Why Discernment Matters (and what to do once you have it)

Do you ever feel like there is too much content in the world?

Too many quick tips.

Too many silver bullets. 

Too much advice, not enough action.

Too much information, not enough wisdom. 

Every charity leader I’ve ever worked with has at times keenly felt the sting of two truths:

A) There are too many things to do, and

B) There are not enough resources to do all of them.

As leaders, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the list of things we *should* be doing, and yet, the resources we have to do anything about it are comparatively small. 

Above: Every nonprofit leader I’ve ever worked with feels like A) there are more things they could do and arguably even should do, AND B) the resources they have to do anything about it are extremely limited compared to the vast ocean of possibilities.

In my experience, this has been true regardless of organization size. I’ve worked with organizations with 100 people in their marketing and fundraising teams, and budgets of millions of dollars. I’ve also worked with small teams where the executive director is the entire fundraising department.

But there is good news here.

Once you realize that limited time and resources are just a reality, you can begin to appreciate the importance of clear goals and prioritization. 

Priorities help us cut through the clutter and discern those few things that will move the needle for us this season.

Then we must act. 

💡 Takeaway: There will always be more things to do than resources to do them, so we must be very disciplined about our goals and priorities, and use those to identify the few things we should be doing right now to grow. Then we must act.

Discernment is essential,

Action is critical.

A wise mentor told me, “Dave, don’t mistake activity for progress.”

He was trying to say that busyness is not the same thing as effectiveness, and that I needed to have discernment to make sure I was doing the right things, in the right way.

Discernment is a big word, but in my experience, it’s critical to good leadership. We have so much coming at us each day – so many decisions. 

Imagine a river of options in front of you. Every day, the task is to SEE what’s in front of you. But it doesn’t stop there – as leaders, we must PERCEIVE when something might be relevant to our situation. The next step is to seek to UNDERSTAND that thing. And once we determine it’s right for us, we must ACT. 

See > Perceive > Understand > Do

I call this the Imago Loop, and I’ve written about it before. It’s something I’ve noticed effective leaders have in common – they find ways to see what is going on, perceive when it matters to them, then seek to learn how to take advantage of it, and act. 

💡 Takeaway: There are too many things for us to do at one time, so it’s critical to develop the discernment to notice when something might be relevant to our situation, seek to understand it, and act.

Until next week… Surf’s Up! 🌊

  - Dave

About the Author | Dave Raley

Consultant, speaker, and author Dave Raley is the founder of Imago Consulting, a firm that helps nonprofits and businesses who serve nonprofits create profitable growth through sustainable innovation. He’s the author of the book The Rise of Sustainable Giving: How the Subscription Economy is Transforming Recurring Giving, and What Nonprofits Can Do to Benefit. Dave also writes a weekly innovation and leadership column called The Wave Report, and the co-founder of the Purpose & Profit Podcast — a show about the ideas at the intersection of nonprofit causes and for-profit brands. Connect with Dave on LinkedIn.

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