Why most coalitions feel stuck in neutral (and the key to shifting gears)

For the last few months, we’ve been talking about how public health isn’t actually a systems business. It’s a people business.

If you missed our series on this, or are just joining us (welcome!), definitely circle back and check it out. We talked about why I think public health is a people business (despite being a HUGE believer in systems change), the one thing it all comes down to, why you need champions, the biggest threat to sustaining your coalition’s work, and why the key to your coalition’s success is to be human (yes, even in - especially in - a world obsessed with AI).

Health coalitions and other partnerships are a prime example of public health as a people business. Yes, our aim is to change systems (not people), but to get to systems change, we have to inspire, coordinate, and mobilize our coalition and community members to act, and we have to listen to and learn from them along the way.

If you’ve ever felt STUCK in neutral in your coalition - stuck in the “ sit and meet with people” phase, stuck in the “let’s do another needs assessment” phase, stuck in the “we have a strategic plan but it’s sitting on a shelf phase” - then the key to shifting gears has to do with building a foundation that recognizes this PEOPLE component of the work.

Who you have at the table, how you listen to and co-create with them, how you inspire them, how you decide what to do together, how you build their capacity - all of this matters deeply.

Without it, you lack engagement, you lose momentum, you remain stuck in neutral.

With it, you build the foundation you need to shift gears and get to meaningful action and lasting impact.

I recently gave a talk at the National Network of Public Health Institutes conference where I shared the steps involved in this foundation. We call it the Coalition Core 5 and it’s the difference between a coalition feeling stuck and feeling like a superhero, between admiring the problem and solving it, between feeling stalled and having real momentum and impact.

Here are the five steps:

Over the next several issues, we’ll unpack each of these steps, sharing how we’ve helped our partners use them to shift from neutral into high gear.

But first, I’d love to hear your initial reaction. Which of these steps sounds most promising to you in terms of unlocking greater engagement and impact in your coalition? Drop me a note and let me know!

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P.S. Sometimes it helps to just say the challenges out loud. If you're looking for a fresh perspective on what’s next for your health coalition, you can find my calendar here.

And if you're looking to share this newsletter with another coalition member or colleague, here's the link to subscribe.

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