Purpose-driven organizations face challenges every day - from inside the organization and out in the community or system. That is why resiliency is a critical aspect to build in your organization. One of the often overlooked characteristics of a resilient organization is their emphasis on learning.

We all make assumptions. Every day. It’s how our brain works. Our subconscious makes connections and shortcuts based on our background, experiences, identities, and contexts. Assumptions are ideas or beliefs about what is true or expectations of what will happen, often without proof and generally unspoken. Assumptions can be a powerful tool in your learning and evaluation work. We just aren’t used to articulating them in a way that makes them useful.

We can’t change the world unless we have a picture of what it could be. Often, we know what we don’t want to exist or happen. But we less often have a clear image of what we do want the world to look like and how it will feel. A Guiding Star is your vision for your work, framed as what you want your community to look like in the future.

Engaging in meaning making and reflection isn’t easy. You engage in learning and evaluation efforts to do your work better and have a deeper impact, but how do you go from gathering evidence and data to making those changes? That’s where meaning making comes in. One of my favorite ways to go from data to action is the Think, Feel, Wonder, Do activity.