As many of you already know, Joost Allard, my co-founder and partner in Learn Deep passed away just before thanksgiving.
When we started talking through what Learn Deep would be, it was Joost’s perspective on organizational partnerships that drove much of what we put in place. For Joost, partnerships are much more than banding together to capture a near term opportunity. True partnerships comes when organizations are able to collaborate on strategy to support aligned goals on an ongoing basis. This requires a solid understanding of each other’s goals and capabilities, and concerted work to build trust. This deeper understanding of what we might do together allows us to see opportunities beyond merely combining existing programs or offerings. It allows us to see how the capabilities behind what we currently offer might combine and allow us to take on new and bigger challenges. Working on something together is easy enough to do. For Joost, it wasn’t a partnership unless the parties are working towards something together.
The primacy of trust, personal relationships, and a shared vision is what drove us to launch Collab Labs as Learn Deep’s first offering. We recognized that the opportunity for educators to meet in person with individuals in industry, higher-ed, and nonprofits could offer a first step towards building the connections that would support richer ways to engage students. Collab Labs could offer a forum to develop a shared vision, build relationships, and identify what participants might work on together to move towards that vision. Joost’s deep understanding of the value of these relationships led to a discussion format that is generous in the time it gives participants to uncover and explore shared passions. On more than one occasion where I might have tried to force the next point of discussion, Joost would note the energy behind conversations in the room and slow me down, “Let them talk a little more.”
The conversations at Collab Labs have allowed us to help educators and partners find what they might work towards together. The relationships and trust established in these sessions lay the groundwork for getting projects going, and enable a process where educators and community partners can work together to design and offer something more for students.
It’s been a little over 10 years since Joost and I had the initial conversations that led to Learn Deep. You can thank his vision for effective collaboration for what we’ve been able to do since then. In honor of his memory, spend a little more time, in person, to explore where the goals and dreams of one of your partners align with your own and how that might point to new and richer ways to deepen your collaboration. Bonus points if at least one person in the conversation is a K-12 educator.
Please keep Christine McQueen and the rest of Joost’s family in your thoughts. Keep as well, his vision for both what true partnerships can bring to everyone they touch and the real work required to get there.
