plague organizations. Chapters discuss the benefits and potential of a solid partnership, how to handle the paradox of power in the partnership organization, how to build the partnership community, and much more. What distinguishes Creating Partnerships is its emphasis on peacemaking and egalitarian power-sharing, rather than more traditional structures that echo the ruler/ruled dichotomy of the feudal era. A truly groundbreaking organizational guide. "The transition beyond the patriarchal system of power-over and into power-with partnerships will not occur easily. Those who have vested interests in maintaining the status quo have too much to lose in allowing changes to take place. Nevertheless, there is a growing company of individuals who are committed to weaving the fabric of a new culture."
- Midwest Book Review

Move from frustrating office politics to productive collaboration! Interpersonal conflicts, rigid hierarchies, turf battles, and micromanagement hamper the effectiveness of many organizations. This book offers field-tested, successful strategies for shifting organizational operating systems and creating strong, enduring, and productive partnership organizations that unleash collaborative power. Partnering leadership facilitates moving from “power over” others to “power with” your team, and the Common Ground model is highly effective for transforming conflicts. Practical examples of successful partnership organizations are examined, and key actions for successfully managing partnership transitions are presented.

Cynthia King has been an organizational consultant for over 25 years. She excels in guiding groups who are ready to transform their working relationships. She helps build leadership capacity throughout their organization. She helps create a climate that supports effective teamwork and authentic, productive partnerships that support the strategic goals of the organization.
- Mary Barrett, The Nashville News

After the Ropes Course: Getting Serious About Partnership and Collaboration at Work

The thing that many people find is one of the most frustrating and difficult aspects of going to work is office politics. In this game, no one truly wins, and the organization ultimately loses. Enduring the daily power struggles and turf battles can consume enormous amounts of energy, sidetrack projects, and bind up the enthusiasm, creativity, and power sources critical to organizational success.

Global markets and rapid technological advances require agility and innovation. Yet in an era when 75% of organizational change efforts fail, it is becoming ever more important to find new models for getting work done. A valuable book by Cynthia King titled Creating Partnerships: Unleashing Collaborative Power in the Workplace answers that need. In it, King describes how there have been many attempts to address the problems that arise when people attempt to work in “teams” without changing the underlying operating system.

Many teambuilding approaches range from conflict management and communication-based retreats to highly interactive games that require cooperation for group success. Yet realistically, although the group may have an enjoyable “mountain-top experience” while learning about group dynamics or navigating the ropes course, the real challenge arises when everyone returns to the office and tries to sustain their newly minted agreements and behaviors.

This book defines partnership as something much more than legal or contractual relationships. It presents the Partnership Model, which is based on a very different use of power than the traditional combination of top-down control, turf protection, and win-lose competition. Likewise, its model for Partnering Leadership outlines a welcome replacement for micro-management and strong-arm tactics designed to squelch bickering and maintain tight command of the workplace.

Creating Partnerships provides many examples of successful partnership organizations, drawing from corporate, educational, nonprofit, and government settings that show why and how the Partnership Model works. The examples show how creativity, innovation, energy, and productivity are unleashed, after having been held back by rigid structures and autocratic policies. Dr. King also introduces Marc Porter’s Common Ground Model. Porter’s model reframes how to move successfully through difficult conflict and in the process grow respect and civility. In the final chapter, the critical process of making the transition from partisanship to partnership is explored and illustrated with mythic stories, and ten key action steps required for transforming the organizational operating system are explained.

This book is a long overdue guide for shifting from traditional top-down organizations to a new way of sharing power and building commitment. Based on her experiences consulting with a wide array of organizations over 25 years, King has captured the essence of successful, lasting partnerships. The story of a federal agency that has successfully made and sustained the shift from partisanship to partnership is told in the voices of those who experienced and guided the transition. King offers a map of the partnership territory that addresses the “where to start and what to do” questions. She contends that no amount of game playing will turn the tide of a dysfunctional organizational culture - that in fact, it takes a lot of work and a lot of involvement from people inside the organization. In other words, partnership is an inside job.

Published in Fall 2005, Creating Partnerships is available for $19.95 (plus applicable sales tax to California addresses and $4 shipping for the first copy) - direct from the publisher, Wisdom Way Press (www.creating-partnerships.com) and from Amazon.com. Bookstores and libraries can order it through Baker & Taylor or Quality Books, Inc. Contact the publisher for quantity discounts or faculty desk copies.