For the past few weeks, I have been thinking about objectivity and what it means for this work. As a consultant working in the intersection of strategy, evaluative inquiry and leadership development, I sit in a privileged place working with leaders of organizations who strive to make a difference. My view of the world, regardless of my training, has and continues to be influenced by my experiences as a woman of color.

As the Social Innovation Fund takes off and conversations abound about the rigor and “objectivity” needed to prove impact to support going to scale to affect social change, I am trying to figure out what objectivity really means and why does it matter?

To inform my thinking, I spent some time on the Internet looking for a definition. The On-Line Dictionary of the Social Sciences offered the following:

OBJECTIVITY. This term is used in two distinct but related ways:

• The first refers to the actions of a social scientist: assuming a position of disinterestedness or impartiality, or being open-minded in the assessment of evidence. Objectivity is thought to be central to the procedures of the scientific method.
• The second meaning refers to the nature of the statements people make: a statement can be objective as opposed to the scientist being objective. An objective statement is one that can be agreed upon by others regardless of their backgrounds or biases.

Two phrases stuck with me from this definition:  1) a position of disinterestedness or impartiality, and 2) a statement, which can be agreed upon by others regardless of their backgrounds or biases.

As our world continues to get smaller, while the issues we deal with become increasingly complex and the inequities we face grow larger, to what degree should those of us in positions of influence be interested in the outcome.

 Moreover, does not one’s background and experiences allow one to “see” things that others will not see?

Is there such a thing as “facts” that everyone will see the exact same way when it comes to assessing “impact?” Is it more important to surface our backgrounds and biases, and to acknowledge them as we strive to find common ground when interpreting “facts” and to have the greatest impact possible?

Is it more realistic and honest to accept that we all bring our backgrounds and biases to how we interpret situations and determine facts?

In addition, if so, what strategies do we use and commitments do we make to our clients and ourselves to make explicit how our backgrounds and biases affect how we see the “facts?”

I am still thinking it through. 

What role does objectivity play in your work?

First, I want to say thanks for all the positive feedback on my first post. In particular, I want to express appreciation to Paul  Hudnut (@BOPreneur) who tweeted about it last week. In reading the comments and reflecting on the chord my blog title struck, I want to talk further about why I pose the question.

For me, the question of “to what end” is at its core about making one’s motivations and intentions transparent, if only to oneself. This sentiment is expressed well by the African proverb:“If you want to know the end, look at the beginning.”

Over the past couple months a lot has been written about the importance of having impact. The discussion has revealed our limitations in seeking to identify reasonable benchmarks and methodologies to measure and track impact, as well as our reluctance to disseminate our findings, both positive and negative. The emergences of social innovation as a framework and of networks as both a strategy and as their own entities have pushed us to be more critical of our efforts to date. Excellent points in all these areas have been made by Mario Marino (http://ow.ly/W3Ig), Hiddy Gotlieb (http://bit.ly/4r3oJt), IISD (http://bit.ly/bFCyjM) and Dr. Paul Duignan (http://bit.ly/bFCyjM) to name a few.

However, at the root there is a more fundamental question: What is the motivation behind our efforts? 

As a consultant who works across sectors, I know the answer to that question is complex. In short, it is: “It depends.” Here are some ways this question of “to what end?” shapes my work and approach, and the decisions I make. It influences:

• The clients jdcPartnerships seeks and the clients we take
• The proposals we submit and the approach we present
• The places we chose to be seen and the places we opt not to be present
• Whether or not I agree to be the “diversity” on a colleague’s consultant team (yes, it still happens even in the Bay Area)
• The amount of “influence and partnership” we think we might be able to have with a client partner, particularly in the early stages of their work as we bring our collective skills together.

Ask yourself a question about your intention and motivation. What can you learn or make more transparent about yourself and your work? Share.

Jara’s blog, “To What End?” launched January 20, 2010.