Seeing the relationship between Carolyn and Isis taught me a lot, and has made me think a lot about how important it is to work with the right people, especially when finding a business partner. Carolyn and Isis work so well together, and I saw that manifest in a number of ways.

1) Work-life balance

When you work with someone who knows you so well and understands that there are other relationships and priorities in your life other than just work, it’s a lot easier to balance those things. Throughout my time at First Seating, I witnessed so many occasions where Carolyn and Isis were so understanding of each other - from workout classes and spending time with a busy significant other, to friend’s birthdays and family emergencies, they were willing to be flexible with the schedule to accommodate life’s various demands. This flexibility and understanding also extended to me - I was given freedom to schedule meetings with other people, and leave work earlier to make my weekly coaching calls, both of which are important to my Ei education.

2) Boundaries

When two people are both close friends and business partners, it can be really easy to get side-tracked in conversations and keep talking about various topics, because there is usually way too much to talk about. Carolyn and Isis were good about letting each other know when they needed the time and space to just crank something out. They would declare “headphone land” for a given amount of time, and then just work on whatever needed to get done. They also had days when they would work separately to be more productive.

3) Fun + silliness

True story: we once took a half-hour break to do laughter yoga. If you haven’t experienced the wonders of laughter yoga, please check it out. It’s ridiculous. We also shared afternoon granola, baked banana bread, and went on field trips that involved milkshakes and ice cream. Carolyn and Isis are some of the most hardworking people I’ve ever met, but they recognized the value of play and having fun.

4) Support

Whenever one of the two would feel down, the other would be quick to say something reaffirming and positive. This helped keep spirits up even when things got tough, such as having client engagements fall through, and provided motivation to keep pushing forward.

5) complementary skill sets

One of the reasons Carolyn and Isis work so well together is that they understand each others’ strengths and really play to them. Isis is passionate about strategy and facilitation - she handles the bulk of designing the agendas and playbooks for each workshop. Carolyn is creative and social - she prepares collaborative exercises for clients, and handles marketing, social media, and business development. While they will of course always work as a team and share responsibilities, distinguishing strengths makes it easy to divide and conquer to get more quality work done and bring out the best in each other.

6) being considerate

Carolyn and Isis don’t take each other for granted. Though they have known each other for years and spend quite a bit of time together, they will still express constant appreciation and say “thank you.” These little things are what keep any relationship healthy.

7) embracing the whole person

There are always ups and downs in life, and this affects how we feel and behave. In certain workplaces, it can seem inappropriate to bring this emotional baggage to work, but it didn’t feel that way at the First Seating. Carolyn and Isis were open with each other and could communicate about the various emotions they were experiencing, even when it wasn’t directly related to work. It made the workplace feel like more than just a workplace. They have created a safe place just to be.

8) Passion

Perhaps most important, they both love what they do - with the exception of accounting, there has never been any work or task that I’ve heard them express dread towards. Their shared passion makes it easy and enjoyable to work together towards their common goal.

The ingredients for a relationship like this include: shared experiences, trust, willingness to be vulnerable, understanding each others’ strengths and how to work together, empathy, and understanding. In other words, Carolyn and Isis have all the qualities that they are trying to help other organizations build more of, and it’s really wonderful and inspiring to see. These are all the same qualities I am working on in my own personal life, with friends, family, the people who matter most to me. I am so thankful that Carolyn and Isis could be an example through in their interactions with each other, and I appreciate all that it has taught me.

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