Coalitions

Coalitions focus on different topics, causes and are often related to improving a health or social outcome. They focus on achieving results that can only happen when people work together rather than on their own.

Have you ever been in a coalition where you were not sure why you were there or what you were going to do? Have you been in a coalition that was clearly focused and seemed to be functioning smoothly?

When I describe a coalition, it is a group of people. A coalition is not an individual. The name of the group may differ, but there must be more than one person in the group for it to be a coalition.

When we are in the position of doing it all and are always the one to answer the questions, solve the problems or handle the decisions, we rarely have an opportunity to take a break and rejuvenate.

One of the biggest reasons that we try to do it all ourselves is because we have had experiences when delegation did not work. We tried to delegate and it did not go well so we gave it up and decided it would all work better if we did it by ourselves.

When it comes to delegating, one of the hardest parts is figuring out where to begin. When you are overwhelmed and juggling a thousand different things, how do you choose which one to share first? Do you start with the easiest?

In our coalition work, there are a ton of big and little details involved in building partnerships, developing plans, reporting on progress, maintaining progress. From meeting planning (which has at least 25 tasks in itself) to prioritizing, strategizing, implementing and evaluation, there is a lot.

Your week did not go as planned and you may be tempted to get frustrated, blame yourself or others and give up. While this may be your first response, you can practice a follow-up response of kindness.

One of my favorite practices every new year is to reflect on my schedule and redefine my “ideal week.” I consider the areas that worked well and the areas that did not.

The beauty of our coalition work is that we get to work with people. The people we work with are partners, colleagues and often become dear friends. We learn from them, we learn about them and we treasure the gift of them in our lives.