It all comes down to one thing: buy-in
Turns out the answer to everything isn’t 42. Or 6-7 for that matter (sorry, I couldn’t help myself!).
It’s BUY IN.
Turns out the answer to everything isn’t 42. Or 6-7 for that matter (sorry, I couldn’t help myself!).
It’s BUY IN.
Okay, maybe not the answer to everything but in the world of coalitions, it IS the answer to a lot of questions:
Q: How do we get more things done?
A: Buy-in.
Q: How do we get coalition members to participate meaningfully in our meetings?
A: Buy-in.
Q: How do we get local policymakers to make the changes our community needs?
A: Buy-in.
Q: How do we get new leadership to carry on the work we’ve started?
A: Buy-in.
Q: How do we get an organization’s staff to take action on the things our coalition has identified as helpful?
A: Buy-in.
As we noted earlier this month and as is the focus of this series, public health is a PEOPLE business. And for any of the work to move forward, PEOPLE have to be bought in to the work.
What people? It’s a long list: coalition members, local policymakers, community agencies and organizations (their leaders and their staff), community members themselves.
Which of these people really need to be bought in to a specific aspect of the work will vary based on their level of involvement and the stage of the work, but at some point, each of their buy-in will be important to advancing the work of your coalition.
So how do you get buy-in? Here are four steps to follow:
Whoever you need buy-in from, understand their ‘why’ - What do they most need and want? What motivates them and inspires them? What keeps them going? What keeps them up at night? What are their priorities and values? What metrics are they held accountable to?
Frame what you’re seeking in those terms - I’m not saying pander or change your goals (although sometimes, changing goals makes sense based on the input you get!). Rather, try to frame what you’re seeking in terms that align with their ‘why’ and understand what language to let go of and what language to amplify.
Bring them along for the ride - It’s hard to feel bought in to something if it’s been shaped without your input and now being forced on you. Understand who you need buy-in from and bring them along from the get-go. Involve them in shaping the work (This doesn’t mean you act on everything they say! But it’s important to hear them and be open to reshaping the work in ways that balance your ultimate goals and the needs and realities of those you need buy-in from to accomplish those goals).
Tell the story of how what you’re seeking is going to help them - How does what you’re seeking align with what they need and want, take something off their plate, help them achieve a goal, alleviate one of their pain points, or strengthen their impact?
Building buy-in is one of the most important roles of coalition leadership. I’d love to hear more about your experiences building buy-in. Whose buy in do you need that has been hardest to get? Is there a particular approach or conversation that has really worked for you in gaining buy-in? Drop me a note and let me know!
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Our public health frameworks are failing us - here’s the one thing we’re missing
Our public health frameworks are failing us.
They're true. AND they're failing us.
Let me explain why.
I had the pleasure of giving a Lightning Talk at the National Network of Public Health Institutes Open Forum conference in Pittsburgh earlier this month (it was a balm to the soul to be in the company of fellow community-based public health practitioners!)
Our public health frameworks are failing us.
They're true. AND they're failing us.
Let me explain why.
I had the pleasure of giving a Lightning Talk at the National Network of Public Health Institutes Open Forum conference in Pittsburgh earlier this month (it was a balm to the soul to be in the company of fellow community-based public health practitioners!)
Here’s how and why our public health frameworks are failing us, the one thing we're missing, and what we need instead:
Now, let me break down each of these ways to begin treating building community power as a public health imperative.
Way #1: Cultivating community connection
The status quo: What our former surgeon general Vivek Murthy calls a loneliness epidemic. We have an individualistic lens, an obsession with self-care and self-help.
What we need instead: A sense of COMMUNITY. Ways to work, play and simply be together. Third spaces to hang out. Mutual aid. Land use planning that prioritizes connections. Group care and group help. What Priya Parker calls Group Life.
An on the ground example (in Pittsburgh, where NNPHI's conference took place!) - Pittsburgh's wedding cookie table!
A public health example - community coalitions of course!
Ways to cultivate community connection in YOUR work: look for low-lift opportunities + think strategically about convening (What could you change if you teamed up with others that feels impossible alone? Bring folks together around a specific goal.)
Way #2: Strengthening the foundations for civic organizing
The status quo: Our civic muscles have atrophied. Direct involvement in local politics, union membership, and civic activity beyond voting have all declined.
What we need instead: Stronger foundations for civic organizing that can advance health-transforming policies. This requires: community connection as the foundation for effective organizing; strong local news to know what's happening and hold officials accountable; strong community organizing infrastructure
An on the ground example: Pittsburgh's "Our Water" Campaign, led by Pittsburgh United.
A public health example: The Public Health for Community Power Coalition (whose members include Health in Partnership (HIP), Public Health Institute, Prevention Institute, ChangeLab Solutions, Berkeley Media Studies Group, and others)
Ways to strengthen the foundations for civic organizing through YOUR work: For organizing/advocacy groups - long-term, consistent organizing across topics is key. For those with limits on direct advocacy - there's still so much you can do! Convene people and make intros across your government and community partners, and build storytelling and other skills among community members that make effective organizing more likely.
Way #3: Fostering narrative change
The status quo: Individualistic, "blame myself and shame on you" narratives about what shapes our health.
What we need instead: a narrative recognizing what lies further upstream and the role of community power. We need a new narrative – that gets explicit about the political and corporate forces shaping the policies and systems that shape our health. And then, beyond better messaging, we need actual narrative infrastructure to construct and sustain narratives over time, through things like community partnerships, research, legal advocacy, and institutions of meaning-making like schools, mass media, and museums.
An on the ground example: Healthy Start’s infant health equity coalition in Pittsburgh, who we here at PoP Health have been so grateful to work with over the years! They’ve crafted a community-driven narrative by funding local organizations to gather member stories, hosting town halls featuring community stories, and training community members as health advocates who speak to systemic issues.
A public health example: My new project, GASLIT (Gaslit by Corporations / Ignited by Community). I launched GASLIT to explicitly name corporate power as a root cause of public health harms and center community power in the fight for our health, planet, and future. Please sign up for the GASLIT newsletter if you’re interested in receiving action steps you and your neighbors can take to ignite change, stories of communities reclaiming their power, and investigations into corporate gaslighting.
The foundations for fostering narrative change in YOUR work: Think about the narrative itself: Revisit how you talk about root causes of health. Are you going upstream enough? And build narrative infrastructure: Build community members' skills to tell their stories, create spaces for them to speak directly to decisionmakers. Engage with institutions of meaning-making to shape narratives about health.
So, what's next?
Which of these ways fits in most directly with your work?
What steps are you hoping to take next?
Drop me a line and let me know.
And if I can help, whether that's through a keynote talk on community power as a public health imperative; training, tools, and coaching for your coalition, or simply answering a question via email, please reach out!
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4 options in the face of collapsing systems
If you, like me, are distressed about what’s happening at the CDC, what’s happening around vaccines, what’s been happening with public health grants and research being terminated, and more - I see you.
If you, like me, are distressed about what’s happening at the CDC, what’s happening around vaccines, what’s been happening with public health grants and research being terminated, and more - I see you.
I shared my thoughts in the wake of the shots fired at the CDC here, and even just since then, we’ve seen top CDC officials resign after their director was ousted.
When systems are collapsing around us, it can be even harder than usual to answer the question of: what next? What should we DO? Not to mention, what CAN we do, especially if we are grappling with fewer resources and an uncertain future?
While I don’t have magic answers, I do have some options that might be helpful to consider. I found this piece on grappling with systems collapse very relevant to the community coalitions we work with here at PoP Health, who are focused on systems change - and thus especially impacted by systems collapse (hat tip to I2I, which drew my attention to this piece in their newsletter).
Let me summarize the options the authors of this piece lay out for what impact might look like in collapsing systems.
We can:
Protect. This model “builds and leverages power to counteract the worst harms, strengthen community resilience, and preserve values of care and belonging to carry people through crisis.” E.g., mutual aid
Block. “If a collapsing system seems likely to give way to an even more dysfunctional or inequitable alternative, then the blocking impact model may be an appropriate response. This model can slow down both the pace of collapse and the emergence of worse alternatives.” E.g., providing know-your-rights training.
Disrupt. This model “achieves impact by embracing the fact that as the legacy system deteriorates it is possible to shed the constraints, rules, and norms that do not serve the social sector.” E.g., boycotts and strikes.
Create. “With the system awash in uncertainty, there is an opportunity—even a responsibility— to pursue truly transformative impact. This means exploring the larger context in which the system sits….What ideas or projects can be tested or nurtured? Which leaders have been marginalized by existing systems, but…are uniquely positioned to step up in this moment?” E.g., participatory governance.
The full article adds a lot of important nuance about the conditions you need to maintain to push forth with each of these options.
Three bonus questions they ask at the end of their piece, and I’ll now ask you:
What can we let go of, what do we want to carry with us, and what do we want to build?
Here at PoP Health, we’re:
letting go of being the best (and being this instead),
carrying with us all we’ve learned from coalitions on the ground doing the work, and
seeking to build the capacity of more coalitions to translate their vision and resources into tangible action.
→ On that front, PoP Health is now offering capacity building packages for community coalitions working on systems change (training workshops, tools and templates that will save you time and get you to action much more quickly, along with ongoing coaching and technical assistance that'll make sure you take those actions to the finish line). Here’s a brief summary, email me if you want to chat further!
For me personally, I’m:
letting go of the desire to see results quickly (because the fight for our future, our health, our planet, our democracy - it’s all long-term and multigenerational),
seeking to help build community power, in my own community and beyond.
→ On that front, check out my new project GASLIT by Corporations/IGNITED by Community, at www.gaslitbycorporations.com.
What about you? What are you letting go of, carrying with you, and wanting to build? Drop me a note and let me know.
As the authors of this piece on systems collapse note, “this moment requires us to engage in repair and reimagination”.
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Can't engage coalition members? Here's what you're missing.
Do you feel like attendance at your coalition meetings is dwindling, or that everyone’s logging onto Zoom but multitasking during the meeting? Or maybe folks are showing up and engaged, but it feels like pulling teeth to get anyone to provide input or take action between meetings?
Do you feel like attendance at your coalition meetings is dwindling, or that everyone’s logging onto Zoom but multitasking during the meeting? Or maybe folks are showing up and engaged, but it feels like pulling teeth to get anyone to provide input or take action between meetings?
If you’re having troubling engaging coalition members, there’s likely one thing you’re missing. SPECIFICITY.
Specificity shows up in a number of different ways in coalition work. Here are some ways to get more specific:
Make sure your members each have a clear, specific role: Collaboration doesn’t mean everyone does everything. You’re going to have trouble both getting and keeping a member in your coalition if they don’t see a clear role for themselves. People’s time is limited and valuable, and coalition membership is often on a volunteer basis, something taken on in addition to a person’s day-to-day job responsibilities. If they feel that their absence from the coalition isn’t going to have an impact, they will not care to join or stay. When you ask someone to join the coalition, make sure you talk together to specify their exact value-add and responsibilities, and why they are uniquely suited for it.
Make sure your coalition has a clear, specific role: If your members aren’t clear on what value the coalition is adding to your community, they aren’t going to be engaged. You can’t (effectively) be everything to everyone, so niche down, both in terms of what your coalition is offering to your community and who within your community you’re aiming to reach. As we often hear in the consulting world, there are “riches in the niches.” When you “niche down” and narrow both your offer and your audience, your value as a coalition becomes crystal clear. And that’s going to keep your members excited and engaged.
Foster specific collaborations for specific purposes: A leader of a coalition we work with recently reached out to me for some advice on how to better engage their health system partners, who had stopped showing up to meetings and contributing their ideas. I suggested they consider if there are specific healthcare/community organization collaborations that can be designed and implemented via the coalition - if we ask X healthcare system to work with Y community organization to partner on Z activity (that's mutually beneficial to both organizations), then they have a reason to show up and stay engaged. If we're not taking action, there's no reason for them to show up. If we're taking action but it's very broad and vague (i.e., "we want to strengthen collaboration between healthcare and community organizations"), they don't really see why they/their health system SPECIFICALLY matters or needs to show up.
Get specific about what capacity and connections you’re building for coalition members and in the community more broadly: What do coalition members gain from participating in the coalition? Are you going to offer ways for them to build their capacity in a particular area like evaluation? Coalitions often serve as a connector and convener, both for coalition members and the community writ large - but exactly what kinds of connections are you building and to what end? Are you going to offer ways for policy and advocacy organizations to connect with community members to inform their priorities?
What do you think? How else can we get specific in what we do, how we do it, and who we do it for? Drop me a line and let me know!
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Don't be the best. Be this instead.
Our family spent the last week at an all-family violin camp in the Blue Ridge mountains, and it brought us some much needed peace, joy, and community in these tumultuous times.
Our family spent the last week at an all-family violin camp in the Blue Ridge mountains, and it brought us some much needed peace, joy, and community in these tumultuous times.
It was our 8 year old's first time playing in an orchestra (the beginning orchestra teacher introduced them to "Monsieur Baton", and all kinds of antics ensued, with the kids learning many lessons about following the conductor and playing together without even realizing it).
It really made me think about something our daughters' violin teacher said in a group class last month, as she was teaching these little kiddos to play in an ensemble - "It's not look at me, I play the loudest, look at me, I play the best, it's look at us, we play together."
Look at us, we play together.
How powerful, how beautiful, how RIGHT.
This is how I want you to think about your coalitions.
As any one organization or member of your coalition, the goal is not to be the best.
Instead, embrace your interdependence and engage in collective action.
In a world that values independence and finishing first, this is where the value of a coalition lies: interdependence and collective action.
It goes beyond simply being together to playing together.
It’s not just convening partners on a regular basis to share information - it’s planning and taking intentional, strategic, collective ACTION. We spend half our meeting providing updates (peak “this could have been an email” vibes, right?). Instead, let’s think about what infrastructure we can jointly build for meaningfully aligning work across organizations.
It’s not just having multisector partners around the table - it’s actually working across sectors. We keep doing what we’ve always done in our own siloes. Instead, let’s consider how to finance the work of our coalition and work in our communities in ways that allow for integrated and sustainable action. Let’s consider the power dynamics at play within our coalition and the broader community so we can shift power and transform oppressive systems that underlie all our sectors.
And let’s do it all with joy and music and community.
What are your plans for joy and music and community this summer? Whether it’s coalition work or your own summer vacation, I want to hear about it! Drop me a note.
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Find your low-lift solutions
Growing up, were you, like me, always told to work hard?
It’s advice I’ve come to question over the years.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have deep respect for a strong work ethic. I just wonder if we’ve gotten overly obsessed with the idea of working hard instead of working strategically, smartly, efficiently. Which sometimes means the work is actually…easier. Faster. More fun.
Growing up, were you, like me, always told to work hard?
It’s advice I’ve come to question over the years.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have deep respect for a strong work ethic. I just wonder if we’ve gotten overly obsessed with the idea of working hard instead of working strategically, smartly, efficiently. Which sometimes means the work is actually…easier. Faster. More fun.
Let me give you an example, courtesy of our school PTA.
Last week, as I was running into my daughter’s school to drop off her picture day order form (which I forgot to put in her backpack that morning, oops!), I saw a flyer for movie night at the school that very night. I had totally forgotten about it, but once reminded, quickly scanned the QR code and got tickets.
The PTA holds these on a few weeknights during the school year, and we’ve been trying to go whenever we can. When you buy tickets, you get to vote for one of the three options (my daughters LOVE this opportunity to chime in with their preference), and the one with the most votes gets screened. Tickets are $2 to see the movie, $7 if you also want a slice of pizza, snacks, and drink. Proceeds go to support the school. They screen the movie on the projector or wall in the school gym or cafeteria and everyone brings blankets/fold up chairs/pillows to throw on the floor.
The kids love the chance to see their friends, see a movie, and eat pizza. As parents, we love the chance to see other parents, observe the dynamics our kids have with their friends, and just have an easy, close-to-home, fun family activity. For the PTA, these events help raise funds but require relatively little effort or cost - the school is there, the gym/cafeteria/parking lot are empty in the evening, there’s already a projector and sound system ready to go.
Win-win-win.
And no one - not the kids, not the families, not the PTA - has to work hard.
I think these kinds of low-lift solutions are magical.
The reality is that the best way to get more participation is to make things easier for everyone involved. This isn’t always possible - but when it is…pure magic.
Community members are more likely to show up if it’s easy for them. Coalition members or local organizations are more likely to keep organizing or running an activity or program if it doesn’t require too much of them and the impact feels more than worth the little bit of effort required.
So take a look around - are there low-lift opportunities for community connection or action that your coalition can put into place? Drop me a note and share your low-lift examples, whether you’ve already done them/experienced them or are planning them for the future!
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Jane Fonda on how "community means power"
As agencies, nonprofits, families, and individuals make contingency plans upon contingency plans in face of all the uncertainty of this moment, I wanted to share some words - courtesy of Jane Fonda - of both hope and action (which were PoP Health’s wish + invitation for 2025…which, two months in, feels like it has already lasted about two years).
As agencies, nonprofits, families, and individuals make contingency plans upon contingency plans in face of all the uncertainty of this moment, I wanted to share some words - courtesy of Jane Fonda - of both hope and action (which were PoP Health’s wish + invitation for 2025…which, two months in, feels like it has already lasted about two years).
I’m not really up on pop culture or Hollywood, but I’ve been deeply impressed with Jane Fonda ever since I heard a podcast interview with her a couple years ago - what a life, what energy, and what commitment. In an industry where it is especially easy to ignore, pay lip service to, or throw a few pennies at societal problems, she’s been on the ground trying to fight for change.
So, I didn’t hesitate to click on the video of her speech at the SAG awards a week ago, where she received the Life Achievement Award (transcript here for the readers out there). And I’m so glad I did.
Here are my key takeaways:
“Community means power.” - She talked about how unions have our backs and give us power, and I’d add to that all the other ways of coming together in sustained, structured ways - community coalitions, co-ops, neighborhood associations and groups. Create them, join them, sustain them.
“Empathy is not weak or woke.” - This statement stands by itself, but Fonda had more to say about empathy. First, she connected it to the job of actors - “...we don't manufacture anything tangible. What we create is empathy.” Indeed, I’m a big believer in storytelling and its importance in creating empathy as well as inspiring and persuading. Which brings us to Fonda’s next point about empathy - “And even if they’re of a different political persuasion, we need to call upon our empathy and not judge, but listen from our hearts and welcome them into our tent, because we are going to need a big tent to resist successfully what’s coming at us.” I could not agree more. To sneak in some words from Rebecca Solnit, who I’ve been turning to often over the last couple months, “You need to pitch a big tent and welcome everyone who might come in, even if they came over recently and weren't always there. No one knows what it is going to take to overcome the current crisis…I do know that it's going to take a lot. The more the better.” As Solnit goes on to point out, “unwelcoming committees from people more interested in being right than effective” are self-destructive to the causes we support.
“We are in our documentary moments. This is it. And it’s not a rehearsal.” - Fonda urged us to take this seriously, be brave, stay in community, and take action. And it’s not enough to just be against things. Fonda underscored, “We must find ways to project an inspiring vision of the future. One that is beckoning, welcoming, that will help people believe.”
As Fonda went on to say, “Let’s make it so,” Reader.
In your coalitions and your work, how are you projecting an inspiring vision of the future, widening your tent, staying empathetic, and building community power? Drop me a note and let me know. And let me know if you disagree about what we need right now too - disagreements are always welcome here.
And, for those looking for more concrete advice on how your coalitions, organizations, and agencies can take action in your communities to transform health - a quick save the date: April 2nd, noon ET, on Zoom, join PoP Health for a free action planning webinar. You'll learn about the #1 missing ingredient that's preventing your action plan from getting the results you want + details on how to follow our 5-step action planning process to go from feeling stuck to feeling like a superhero. Register here!
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A New Year's wish + invitation
Thank you for being a part of our Community Threads family! Having this space to share with you all and reading your emails about what you’ve gleaned from these newsletters have meant the world to me this past year.
So as we close the chapter on 2024 and enter 2025, I wanted to share with you a new year’s wish + invitation:
Thank you for being a part of our Community Threads family! Having this space to share with you all and reading your emails about what you’ve gleaned from these newsletters have meant the world to me this past year.
So as we close the chapter on 2024 and enter 2025, I wanted to share with you a new year’s wish + invitation:
We recognize 2025 is a new year with significant challenges - some old, some new. And we believe wholeheartedly that it is at the intersection of hope and action that we can work together to transform health in our communities.
In that spirit, here at PoP Health, we’ll be launching two new projects in 2025 - action planning workshops and technical assistance packages for community health coalitions + an initiative focused on putting political and economic power back in the hands of communities.
We’ll share with you along the way right here in our Community Threads newsletters. Please keep those replies coming - I love hearing from you!
In the meantime, as we find new ways to take action together, I remain ever grateful to you - thank you for reading.
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The difference between cynicism and skepticism
Are you a pessimist or an optimist?
I’m optimistic (almost to a fault, my husband would tell you).
But…I’m also pretty skeptical.
Are you a pessimist or an optimist?
I’m optimistic (almost to a fault, my family would tell you).
But…I’m also pretty skeptical. Whether it’s someone trying to sell me on a business idea or life insurance package or supplements or pretty much anything - they’ll be met with a lot of questions and not-particularly-well-hidden skepticism (I’ve got no poker face, y’all - something I share with my daughter).
Doesn’t it seem somewhat counterintuitive to be both optimistic and skeptical? If you’re optimistic and believe the best in people, shouldn’t you also believe in the ideas people are putting forward?
Well, in an issue of Well from the New York Times last month, they quoted the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, Jamil Zaki, making a distinction between cynicism and skepticism, and it was a real “light bulb moment” for me -
“Cynicism…is a lack of faith in people, while skepticism is a lack of faith in our assumptions.”
Ding, ding, ding! When I read this, I immediately thought, YES, this is exactly it. I believe in people (ok, not every single person, but generally speaking, I believe most people have good intentions and are trying their best). But I reject many of the assumptions that underlie our society.
Dr. Zaki suggests that a cynical worldview - believing people are “generally selfish, greedy and dishonest” - can make you feel safer and smarter, but can also have a negative impact on your health and lead to beliefs that are untrue. He “encourages readers to become “hopeful skeptics” who think critically about societal problems while recognizing how kind and generous others really are.”
And this, I think, is at the heart of public health and the work of coalitions in pursuit of transformational change to the health and well-being of their communities.
We should be highly skeptical of the assumptions that underlie our current policies and systems.
But we should not lose our faith in people, or our faith in the idea that people can come together to change our policies and systems for the better.
What do you think? Does this resonate for you? Are you a cynic or a skeptic or both or neither? And how do you think cynicism and skepticism “show up” in our work?
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"The art of gathering" and the importance of grounding people in their purpose
Have you facilitated a meeting before? Or hosted a party?
What runs through your mind when you’re planning a gathering?
Have you facilitated a meeting before? Or hosted a party?
What runs through your mind when you’re planning a gathering?
Are you a “chill host” (hint: Priya Parker, in her book, “The Art of Gathering”, suggests you shouldn’t be!)?
Do you ask yourself why you’re gathering people (and then why again and again, until you drill down to something meaningful) and use your answer to shape your event (hint: This will help you host a meaningful, memorable gathering!).
I was invited to speak at a Comprehensive School Mental Health State Policy Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina last month. At the start of one of the days, in small groups, the meeting facilitator had us answer what I think might be the most powerful icebreaker question I’ve been asked - “Who do you dedicate your learning here today to?”
The answers from the members of our small group were vulnerable, beautiful, and heartfelt - from stories of loss to children going off to college to reflections on one’s community. It was an invitation to not just think about our school mental health work and the impact it could have, but to ground ourselves in what this work means to us.
My answer surprised even me - as I thought about school mental health and who I’d want to dedicate my learning to, my thoughts gravitated to the people closest to me who had the least amount of support for their mental health as children - my parents.
This opening question is a powerful example of a point Priya Parker underscores in her book - don’t open with logistics. Get to those eventually, but they are a buzzkill as an opener. Instead, think about the deepest “why” of why this gathering is taking place and use that to plan a powerful opening. (Note: This goes for endings too, don’t end with thank yous! Get those in along the way, but to close, get people back to the core “why” of the gathering and inspire them to make a change - however small - as a result.)
Speaking of thought-provoking openers - while I was in Charlotte for this meeting, I wandered through the city and checked out the amazing public art sprinkled throughout, and this sculpture at the entrance to a park really caught my fancy, so I had to take a quick picture. What a way to invite people to think about their time in this outdoor gathering space.
“Life is an Open Book” by Brad Spencer in The Green, Charlotte, North Carolina
Every time we come together with others, whatever shape or form that takes, however casual or formal, we have an opportunity to elevate that gathering - from something mundane to something extraordinary. Take your shot. And shoot me a note to tell me all about it!
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