The Work Between Meetings
Editor's Note
The Work Between Meetings is a monthly letter from Freya + Co exploring leadership, governance, facilitation, and the work that helps groups move complex initiatives forward.
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Ideas for leaders moving complex work forward.
Issue No. 1 | Why I'm Starting This Conversation
If we've worked together over the years, or if we've only recently connected, you probably know me as someone who facilitates meetings, and that's true.
But the longer I do this work, the more convinced I become that the meeting itself is rarely the most important part. The real work happens before people walk into the room, and after they leave it. It's the conversations that build trust before difficult decisions. It's the follow-up that turns good intentions into action. It's the relationships that allow people with different experiences and priorities to keep working together even when they disagree. That's the work I've been fortunate to spend the last twenty years doing, and it's the work I want to explore in this newsletter.
What I've Been Thinking About
One week I might be helping a group think about how to better support families with young children. The next week, I'm working with leaders figuring out how communities can respond to addiction with compassion, accountability, and long-term investment. Another day I'm facilitating conversations about cancer prevention, treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life care.
On the surface, those projects couldn't look more different. But I've realized they're all asking remarkably similar questions. How do we bring people together around something that matters? How do we make thoughtful decisions when there isn't one obvious right answer? How do we move forward when everyone brings different expertise, different experiences, and different priorities to the table?
The Through Line
Across every project, I've noticed the same thing. Complex initiatives don't move forward because everyone agrees. They move forward because people build enough trust to keep doing the work together. That doesn't mean everyone has to like each other. It doesn't mean conflict disappears.
It means people develop a shared understanding of what they're trying to accomplish and enough confidence in the process to stay engaged when the work gets hard. I've also learned that this work is almost always done with limited resources. Most of the organizations I work with don't have enough time, enough staff, or enough funding.
And yet, some of the most effective collaborations I've seen weren't successful because they had the biggest budgets. They were successful because the people involved were clear about what each organization was uniquely positioned to contribute.
Money matters. Relationships matter more.
Why This Feels Especially Important Right Now
Sometimes communities receive a once-in-a-generation opportunity. I've seen it with tobacco settlement funds. With federal recovery dollars. Now with opioid settlement funding.
The question isn't simply, "How should we spend the money?" It's: How do we make good decisions together? How do we move quickly without sacrificing trust?
How do we balance today's urgent needs with tomorrow's healthier communities? Those questions don't only apply to public funding. They show up in nonprofits, foundations, associations, school districts, and community partnerships every day.
That's the work between meetings.
Try This
At your next leadership meeting, before discussing solutions, ask one simple question:
"What are we really trying to accomplish together?"
That question will uncover the shared outcome. I've found that when a group has clarity about where it's headed, many of the disagreements about how to get there become easier to navigate.
Between Meetings
As you think about the work ahead this month, here's the question I'm carrying with me:
What is one relationship that, if strengthened, would help your most important work move forward?
Enjoyed this?
The Work Between Meetings is a monthly email for nonprofit and public-sector leaders navigating complex collaborative work.
Each issue includes:
a story from the field
one leadership insight
one practical question to bring into your next meeting
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