Weekly Reader – November 26, 2018

What we’re reading and recommending this week. We add to this post throughout the week and look for your suggestions in the comments.

Monday, November 26

The Upside of Conflict (Alan Fowler, Elizabeth Field, and Joseph McMahon, SSIR) Too many organizations ignore or avoid addressing internal conflict. A healthy perspective on disagreement can increase resilience and spur needed innovation.

Tuesday, November 27

Evaluation: The Journey and the Destination (Jehan Velji and Teresa Power, CEP Blog) A new CEP report titled Understanding & Sharing What Works highlights the challenges foundations face in understanding what does and doesn’t work programmatically, deciding what to do with that information, and sharing what they have learned.

Wednesday, November 28

Anti-Semitism and Anti-Black Racism Both Advance White Supremacy (Jeanné Isler and Timi Gerson, NCRP Blog) Racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism are not separate strands of hatred for these ethno-nationalists, but rather deeply intertwined and mutually reinforcing. So too must be our strategies for combating it.

Thursday, November 29

How Trust in a Nonprofit Gets Lost—and Then Found Again (Rob Meiksins, Nonprofit Quarterly) How does it happen that a nonprofit organization that is admired and respected can lose the public’s trust almost overnight? What has happened between that moment and now teaches a lesson in what not to do in response to such situations, and then offers a path toward regaining that trust.

Friday, November 30

The Power of Letting Go (Dan Honig, SSIR) New research explores when top-down control works best in international development work, and when organizations should let employees in the field navigate challenges by using their own judgment.