I’ve been down here in Australia the past week now. It has been a whirlwind of a time as we have completed one SWOT, three peer group meetings and participated in the ConnectWise user group. Lots of partner interaction and literally dozens of hours sharing content and participating in discussions and learning. As is usually the case, I am confident I have learned more from my participation than those I was supposed to lead and train. That is usually how it goes for me – the teacher gets taught and this trip has been filled with that kind of lessons thus far. One more week to go, so I may well have another blog to follow this one, but here are my initial lessons from down under in Q3 2012.

1.ANZ (Australia/New Zealand) partners are passionate about growth. They spend a lot less time focused on why they can’t grow and a lot more time learning to do it. Far too often I listen to folks who spend most of their time making excuses rather than executing. The mates here just get after it and do it. They aren’t focused on why they can’t because they are doing it already.

2.ANZ partners are hungry to learn. The closest way I can describe the folks here is that they are like sponges just waiting to soak up the next thing they can learn and apply. They aren’t filled with the thinking that they already know it all and can’t learn – they are in the room interacting and getting answers to their issues.

3.ANZ partners are not afraid to ask questions. Often in sessions there is no interaction or questions. I present and end without anyone trying to go deeper or understand more. Not so here – they are asking questions until it makes sense and even challenging what is shared if they are not sure how to apply it. Understanding is the first step to making truth something we can use – and these folks are doing well with being sure they know what was shared.

4.ANZ partners are not focused on competition. Within the same peer groups, there are members who are just down the road from each other. Over and over I have had conversations where they say that there is no shortage of opportunities in the marketplace and there is so much more to be gained by sharing that they are not at all concerned about competing – they just determine to get that attitude is going to propel them to greatness in their peer groups as they rise above the fear and focus on the value.

5.ANZ partners love to have fun together. They are a social bunch and spend the time to get to know each other and learn what is happening. That makes for deep groups that can have more impact. They visit each other’s offices, and attend events together. There is a misconception in the US that this kind of thing can happen because they are so close – but don’t forget that Australia is pretty much the same size as the US and it isn’t that there is no travel necessary. Quite the opposite is true. They just take the time and make the commitment to go deep. They run a bit slower and are more intentional with their time.

6.ANZ partners are committed to one another. I have heard story after story of partners coming together to help each other with challenges. They are willing to make sacrifices and invest to help each other through the tough times. It is a heartwarming thing to see.  They understand the power of community and how the go-giver attitude is what makes things work.

I’ve been blessed to be here the past 10 days, and still look forward to the next few. But peer power is alive and well down under. We in the US can learn a lot from these great leaders. Are you leading well? Take time to connect with partners around the world and learn from them. We don’t have all the answers in the good old USA.