The Case for Inner Work
Across sectors, social changemakers of all stripes are not doing well. When we're not at our best, our ability to do good suffers.
Inner work offers the tools we need to change that.
A crisis among social changemakers
Across sectors, social changemakers of all stripes are not doing well. A 2010 study conducted among 10,000 nonprofit professionals found that more than 90 percent of respondents regarded burnout as the principal reason for leaving the sector, while 69 percent cited job related stress. In another study among social workers, 56 percent reported being emotionally exhausted.
Burnout doesn’t just harm us individually—it holds us back from collaborating well in our work. And new research on reflective practices illustrates the flip-side: Inner work was been shown to positively influence well-being, not only at the individual level, but the organizational, sector, and societal levels as well.
Our case studies of various development projects across the world affirm this: when we use Inner work, we’re individually healthier, more fulfilled, and collectively more impactful.
Four reasons why inner work matters for individuals, organizations, and collectives:
1
Inner work helps create transformational leaders.
Inner work can help changemakers cultivate essential leadership skills such as self-awareness, authenticity, positivity, openness, collaboration, and moral integrity.
These skills not only help them to better understand the complex root causes underlying the challenges they face, but also to envision more creative, impactful solutions. Inner work practices that lead to more collaborative, self-aware leadership also foster stronger and better-connected teams and help organizations gain perspective on and free themselves of outdated systems or strategies.
2
Inner work builds key skills for more dynamic, innovative teams.
Currently, inner work is primarily used to reduce the effects of burnout or trauma. This is a critical first step.
In creating conditions that alleviate these hazards, inner work practices can help practitioners, partners, and communities build new healthy habits for better emotional regulation, more creative problem solving, and more compassionate relationship building. These skills are critical for professional success and happiness, and can result in a healthier, more engaged, and more resilient implementing team, operating in a well-managed, supportive environment.
3
Inner work encourages a holistic approach to tackling complex issues.
As individuals and teams often working under stress, we can easily miss the root causes of the problems we’re trying to solve.
Inner work frees practitioners to relinquish their attachment to existing approaches and creates opportunities for more innovative problem-solving that invites contributions from diverse stakeholders, especially the most marginalized. By fostering compassion and self-awareness, inner work helps practitioners build more robust partnerships across personal, organizational, and cultural boundaries that are more likely to produce systemic, sustained change.
4
Inner work helps organizations practice values-driven approaches.
Inner work provides organizations with a structured opportunity to more mindfully engage and align their work more closely with their organizational values and mission.
By providing regular opportunities to reflect on the organization’s standards and values, inner work can foster organizational self-awareness, transparency, authenticity, and integrity. This ensures that organizations are deploying resources and implementing programs with utmost intention.
We’re part of a global conversation in inner work.
See this discussion with Gretchen Ki Steidle (Founder & CEO, Global Grassroots), Martin Kalungu-Banda (Senior Faculty, Presencing Institute) and Bruno Vercken (Global Head of Safety, Health & Working Conditions, Danone), facilitated by Swati Chaudhary (Managing Director, Synergos Advisory).