Many not-for-profit organizations are highly motivated by their desire to love and support the communities they serve, often with altruistic actions emerging as a result. Is this a sustainable way to serve communities? Or could moving from a model of altruism to a model of liberation improve that experience for staff and community alike? This example uses an aspirational iceberg to explore the underlying structures that could help move from altruism to liberation.

This example is shared by Jen Taylor, an Education Programs Consultant within the California Department of Education. During Region Meetings, she engaged in a variety of practices, including using compassionate systems tools to navigate complex issues. An example of this was taking a local issue of "staff workforce" and using the Systems Thinking Iceberg to think through some of the conditions that are below the surface.