Build your partnership with the same intention you bring to the business.
Partnership Fieldwork is a structured systemic coaching program for co-founders and business partners. Clarify how you make decisions, navigate disagreement well, and stay aligned as the business grows.
Led by Andria Gillis, PCC
Who is this for?
Co-founders and business partners who are serious about building something together and want to do it well.
You might be in the early stages, still figuring out how to work alongside each other. You might be further along, navigating the tension that comes with growth. Or you might be at an inflection point where the decisions ahead are significant enough that getting genuinely aligned really matters.
You do not need to be in conflict to benefit from this work. The partners who get the most from it usually come in when things are going reasonably well and they want to keep it that way.
“We were just reflecting on how impactful our time and work together were.
It helped steer us toward greater clarity and into inspired action.
-T.P, Co-founder, Consumer Packaged Goods
65%
Why it Matters.
Your partnership is one of the most valuable things you can build. Take the time to think about and agree on how you will actually work together.
The research on business partnerships is clear. Harvard Business School professor Noam Wasserman studied 10,000 founders and found that 65% of high-potential startups fail because of conflict between co-founders.
Misaligned expectations, unspoken resentments, and poor conflict habits erode partnerships. The cost of a partnership breaking is more than just financial, it’s the loss of someone you once trusted enough to build with.
Most co-founders know this intellectually. Few create the structured space to do something about it. People Lab’s Partnership Fieldwork is that space.
Our Work Together
Field Notes
A two-hour working session that lays the groundwork for what a strong partnership looks like. You leave with your Field Notes, a short written summary of what emerged and where to focus next. Designed as a foundation: the fee is credited in full toward a Field Guide or Field Practice engagement if you continue.
Sign up now and receive the prep work.
A FOCUSED START - 2 HOURS
Field Guide
Two four-hour working sessions. The first surfaces the implicit agreements in your partnership. The second builds the shared language and practical agreements specific to your situation. You leave with your Partnership Field Guide, a working agreement covering how you decide, navigate disagreement, give feedback, and sustain the partnership. Quarterly check-ins keep the foundation solid as you grow.
CORE PROGRAM - 2 ½ DAY SESSIONS
Field Work
The deepest work. We start with a full day retreat and then monthly sessions over 6 months. For partners focused on building the relational skills and ways of working to support their organization. You leave with your Partnership Field Guide and a practice for keeping it alive as your business evolves.
SUSTAINED WORK - FULL DAY RETREAT +
What changes with the work.
Over our work together, we will explore what you value as individuals, and as a partnership, how you communicate and make decisions. The goal of the work is to talk about what is currently unspoken and assumed and bring it to the surface. It may never feel like the right time to do this work, especially as early-stage founders. Ideally, we do this work before your partnership is under stress, as a proactive resource for those inevitable times when challenges surface. However, it can be incredibly valuable as a tool when your partnership is feeling challenging.
While leaving with a Field Guide to your partnership is a powerful record of our work together, it is secondary to the conversations and relational exploration we will do together.
Common Questions
Do we need to be having problems to do this work?
The partners who benefit most often come in when things are going reasonably well and they want to keep it that way. Addressing things that have been left implicit is much easier before they become sources of tension.
What if we have very different working styles?
Different working styles are usually the point. Partnership Foundations helps you understand those differences clearly and build agreements that work for both of you rather than assuming alignment that may not be there.
Can we do this if we are already in conflict?
Yes, though the work looks slightly different. If there is significant tension in the partnership already, the scoping conversation is the right place to understand what is happening and whether Partnership Foundations is the right starting point or whether something else is needed first.
What is a Partnership Agreement?
A Partnership Field Guide is a living, working agreement covering how you operate together. Decision-making authority, communication norms, conflict navigation, feedback practices, and what each partner needs to sustain the relationship over time. Think of it as a practical reference rather than a legal document. Something that gives you a shared starting point when things get complicated.
Quarterly check-ins keep the foundation solid as the business and the partnership evolve. These are shorter sessions, typically 90 minutes, focused on what has shifted since the last conversation and what needs attention. Additional sessions are available if something significant comes up between check-ins.