62: Humble Ignorance

"...Acknowledging that one does not know is a humble kind of ignorance, one that is, in fact, filled often with the joy of discovery and wonder at what is discovered..."

This week, I’m reading a quote from Imposed Ignorance and Humble Ignorance - Two Worldviews by Paul Heltne, published in 2008.

Reflection Questions:

• Are we building structures and processes in our work that demand certainty or are we building those structures and processes to encourage discovery and wonder?

• Are we willing to be honest and humble with donors when we need to make a course correction?

Reflection on the Quote

Earlier this week, I was coaching a client through the process of asking for a corporate sponsorship.  She knew that this was an area that she knew little about, but instead of being defensive, she embraced this ignorance with openness and curiosity.  It stuck me.  How am I approaching my ignorance whether it’s about a donor or a fundraising technique or a trend in the field.

This also applies to generosity.  We can approach donor relationships with certainty, with standard practices, and yet we may never find out the true reason a donor is giving to our organizations.  In the face of our certainty, the donor may feel foolish to ask questions or be open with us.  Or, we can approach donor relationships with this humble ignorance.  We can build the relationship on a foundation of discovery, wonder, and openness. We can marvel at unexpected gifts. We can make course corrections and be honest with donors.

To explore fundraising coaching deeper and to schedule an exploratory session, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

Transcript

Welcome back. This podcast explores the wisdom of generosity, from ancient to modern, and the beautiful space where generosity occurs.

Earlier this week, I was coaching a client through the process of asking for a corporate sponsorship.  She knew that this was an area that she knew little about, but instead of being defensive, she embraced this ignorance with openness and curiosity.  It stuck me.  How am I approaching my ignorance whether it’s about a donor or a fundraising technique or a trend in the field.  This week, I’m reading a quote from Imposed Ignorance and Humble Ignorance - Two Worldviews by Paul Heltne, published in 2008.

Quote

“There are at least two kinds of ignorance in the human world.  These differ so dramatically that they may be seen as opposing worldviews.  One ignorance worldview is built on the belief that one knows or understands a situation or a subject rather thoroughly, perhaps even definitively or absolutely, when, in fact, one does not.  This sort of ignorance-masquerading-as-certain-knowledge often comes to us as whole systems of thought and work and with intellectual buffers that make its facts, claims, and practices beyond question.  Its assumptions, often invisible or unstated, are thereby unassailable.  You know that  you are in the presence of this kind of ignorance when you are made to feel that it would be foolish to ask questions about derived conclusions or about basic assumptions.  This kind of ignorance is, thus, purposely imposed on many and camouflages our true state of ignorance.

There is another kind of ignorance.  Acknowledging that one does not know is a humble kind of ignorance, one that is, in fact, filled often with the joy of discovery and wonder at what is discovered.  This is the kind of ignorance-based worldview that can help us fathom the messes we are in, articulate assumptions and processes, entertain questions and be enriched by them, and imagine new ways and new knowledge.  Humble ignorance can imagine that it might be wrong and hopes that its community will correct it early enough to avoid harm.  It can marvel at what it sees that it cannot hope to understand or control.  It knows that it must question certainty and jargon.”

Unquote.

This also applies to generosity.  We can approach donor relationships with certainty, with standard practices, and yet we may never find out the true reason a donor is giving to our organizations.  In the face of our certainty, the donor may feel foolish to ask questions or be open with us.  Or, we can approach donor relationships with this humble ignorance.  We can build the relationship on a foundation of discovery, wonder, and openness. We can marvel at unexpected gifts. We can make course corrections and be honest with donors.  

Let’s reflect on two questions this week:

Are we building structures and processes in our work that demand certainty or are we building those structures and processes to encourage discovery and wonder?

Are we willing to be honest and humble with donors when we need to make a course correction?

Share this podcast if you enjoy these five-minute reflections and subscribe to receive these reflections released every Monday. To explore fundraising coaching deeper, visit Serving Nonprofits dot com. See you next week.