The Bearing

When the organization is working at its best, what tends to happen?

Select up to three.

• People take initiative without being asked
• Teams collaborate naturally
• The mission becomes very clear
• New ideas and solutions emerge
• Decisions happen quickly
• People become deeply engaged in solving problems
• Community partners become energized
• Momentum builds around a specific program or activity

Selection limit reached

What types of situations most strongly activate the organization?

Select up to two.

• Solving a community problem
• Launching new initiatives
• Strengthening partnerships
• Improving internal operations
• Responding to external challenges
• Advocating for change
• Expanding impact
• Crisis response

Selection limit reached

When the organization faces major pressure or complexity, what tends to stabilize the situation?

Select up to two.

• Leadership direction
• The clarity of the mission
• Trusted relationships within the organization
• Operational systems and processes
• Board guidance
• Community demand for the work
• External partnerships

Selection limit reached

Where does the organization remain most reliable even when conditions are difficult?

Select up to two.

• Decision making
• Program delivery
• Staff collaboration
• Mission alignment
• Community trust
• Partnership coordination

Selection limit reached

When the organization becomes stressed or fragmented, what tends to happen?

Select all that apply.

• Decisions slow or stall
• Leadership absorbs most responsibility
• Teams become disconnected
• Staff begin working harder but impact decreases
• Priorities become unclear
• Conflict increases
• Innovation slows
• Communication becomes strained

What situations most quickly destabilize the organization?

Select up to two.

• Leadership absence
• Strategy uncertainty
• Resource pressure
• Internal conflict
• Operational overload
• External pressure
• Board uncertainty
• Community criticism

Selection limit reached

When major decisions must be made, what most strongly shapes the outcome?

Select up to two.

• Executive leadership judgment
• Collaborative discussion
• Alignment with mission
• Operational feasibility
• Financial sustainability
• Community impact
• Board influence

Selection limit reached

Which of the following feels most accurate about what keeps the organization coherent?

Select up to two.

• Our mission organizes everything
• Strong leadership keeps things aligned
• Our relationships and trust networks stabilize the organization
• Operational systems keep things running
• Community demand for our work drives us
• Our ability to innovate keeps us relevant

Selection limit reached

Looking at the organization's history, which pattern is most recognizable?

Select one.

• We consistently expand into new territory when aligned around our core dynamic
• We cycle through the same growth-and-collapse pattern at roughly the same ceiling
• We are stable and reliable but our territory has not substantially grown
• We have not been in operation long enough to recognize a clear pattern

When the organization's central organizing dynamic has been questioned or challenged, what has typically happened?

Select one.

• The organization reoriented productively — the challenge produced clarity
• The challenge produced acute instability that resolved when the dynamic was reinstated
• The challenge produced protective response — the dynamic was defended rather than examined
• This has not been directly tested in our history

When a key individual — founder, executive director, or other central figure — is absent for an extended period, what typically happens to the organization's coherence?

Select one.

• The organization continues to function coherently through its established patterns
• Some areas slow or drift, but core operations remain stable
• Significant disruption occurs across multiple areas; coherence visibly depends on this person's return
• We have not experienced a sustained absence of a key individual

The organization's current infrastructure — governance, operational systems, role architecture — was primarily developed through:

Select one.

• Organic generation through the organization's own dynamics over time
• Significant input from an external operator (consultant, interim leader, long-tenured advisor) and has been internalized into organizational patterns
• Significant input from an external operator and has not yet been fully internalized
• One individual whose ongoing presence sustains it
• Mixed — some elements are internalized, others remain person-dependent

When new leadership or staff join, they typically orient to the organization's core organizing dynamic through:

Select one.

• Structural exposure — processes, documents, shared organizational behavior
• Relational transmission from existing members across multiple roles
• Primarily one or two specific individuals
• Informal or absent orientation; the core dynamic is difficult for new members to identify