You can think of it in terms of how the human body flourishes in the earth’s atmosphere. The warmth of the sun keeps the body functioning and comfortable; the rich air nourishes it with oxygen. Now imagine for a moment that body being transported to Mars. If left unprotected, how well would it survive? At the moment of arrival, it would be gasping for oxygen, and within minutes the frigid Martian atmosphere would freeze it stiff. Such an environment could not support human life. On earth we are generally not conscious of the atmosphere; we take it for granted as we move about beneath its invisible blanket. But it is there, protecting, supporting, and nurturing our lives. Likewise, the atmosphere we create in our partnerships using the Six Partnering Attributes—Self-Disclosure and Feedback, Win-Win Orientation, Ability to Trust, Future Orientation, Comfort with Change, and Comfort with Interdependence—will determine how well we survive.

At the top and bottom of the model are two parallel sets of stages of development: partnership and relationship, defining the natural progressions that people and groups go through as they develop and grow. Yet, these stages are as fluid as they are predictable—while you can predict their occurrence within a period of time, they are easily influenced by outside forces that can cause them to change and even revert to previous stages.