Coalitions

Definition

Identifies and obtains the support of key people, especially those from other circles.

 
This is largely the notion of working “across the aisle”, building alliances with those outside your immediate and most natural work group. It is also about recognizing the need to build support on a relationship‐by‐relationship basis. The reason “the meeting before the meeting” is so important. Empirically this the only tactics that loads substantively, and more or less equally, on “hard power” and “soft power”. In sort, multiple strategies call for it. Given this, it is not surprising that it is one of the tactics with the strongest positive relation to overall influence.
 

Assessment items

Enlists the support of individuals, one by one, in order to build support for an idea.
Finds ways to communicate who else is supporting his/her approach.
Gathers support from different parts of the organization.
Identifies existing coalitions and works through them.
Seeks to understand which people are likely to influence a decision.
Works to address potential tensions with key people prior to the decision point.
 

Why do some struggle?

These are the main hurdles we’ve heard about from past participants. Which are most relevant to you?
 

Blindspot

“I had never thought of coalitions as being a tool for influence. I always think of myself as an individual or part of a formal team.”

Idealism

“I don’t like excluding others; to form a coalition you have to select a group of people to align with and that makes me uncomfortable”
“Personal belief that hard work and righteousness would make the cause for a project/idea.”
“Psychologically, my upbringing always made forming coalitions seem like keeping people in the dark, almost equating it to stabbing people in the back.”

Independence

“I tend to work independently and don’t like to belong to cliques, and I tend to seek approval thru official channels rather than “popular support.”

Time

“It requires taking time to stop and chart out a course of action. In an effort to be super productive, I often just react instead.”

 

What can you try?

“If you want to go fast, go at it alone, but if you want to go far, go as a team.”
Have a meeting-before-the-meeting.
For each new project/idea, make a stakeholder map to understand each party’s motivation, highlighting where potential allies and roadblocks are.
Always think widely and creatively about potential coalitional partners.
Sell people on your idea one-by-one rather than in large groups.
Solicit input and feedback on your ideas ahead of time.
Get a stamp of approval from even just one senior sponsor.
Focus on similarities between you and others rather than differences.
 

Who does this well?

Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs was a resident of Greenwich Village in the 1950s when Robert Moses proposed extending 5th Avenue through Washington Square Park, bisecting the park with heavy traffic flow. Moses was at the height of his decades long run as the most powerful figure in New York City. Despite few resources and no credentials, Jacobs built a coalition of neighbors, media, politicians and celebrities to stop the project. It was the first time a proposed Moses project failed. Jacobs went on to become of one of the most influential figures in the history of city planning.

 

Vanity Fair review of Citizen Jane (4/14/17) »

 
 
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