Drivers
What local opportunities or needs motivate leaders from different sectors to form collective leadership partnerships?
Key takeaways:
Initiatives were most often born out of a desire to: address gaps in the workforce or in student experiences (i.e. disengagement or post-secondary gaps); events that triggered collective action in a community; catalytic funding opportunities; and/or government policy or initiatives.
The tendency of organizations to cite multiple factors indicates the importance of developing cross-sector partnerships that can address multifaceted challenges.
A balance of designing for student needs/interest and cultivating industry buy-in is vital. While student success often drives initial design, implementation depends on early and sustained industry engagement. Addressing this tension early can strengthen both program relevance and durability.
Possible motivating factors that helped launch Collective Leadership efforts:
A gap in the workforce
Students graduating without post-secondary plans
Student disengagement
Low academic attainment
Existing strong institutional relationships
Catalytic community events
Government mandates or opportunities for support
A funding opportunity to galvanize collective action
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Leaders
What competencies do leaders report motivating and sustaining collective leadership partnerships?
Key takeaways:
Leaders of initiatives must be able to think in nontraditional ways. Breaking silos (both externally and internally) and stepping outside of the status quo requires innovation and a willingness to break rigid bureaucracies to find solutions to challenges as they arise. The mindset is one of, how do we make this happen, rather than, that can’t happen because there are too many roadblocks.
The emphasis on shared decision-making and student-centered thinking reflects a broader shift from institutional control to collaborative governance—requiring leaders to balance organizational goals with collective priorities.
Sustaining the work requires a willingness to pilot, adapt, and learn. Effective leaders foster environments where iteration and responsiveness is the norm.
The relational foundation of these efforts—“we just like each other”—reveals the often-overlooked role of interpersonal trust in driving policy and systems change, underscoring the need to cultivate and support the human dynamics behind partnership.
Core competencies leaders possess that motivate and sustain partnerships:
Coalition-building mindset
Prioritizing collective goals over individual organizational goals
Mindset of continuous learning and improvement
Ability to build trust quickly and strategically across the partnership
Willingness to innovate, break silos, and creatively work within bureaucracies
A belief that every student can have post-secondary success
Knowing what your expertise is, when to take the lead, and when to take a step back
Practices and Structures
Practices and structures that enable collaboration:
Key takeaways:
Shared governance structures—such as steering committees, working groups, and regular meetings—are essential to maintaining coordination, transparency, and momentum across partners.
Codifying partnership expectations and commitments through MOUs or similar guiding documents helps ensure sustainability through leadership transitions as well as outlines roles, responsibilities, and can articulate a shared problem partners are working to solve, shared goals, create some common language, and collective markers of success.
Policy flexibility at the local and/or state level can support implementation of workforce experiences by enabling cross-institution collaboration, seat time flexibility, and data sharing.
Backbone/Intermediary organizations can play a key facilitator role—coordinating initiative management, facilitating communication, and ensuring continuity through staffing, funding, and documentation support.
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Practices and structures that enable collaboration:
How do collective leadership partnerships aim to create learning experiences that prepare all young people for the 21st century and lead to more equitable outcomes?
