Kaya Reader

This week, we're turning our attention to something many of us associate with growth and opportunity:

Partnerships and collaborations.

A joint masterclass.
A podcast swap.
A referral relationship.
A co-created offer.
A strategic partnership.

Collaboration can create opportunities we couldn't create alone.

But there's another question worth asking:

Because working together doesn't automatically make a collaboration equitable, reciprocal or inclusive.
​And sometimes, the answer isn't found in what the collaboration produces.
It's found in how the relationship itself is designed.

Let's explore that together.

Is This You, Reader?

Maybe you've been thinking about collaborating with another business owner.
Perhaps you've been approached about a partnership and you're excited about the possibilities.

• More reach.
• More visibility.
• More connection.
• More value for your audiences.

But maybe you've also experienced collaborations that left you wondering:

Or perhaps everything looks fine on paper, but something about the relationship doesn't feel quite right.

Sometimes what looks like a collaboration problem is actually a leadership and design problem.

The Blindspot

We often talk about collaboration using phrases like:

And sometimes that's absolutely true.
But both people receiving something doesn't necessarily mean the relationship is reciprocal.

One person might bring an audience.
Another might bring specialist expertise.

One might provide the platform.
Another might contribute hours of preparation, creative labour, intellectual property or community relationships.

Both people benefit.

But the value being exchanged may not be experienced the same.
And that's where things become particularly important when there are differences in
​power,
access,
resources,
visibility or
social privilege.

Especially when someone is contributing lived experience, cultural knowledge, community relationships or access to a marginalised audience.

The question isn't simply:

It's:

The Leadership Shift

This is where Inclusive Business Leadership can be incredibly valuable in business collaborations. It invites us to move beyond:

and ask:

That means becoming curious about:

1. Who has influence?
2. Whose needs have been considered?
3. Whose expertise is shaping the work?
4. Who is carrying the labour?
5. Who receives recognition?
6. Who carries the risk?

These aren't questions you need to answer perfectly.
They're questions that help you see more.

And you can't intentionally change what you haven't yet noticed.

This Week's Inclusive Business Leadership Principle

A collaboration doesn't become equitable simply because both people agreed to it.

Intentional collaboration considers power, value, responsibility, visibility and experience.

It doesn't mean everyone receives exactly the same thing.

Reciprocity isn't sameness.

Louise's Weekly Leadership Question

This week I'd love you to sit with this question:

Have we designed this collaboration together... or have I designed an opportunity and invited someone else into it?

Explore Your Business Through This Lens

You don't need to immediately change anything.

Just notice.

• Who shaped the opportunity?
• Who has influence?
• Whose contribution is most visible?
• Whose contribution might be less visible? And...
• If I looked at it objectively, would I still consider this relationship fair?

Ready to Grow Your Business Leadership?

You don't need to wait until you're facing a difficult partnership, a complicated decision or a business situation you don't know how to navigate.

You can develop your leadership before the next situation arrives.

That's what the Inclusion Creators Collective is designed for.

Inside the ICC, you develop your ability to look at the real decisions you're making in your business through the lens of Inclusive Business Leadership: to notice what you might otherwise miss, ask better questions, examine your assumptions, and make more intentional decisions.

Because the goal isn't to become someone who knows all the "right" answers.

It's to become the kind of business leader who knows how to think when the answer isn't obvious.

And you don't have to do that development alone.

You'll have a community of other service-based business owners, live coaching and leadership conversations, learning resources and space to bring the real situations you're navigating.

The ICC is $33/month - that's around $1.08 a day to actively develop your business leadership.

If you're ready to become more intentional about the business you're building (and the leader you're becoming while you build it), I'd love to tell you more about the ICC and how it can support the business you're building.

Reply to this email if you want to explore if the ICC is right for you.

​Carry This Into Your Week

The strongest collaborations aren't necessarily the ones where everyone gets the same thing.

They're the ones where people's contributions, needs, circumstances and power have been genuinely considered.

Collaboration can do more than grow our businesses.

It can give us an opportunity to practise the kind of reciprocity, shared power and mutual respect we want to see more of in the world.

Until next time, may the relationships you build create something special that you couldn't have created alone.

P.S. If you know another service-based business owner who's considering a partnership or collaboration, I'd love you to forward this email to them.

Sometimes social change begins with one business owner sharing a conversation with another. 🦋