Our political and business leaders may be failing to center humanity right now, Reader, but that doesn’t mean we should too - in fact, I think that means we should be even more intentional about centering humanity.

Our work is in community, where we are striving to advance health and well-being. To do this, we have to intentionally, explicitly center humanity in a world where political and technological headwinds are working against us.

How do we do this? Here are some ideas:

🤝🏽In your coalition meetings, take the time for an icebreaker or two, both meaningful and silly, that allow people to actually get to know each other on a deeper level. Here’s the most powerful icebreaker question I’ve come across. At a coalition meeting just yesterday, we asked folks what they’re working on right now that they’re most excited about, and it led to some wonderful conversations. And at a meeting I was at last week, they posed a series of questions and had us move to four corners of the room based on whether we agreed or disagreed (see here for more on this technique). We talked in our small groups about why we landed where we did and then shared with the other groups too, widening our perspectives (and sometimes even changing our minds).

📊In sharing stories and data with your community, make it specific to THEIR school, neighborhood, workplace, etc. This has come up a lot in my work in school mental health - both for those who work in schools and families of students, information is most relevant and engaging if it is specific to their school. Taking the time to parse out the data and highlight stories that are school-specific pays off in spades when those you are trying to reach actually pay attention to what you’re sharing and are motivated to take action based on it.

📱In the way you talk about systems and technology/AI with your community, recognize that it is the choices of humans in power, in corporations, in programming technology that create the systems and technology/AI we have. Sometimes we discuss these things as if they are born into existence on their own, rather than shaped and created by human beings.

🫶In terms of the end goals you are working towards, know that humans need and thrive on social connections and community and in terms of how you work, know that trust and relationships are paramount.

Do these ideas resonate, Reader? Where do you feel like your coalition, organization, or even just you, as an individual, are succeeding in centering humanity, and where are you struggling? Drop me a reply and let me know!

Until next time,

Vinu

PS Learn something in this newsletter? Spread the word! Forward this email to a friend or colleague who might want to weave their own community threads.

PPS Want to learn more about PoP Health and how we partner with community coalitions and collaboratives to transform health in communities through policy and systems change? Check out our website!