Black Coconut Blog

5 May 2025

Collaboration is the only way forward

A reflection on collaborating in times of crisis

by Adanma Yisa

Let’s be honest, it feels like everything is falling out of place and becoming a bit of a mess, right?

We’re in the midst of a climate crisis and biodiversity loss, witnessing genocides, stuck in the unethical loop of consumption under capitalism, there’s rising inequalities, an orange man in the White Office, and all of this shows us that we are still dealing with the ongoing and unfolding afterlives of colonialism and imperialism. Yikes.

This swirling storm of interconnected issues is often referred to as the polycrisis. It isn’t one thing, but rather multiple crises all unfolding at once and feeding off one another. Right now, we need radical change to how we work together, we cannot tackle this world and all of its crises on our own.

In my time working with mission-driven organisations and changemakers, I’ve observed how we are all driven by fierce passion and deep commitment, and bold visions and visionaries, but too often they’ve fall into the trap of doing things our way (only) and alone. I get it though. We’re fighting for funding resources and legitimacy, fighting to seem like we’re doing more, helping more, solving more. And working in silos might feel simpler, there’s less negotiating, less compromise, less of the slow, often uncomfortable process of building shared understanding.

But if we’ve learned anything from the polycrisis, it’s this: no single organisation, sector, or individual holds the full solution to everything. We need each other. We need shared spaces where people can actually think together, not just perform agreement or compete for funding or airtime. To encourage good thinking we need to move with ease, pay attention to one another, have diversity in many different forms including in how we think and what we’re thinking about, and encourage one another to keep momentum going.

Creating that kind of collaborative magic isn’t just about convening people in a room and calling it a “coalition” or a “gathering of like-minded individuals”. Creating a kind of collaborative magic is about cultivating an environment where people feel heard, valued, and free to challenge assumptions without fear. It’s about noticing who’s not in the room, and asking why they aren’t there. And it’s about having the courage to slow down and make space, even in these urgent times, for listening, reflection, and letting diverse perspectives flourish.

When our work is guided by a sense of social justice the process is just as important as the outcome. How we work together reflects the world we are trying to build.

If we want to build a world that centres liberation, justice, and healing, then when we build spaces where we gather we need to think about how we encourage real attention, share equality of voice and time, share power, and show genuine appreciation to one another. Maybe this sounds really idealistic to you, but as per Nancy Kline’s Thinking Environment, when we feel better (appreciated, encouraged, at ease and like we matter), we think better, we act more wisely, and we build trust that holds, even when things get difficult (which they inevitably will).

We need collaboration. It is the only way forward. How we collaborate matters just as much.