The rise of cross-sectoral collaboration initiatives has been widely documented. While schools and third-sector organizations share important educational goals in these initiatives, the predictors of their identification with common goals have not been examined systemically to date. This article analyses predictors of common goal identification within educational collaborative initiatives through a case study of a German initiative aimed at tackling inequality in education. By implementing a mixed-methods design -- including surveys, semi-structured interviews and social network analysis, combined with logistic regression and qualitative content analysis -- we demonstrate that an actor's identification with the common goal is shaped not only by individual characteristics, but also by his/her relative position within the collaboration. Findings of this study have practical implications for networked leadership and school principals' work and training, since they inform regarding the particular settings, skills and knowledge needed for managing cross-sectoral collaboration to the benefit of schools.