Building a multistakeholder team

Today, I led the last in a series of five workshops in which we built a new multistakeholder collaborative. Starting in May of 2024, this small group of people from all different orgs and government entities started with only a question:

Is this something we want to do?

Over time, they learned about each others’ work and lives and dreams. They showed up even as the world twisted some of their jobs upside down and inside out. They cast a vision they believed worth working toward, and listened and listened and listened to each other.

Today, they filled in this timeline with milestones and names of who would do what, and then jostled things around in time on the paper as they grappled with what it would take to make some of their ideas reality.

Before that though, before they all arrived, as I was drawing this squiggly line showing the passing of time on the blank sheet of paper at 8 am, I was struck with the white space on the page.

It suddenly felt like a huge white space around me, as I imagined this future of ours.

Will this group accomplish some of their big dreams?

Will some of them still be working together in 2045?

Over the course of the day, as I watched them work together, I felt it: yes. I believe this group will do magnificent things together.

Sad as I am to wave them off now, I’m equally grateful that I got to walk beside them as they found who they were becoming together, and excited to watch them accomplish big things.

And I’m left with hope for what happens when people trust in the power of relationships and working together toward something larger then themselves.

p.s. After the session, Lulu and I went on another walk!