“Partners in the business.” Of course, every CIO likes the ring of that. The phrase evokes images of strategic relevance and great relationships with clients.

But what does this buzzword really mean? I’m reminded of my friend’s wife who said, “We’re partners, so give me your wallet and we’ll split it 50/50!”

In fact, some interpretations of partnership are insidious. They induce behaviors that undermine both strategic alignment and relationships, essentially adding up to the opposite of real partnership.

This month’s “Beneath the Buzz” debunks two dangerous definitions of partnership, and examines the nature of healthy IT-client relationships.

Dangerous Definition 1: We Share Everything
Some people tell me that partnership means that IT staff and clients are one team, and all team members share everything. They work together on everything, and decide everything jointly.

This “all for one, one for all” notion of partnership sounds lovely. But from a more cynical perspective, it means that each party has the right to meddle in the other’s domain of expertise and accountability. IT staff feel they have a say in business decisions, and clients feel they have the right to tell IT staff how to do their jobs.

Instead of each party contributing their unique competencies, decisions are influenced by people who aren’t fully qualified to make them. This cuts both ways: IT staff may know the business, but they cannot know it as well as those who spend their entire careers studying a given functional area. And clients may know what they want from IT, but they’re not as qualified to manage the delivery of IT as are staff who have dedicated their careers to technology.

Ultimately, meddling in each other’s domains damages team performance. Furthermore, shared accountability is equivalent to no accountability. Without individual accountability, projects drift. Without clear individual authorities, projects mire. And when things go wrong, everybody takes cover under the banner of “teamwork.” The finger-pointing inevitably scars relationships.

The truth is, a great partnership is symbiotic. It takes advantage of people’s different strengths, channeling each to contribute their unique talents to the tasks that most need them. Great partnerships are built on clear, distinct areas of authority which are defined based on distinct competencies and accountabilities. In this way, partnerships create synergies—capabilities greater than the sum of the parts, and certainly far greater than the muddy accountabilities and diluted competencies of the “all for one, one for all” definition of partnership.

Dangerous Definition 2: We’re the IT Team-Members
Another misguided definition of partnership that I’ve heard sounds something like this: “We are partners with our business clients, and hence equals. And since we’re the IT experts in this partnership, we’ll handle that for them.”