The Art of Not Knowing Everything The Role of Paid Staff in Coalitions

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The Art of Not Knowing EverythingThe Role of
Paid Staff in Coalitions

• Featuring the Sad, Sad Stories of . . .
• Paul Evensen Shannon Weatherly
• Senior Vice President Policy Analyst
• Community Systems Group Office of National Drug
  Control Policy

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Introducing

• Paul Evensen
• Former Coalition Leader
• Evaluator
• Trainer/Speaker/Facilitator
• Perpetual Student (will he ever graduate?!)
• Shannon Weatherly
• Former Coalition Leader
• Policy Analyst/DFC Doer/Contract Nerd
• Mental Health Counselor
• Yoga Instructor

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Objectives

• Clarify the appropriate roles of paid staff in
  coalition work.
• Highlight the benefits of engaging in healthy
  role development for staff (. . . .and
  share our personal history of traps, mistakes,
  and lessons learned.)

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Group Discussion

• In your DFC-funded coalition
• What is the current role of paid staff?
• Are coalition members clear about the role of
  staff?
• Has their been a specific conversation?
• Does your job description address the issue
  directly?
• What expectations did coalition members have when
  your coalition transitioned from all volunteer
  and unfunded to DFCSP grantee?

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Group Discussion

• In your DFC-funded coalition
• How much of the coalitions current work relies
  solely on paid staff to get done?
• What is working about the current role of paid
  staff?
• What is NOT working about the current role of
  paid staff?

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If You Hear Nothing Else Today.

• Hear this
• You cannot and should not do this alone.
• There is danger is being the only doer.
• You do not have to know everything.
• The coalition is not about you.
• Perfect the art of facilitating from behind.
• Be prepared to receive little or no credit for
  your hard work.
• Make peace now with the fact that you have the
  worlds most rewarding and yet, thankless job.

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Paid Staff Should Not(do anything Shannon and
Paul did including the following)

• Plan and facilitate all coalition meetings
• Do everything because its easier that way
• View members (or allow members to see themselves)
  as advisors and not doers
• Make unilateral decisions about the coalitions
  work
• Allow themselves to become known as the only
  expert in the coalition

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Paid Staff Should Not

• Always be the spokesperson for the coalition
• Be the primary architect of planning products
• Be the primary implementer or act alone
• Deny members a chance to act or take any action
  a member should have or could have taken
• Repeat any of the other major mistakes made by
  Shannon and Paul . . .

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Consequences of the Should Nots

• The coalition becomes all about you
• Removes responsibility/input from members
• Excludes the greater community
• The coalition IS the paid staff
• Sets up your coalition for failure if you leave
• Shuts down the very process that is a coalition
  creates stagnation

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Consequences of the Should Nots

• Members will leave because they have no real
  roles (does your coalition really need one more
  advisor?)
• The coalition will lose (or fail to gain) real
  political power and influence
• Staff will burnout

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Paid Staff Shoulds

• Include members in the tiniest of details
• Encourage their voice to be heard
• Match member skills, interests, and desires to
  tasks
• Align resources and skills with members to
  succeed in their task or role
• Support and problem solve with members to achieve
  results

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Paid Staff Shoulds

• Connect and facilitate efforts behind-the-scenes
• Educate the community on the real role of
  coalition
• Ensure the pay off is there for the members
  participation
• Let members lead in big and small ways
• Facilitate the creation of leaders

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Consequences of the Shoulds

• More people are able to do the coalitions work
• Members feel valued and stay involved
• Creativity flourishes
• Leaders lead and new ones are created
• Leads to community change and outcomes

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Consequences of the Shoulds

• Increases community buy-in and input
• More likely to obtain local resources because of
  varied community involvement
• If you leave, your coalition lives on and
  (hopefully) never skips a beat
• Decreases staff burnout and turnover

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How to Quickly Re-Define the Role of Paid Staff

• Start with Meeting Management
• Who sets the agenda for coalition meetings?
• Who facilitates the coalitions meetings?
• Who makes decisions about meetings?
• Who communicates about/before/after/in-between
  meetings?
• Paid staff role(s) before, during and in between
  meetings?

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How to Quickly Communicate Paid Staffs
Appropriate Role

• Use Shannon and Paul as an excuse.
• To raise the issue.
• To have an immediate conversation about paid
  staff and volunteer roles.
• They have to be told
• Paid staff (you) can shock them with the news
  that they are doers, or
• You can find a proxy advocate. Who is best to
  send this message to the coalition?

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How to Quickly Communicate Paid Staffs
Appropriate Role

• Dont do stuff! No, we dont mean go on
  strike!
• Do not enable an unhealthy role for paid staff.
• Be willing to let things go undone
• So that the process can correct itself.
• So that members have to weigh the consequences of
  current action plans, assignments, and
  roles.
• So that there is accountability.

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We Got a DFC Grant!!Now What?

• What is a coalition?
• A community problem solving process that is
  larger than any one person.
• What is process?
• What groups do over over again that become the
  norm, habit, or expectation.
• Habits form the routines, business model, and way
  of doing things in a coalition.
• They are beyond staff can be done with or
  without paid staff.
• Written By-laws, rules, regulations
• Unwritten What the coalition naturally does

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Coalition Active Membership Process

• The process of a coalition
• Cannot be done alone
• Is not a table of people who care
• Remains no matter who is/is not present
• Creates a safe environment for creative problem
  solving that involves everyone
• Is facilitated by a humble, relaxed, and largely
  behind-the-scenes paid staff

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You Have Things that Are Working

• You got the grant, so
• Where are you seeing progress already?
• Can you find the there there and use it as
  model for other parts of the coalitions work?
• Does my team even understand coalition? What
  can I do to help them learn?

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Some Final Thoughts

• Assessing shaping your management style over
  time is essential.
• Choosing to not stand in the way, but to
  facilitate movement.
• If its about you, then youre in the way.
• Dont act out of fear, but dont be afraid to
  act.
• You are not alone. Connect with your members,
  community, State Federal friends.

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Questions?

• Shannon Weatherly
• P 202.395.6774
• E sweatherly_at_ondcp.eop.gov
• Workshop materials also available at
  www.ondcp.gov/dfc