Want to win your bike or bus lane? Make nachos.
A brief explanation on why working in coalition is important.
MAR 24, 2023
You matter and people care about you. Much like a tortilla chip, you are great by yourself just as you are.
However, politicians care more about you when you can show that a lot of people agree with what you have to say. That’s why making petitions, having members of your group take action (like rallying or making calls), or bundling campaign contributions makes a difference. It shows elected officials that you aren’t just speaking as one person, but that you are speaking as part of a much larger– and more powerful– group. You aren’t just one tortilla chip, you’re a chip that’s part of a large tray of chips! Even better.
But decision makers (in theory) don’t just care about one part of the community, they care about lots of different parts. Tortilla chips alone might not meet all the decision maker’s needs and the answer isn’t to just add in more tortilla chips. The answer is to bring on the salsa– bring in coalition partners.
Essentially, coalition partners are other groups that agree with your group on that particular thing at that particular moment. Some pairings are pretty common (bicyclists & pedestrian safety advocates/chips & salsa). And some are less common but still go great together (bicyclists & disability rights groups/chips & chocolate). Building out a coalition in support of your effort is helpful because:
Coalition partners provide essential feedback you can incorporate to ensure your vision helps a wider range of people (that also limits opposition to your vision and makes it easier to prevent your vision from accidentally inconveniencing other groups)
It helps get more people invested in the success of the campaign
It helps build solidarity across communities which in turn helps isolate Nazis and other fascists who want to turn communities against each other as a way of fomenting discord in order for them to seize power and strip away rights
Depending on how ambitious your goal is, a small coalition might be enough to win. It might be enough to show the decision maker that both bus riders and local businesses want the bus-only lane through downtown in order for you to get it. Maybe they just want chips to come with salsa in order for them to be happy.
But if you’re going for something bigger, you might need to bring out the full plate of nachos. Show that faith communities, businesses, seniors, workers, nurses, teachers, and lots of other groups are on board. If you show the decision maker that a huge range of groups share a vision, your odds of winning go up. Some politicians just want to see a big plate of nachos to be happy.
Sometimes it’s about getting the ingredients right. Some politicians are open to a lot of things as long as their core groups are on board. In other words– as long as guac is there, they are happy.
And some politicians will reject your whole coalition if you’re including a partner they can’t stomach. I don’t care what else is on the plate, if there is pork, I’m not interested.
There is no strict formula for a coalition that will always win, it’s about bringing together a coalition that works well together and will help win what you all want to win when you’re trying to win it in the community you are operating in. A key part is that it’s fine to switch up the combo depending on what you’re trying to do at that moment. Chips don’t always have to go with salsa, sometimes chips & guacamole is all you need. And sometimes you can come up with pairings that work well that you weren’t expecting (I’m a fan of spinach with my nachos). The important thing is that you try; that you try with openness and humility; and help out your coalition partners when they invite you to join in on their thing.
Working in coalition does mean giving up some control, subsuming yourself a little bit to become part of a larger whole, and moving a bit slower with more communication and collective intention. You’re still you, you’re still representing your group that might form the base of the coalition, and you personally might even be that one important chip that everything else sticks to. But if you want to win big, you need to bring together a lot of different ingredients and together make something bigger and better than any one bit alone. That’s how you win the whole enchilada.
Want help improving your ability to form and work in coalition? Email me at Carter@carterlavin.com and let’s schedule a consultation.