Belle's World - Symbiosis
Have you considered how symbiosis can help you build stronger relationships, without the tension?
The word "symbiosis" comes from biology. It means the close and often long-term relationship between two different species that live close to each other.
In nature, symbiosis can look like many different things, like how bees and flowers help each other, or how clownfish and sea anemones depend on each other. There are thousands of other scientifically documented symbiotic relationships.
What if we took the idea of symbiosis and applied it to human relationships and teams? Imagine how powerful it would be to embrace and use our differences instead of trying to fit into a single way of thinking or acting. In this article, I want to talk about why it's important to value differences in relationships and how doing so can lead to partnerships that are good for everyone.
Accepting differences is a key part of building strong relationships and working well together. When we recognize and value the differences in others, we can use those differences to make a partnership that is stronger than the sum of its parts. Different personalities, skills, and points of view can lead to strengths that complement each other and help us reach the same goals.
For example, I'm outgoing and good with people, and my life partner is detail-oriented and methodical. Because of these differences, we are able to work well together. He sets things up, and I am usually the one who interacts with others to get things done. We work well together because we each bring our own strengths to the table. This makes us a more effective and successful team. Additionally, it keeps each of us stress free because we are doing things that are “easy” for us.
Understanding your strengths and weaknesses is crucial to building a symbiotic relationship that can help you navigate challenging situations more effectively. For example, when we recently had a flat tire, my life partner and I were able to divide the tasks based on our individual strengths. My partner is good at research and organization, so he was able to quickly gather all the insurance information needed and put a plan in place. I was able to field calls because I am good at communicating. This way of splitting up the work not only made use of our different skills but also made the whole process go more smoothly and with less stress. By taking turns and working together, we were able to get through the situation and find a solution more quickly. This kind of partnership shows how important it is to recognize and use each other's strengths, especially when things are hard or stressful.
Creating a relationship that works well for both people can be hard, especially if they have different ways of communicating or strengths that overlap. My life partner and I have different communication styles. We both have different ways of processing information. By recognizing this difference and adapting to each other's styles, we were able to find a way to work together effectively and get things done in a way that worked for both of us. Another example is overlapping strengths in vacation planning. My life partner and I are both good at planning vacations. He is better at organizing and planning in detail, while I am better at making friends along the way. So that we don't do the same thing twice or get confused, we divide the tasks based on our strengths. This lets each of us contribute in a way that makes the most of our strengths and minimizes the chance of overlap. By figuring out how to deal with these problems together, we've built a stronger relationship that uses our differences to make us a better team.
In the end, it's important to recognize and embrace differences in relationships and collaborations if you want to build a partnership that uses each person's strengths. By knowing our own strengths and being aware of the strengths of others, we can divide tasks in a way that plays to each other's strengths, making the partnership (whether personal or professional) more efficient and effective. By working through problems like personality clashes and strengths that overlap, we can build a stronger relationship that makes the most of our individual strengths and uses them as little as possible.
I want you to think about your own relationships and collaborations to see where symbiosis might work.
What are some ways that you and your partner(s) or team have used the differences between you to make your relationship stronger?
Recognize that your differences can be strengths instead of problems, and take the time to figure out how you can work together better and more efficiently.
Welcome to Belle’s world. Everything in this world is based on a bell curve. Our media concentrates on giving advice to make everyone be a part of the masses. Belle's world focuses on the outer extremes of the bell curve.
This is a series of our CEO's insights and her perception of the world. They say perception is reality and she lives in her own fantasy world. This allows her to delve into the human element of our lives, helping individuals decipher their own souls, to understand, who they are and what they want, in the journey of life. As an executive coach | connector | cognitive diversity catalyst, our CEO see things from a different light that defies normal logic. These are her musings to help you unleash your mind and transform your life to see a little differently.
Belle’s world explores the extremes and goes beyond the surface. Ready to read about some of the “elephants in the room?”
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