Are we interested in extracting value or cultivating something together?

I've been reflecting recently on how we approach commissioning, collaboration and the relationships we build through our work, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Perhaps it's a bit like the difference between mining and cultivating? One focuses on what can be taken or extracted; the other on creating the conditions for something to grow.

So much of how we organise work is shaped by traditional hierarchies, where knowledge, resources and decision-making power are often held or controlled rather than shared.

I'm increasingly interested in what becomes possible when we shift from these more extractive ways of working towards something more collaborative and reciprocal.

It's not about removing accountability, budgets or professional boundaries, but reimagining how we work together to create more meaningful and lasting outcomes and relationships. And perhaps, in doing so, encouraging greater generosity alongside greater impact, something I've often noticed when people feel genuinely valued.

When we commission someone, we're not simply paying for their time or a set of deliverables. We're inviting different experiences, knowledge, creativity and perspectives into the work.

We're also commissioning those wonderfully simple, effective ideas that make us think, "Why didn't we think of that?" or "I could do that!" — ideas often shaped by years of practice, experimentation, learning and specialist expertise.

But perhaps the greatest opportunity lies in what happens between us, rather than simply what one party delivers to another. The learning, the exchange of ideas and the possibility of growing something of collective value that reaches beyond the immediate project.

This feels particularly relevant to creative practice, although I suspect it resonates across many sectors? (I've yet to meet anyone who wants to spend longer in the dentist's chair just to get their money's worth! But perhaps that's different).

All I know is that I personally love working in partnership, where we create space for each other's expertise to be recognised, knowledge to be shared (not tested) and new capabilities to grow. Where we also recognise and honour the origins of ideas and creativity, understanding that sharing and respecting what belongs to others can go hand in hand.

For me, it's about moving beyond traditional client–supplier hierarchies towards relationships built on trust, respect, reciprocity and shared purpose.

I'd love to hear how others experience this, from either side of the relationship. When has a commission felt like a genuine partnership? What made the difference? And how might we cultivate more of this in the way we work?

Image made by me, pretty quickly this morning, using the layers I've built up over time :)