When working with diverse teams, managing the complexity of networks or systems and varying paces of work often comes up. How is collective impact and success pursued in such an arrangement? How are the challenges experienced and navigated to achieve the common goal? Our efforts as the Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa (ALiVE), in navigating the complexities of collaborative work have been one of steady progress and meaningful learning. Through our collective efforts, we have come to appreciate the core elements that make collaboration possible and powerful. Our data and reflections have revealed that practical and efficient communication, a shared commitment to clear and common goals, adaptable leadership, and a spirit of cross-cultural openness have been instrumental in strengthening our work together. These elements have laid a strong foundation for trust, mutual respect, and continuous learning. The pursuit of collective impact has meant more than just working side by side—it has involved recognizing and valuing the unique capabilities within our team, building relationships rooted in trust, and creating space for honest conversations and shared lessons. As we reflect on our journey, several important lessons and insights have emerged from this experience. 7 Key Lessons from the ALiVE Initiative The ALiVE Program has three key Pillars: The Systems Shift Pillar (outcome area 1), the Assessment Shift Pillar (outcome area 2), and the Learning Hub (outcome area 3). Within the distributed leadership structure, each pillar has regional staff (CO-PI and Regional Managers) and country staff, which include country managers, program officers, and program assistants per Implementing Partner Organization Lesson 1: ALiVE team’s true strength lies in its diversity of perspectives, backgrounds and skills. A key challenge to ALiVE’s collaborative work lies within the very thing that makes us strong, our team composition. The ALiVE team comprises of members of diverse educational backgrounds, skill sets, varying levels of exposure, and experiences. This composition means that there are varying levels of understanding and interpretation of the same issue across the board, which can slow progress or hinder collective pursuit. There was a need for leadership to create feedback loops at various Pillar levels (Implementing partner level, country-level, and regional level) and make space for team members to regularly express their concerns or suggestions for improving the collaboration. A key lesson was that the potential for misunderstanding is very high if our perspectives do not align. We must, therefore, allow diversity to emerge and become a point of strength and a spring of creativity, problem-solving, and innovation. We must intentionally appreciate and value this diversity for enriched collaborative processes and outcomes. And this realization gives us traction toward the pursuit of collective impact. Lesson 2: Communication is the lifeblood of successful collaborative processes. Another significant challenge in the initial stages stemmed from a lack of communication, often characterized by silo mentalities within the team. Siloing within pillars or country teams hindered the flow of information and coordination, impeding the overall progress of the initiative for several months. There was a need for more clear, consistent, and honest team communication as a lever for collective impact. As a result, regular meetings, joint planning sessions, and transparent communication channels were adopted to burst the silos and to facilitate alignment, decision-making, and progress tracking. Several platforms have since been created to improve communication and information flow among leadership and teams. Leveraging both in-person and virtual platforms, conferences, one-to-one conversations, WhatsApp chats, monthly calls, and meetings have been valuable avenues for fostering collaboration, alignment, and clarity of vision. Regular updates, discussions, and emails also help ensure everyone was updated on crucial program information. We appreciate now more than ever that pursuing collective impact necessitates establishing diverse communication channels where all team members feel present, and their contributions are heard and valued. Effective communication is not only the linchpin that gives life to our collective pursuit of impact but also the very blood within its veins. Lesson 3: ALiVE is a dynamic and complex program: continuous role clarification is necessary and crucial. Without a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities, there was a risk of duplicating efforts. To solve this, pillar leads have continued to clarify pillar goals among ALiVE teams and the intersection of the pillars to foster a sense of unity and direction toward collective impact. Developing an annual activity implementation plan and schedules has proven essential in streamlining processes, ensuring timely execution, and preventing undue pressure on teams. Regular check-ins, meetings, and preparations of joint work plans have provided essential touchpoints for aligning efforts, addressing challenges, and capitalizing on learning opportunities. The key takeaway is that structured interactions foster cohesion and synergy among team members, creating a learning environment and culture that encourages creativity and innovation in achieving program goals and objectives. Cutting down on abrupt meetings also reinforced mutuality and trust-building efforts with partner organizations. Lesson 4: Managing team dynamics requires flexibility and adaptability. At the start of ALiVE Phase 2 in 2023, ALiVE had eight collaborating organizations. Today, that number has risen to 14 with the recent onboarding of six new partners for the subnational work in Kenya. With varying streams of work and priorities across the fourteen collaborating organizations, alignment can be challenging. As a solution, organizational leads and their teams have anchored the initiative within strategic priorities. They have proactively embraced adaptability to accommodate team members’ varying workplaces, even as they consistently clarify expectations among their teams. The centrality of flexibility and adaptability in managing the complexity of team dynamics cannot be over-emphasized. Lesson 5: Team health and well-being must always be a priority. Another key challenge was that the team was often overworked and overstretched. This realization came from a six-month leadership coaching with Collective Rising Leadership Institute (CRLI), in which the metaphor of the “Busy Bee” best described our team’s way of being. This meant the staff often worked beyond the recommended 8 hours a day and sometimes on the weekend to meet deliverables and deadlines. Most of the time, they spent long hours in meetings,