Early Warning Signs: Spotting the First Wobble

Partnerships don’t fail all at once. They usually start to wobble quietly, and those early cracks, if ignored, can widen into a derailment. In this first installment of our new series, we’ll explore what research says about why partnerships falter, the telltale indicators that trouble may be ahead, and what principals and partners can do to prevent small problems from becoming major breakdowns.

Why Partnerships Falter

Research shows that most struggling partnerships fall into the same patterns. The top five reasons partnerships eventually die are:

1. Change in key personnel. When the champion leaves—whether a principal, teacher, or business lead—momentum can vanish overnight.
2. Communication breakdowns. Missed calls, vague updates, unresponsive email practices, or less frequent meetings erode trust and clarity.
3. Misaligned goals or expectations. One side focuses on brand visibility, while the other focuses on student skill-building, and the disconnect grows.
4. Fragile, single-person relationships. If only one contact carries the relationship, the entire partnership becomes vulnerable.
5. Undefined roles and no feedback loops. Without clear responsibilities or a way to track progress, both sides feel adrift.

Pre-Derailment Indicators

Before these causes reach a crisis point, there are often subtle signals:

• Leadership changes with no clear handoff.
• Meetings that become less frequent and more superficial.
• Goals that shift or remain vague after the school year begins.
• A partnership anchored to one enthusiastic individual rather than an institution.
• Lack of reporting or shared feedback on progress.

What Principals and Partners Can Do Early

At the first sign of wobble, small adjustments can make a big difference:

• Build continuity. Engage more than one person on both sides of the partnership.
• Set communication rhythms. Regular check-ins with clear agendas maintain momentum.
• Revisit goals. Hold a mid-year “alignment conversation” to make sure both sides still share the same priorities.
• Anchor institutionally. Ensure the partnership survives beyond individual personalities.
• Close the loop. Share progress updates and invite feedback to keep the partnership feeling valued.

How Partner In Education Strengthens Partnerships

We know strong matches are the foundation of strong outcomes. In the past, partnerships were often formed primarily by geography and business sector, with rules that prevented schools from having multiple partners from the same sector. This limited options and sometimes left principals and businesses in partnerships that weren’t the best fit.

This year, we’re introducing two key improvements:

1. AI-powered pre-partnership surveys. By considering capacity, shared values, and program priorities (such as STEM, literacy, or workforce prep), we can now match schools and businesses on deeper factors than location and sector alone.
2. Partnership Health Status survey. A short survey for principals and partners, built around the common derailment indicators, gives us an early-warning system. It helps identify existing partnerships showing stress and even those already fully derailed—so we can offer support, guidance, or a dignified transition.

The result: fewer wobbly partnerships, stronger matches, and healthier collaboration throughout the year.

Next in the Series

Most derailments begin with fading engagement. In our next article in this series, we’ll look at what it means when a partner starts going silent—and how to re-engage before it’s too late.