Galvanize at the moments; let coalition members do their own work between.
observation — attributed to Sarah Brown
Brown's read on coalition work is realistic. You will not have everyone pulling together all the time. The work is to galvanize and create good moments when everyone can come together. Between those moments, coalition members will go and do their own things. The realism matters operationally. Coalition leaders who try to maintain constant alignment burn out their members and produce no momentum. Coalition leaders who design the convergence moments precisely and let the rest of the time be loose maintain energy across years. The same pattern shows up in social movements, professional networks, and any voluntary collaboration.
For coalition builders, movement organizers, and association leaders managing voluntary participation. The observation is most useful as a corrective when the leader is exhausted by trying to maintain constant alignment.
coalition-dynamics, convergence-moments, advocacy-realism, galvanizing