The Social Innovator's Compass: Navigating Purpose and Impact
Written by Maha Waseem
The Power of Personal Alignment
The question that often haunts ambitious changemakers—"Which of the world's countless problems should I solve?"—misses a crucial point. The real question isn't about choosing from an endless list of issues; it's about identifying the challenge that aligns most closely with your authentic self, unique experiences, and capacity to create meaningful change. Sometimes, the breakthrough comes not from having the right answers, but from asking the right questions. Shifting from "What problem needs solving?" to "What problem am I most equipped to solve?"
What deliberate steps can you take today to move closer to your goal? What habits, disciplines, and collaborations can you cultivate to transform your ideas into action? These questions demand more than intellectual reflection—they call for consistent, purposeful action every day, whether through small, incremental steps or a bold leap.
I believe successful social entrepreneurship centres on purpose: the driving force behind your work, the impact you strive to create, and the values that guide your decisions. These values shape how you perceive challenges, define opportunities, and build collaborations rooted in shared principles. For me, it's about aligning who I am with the impact I want to create. It's about finding the courage to see the world not just as it is, but as it could be, and working relentlessly towards that vision.
At its core, social innovation involves developing and implementing new solutions—ideas, processes, or collaborations—that address pressing social challenges more effectively than existing approaches. Social innovation transcends sectors, levels of analysis, and methods to uncover the strategies, tactics, and theories of change that generate lasting impact (Phills, Deiglmeier & Miller, 2008). For social entrepreneurs, this highlights the critical role of having a strong value proposition: aligning purpose and values with a clear and actionable vision of how their work creates measurable, transformative outcomes.
Three Paths to Creating Social Change
Social change demands more than good intentions—it requires choosing the most suitable approach. Meaningful change rarely follows a single path. A powerful typology for understanding social change organisations includes social entrepreneurship, social intrapreneurship, and social extrapreneurship (Tracey & Stott 2016).
Some of us are builders—social entrepreneurs—creating new ventures from the ground up. We launch mission driven organisations, social enterprises, or not-for-profits driven by the social mission of addressing challenges in ways that create social value and social impact. Others find their calling as social intrapreneurs, innovating within established organisations and harnessing existing resources and networks to catalyse change from the inside. And then there are the social extrapreneurs—those who build powerful partnerships across different sectors, emphasising cross-sector collaboration, and pooling resources across organisations to tackle complex systemic challenges (Tracey & Stott 2016). This framework is compelling because it democratises social innovation. It reveals that meaningful social impact and progress can emerge through diverse approaches, driven by the ability to rethink systems and adopt innovative strategies.
The journey, however, is far from linear. It demands humility—the ability to acknowledge what you don't know and a willingness to learn from those you aim to serve. At its heart lies human-centred design: understanding that meaningful solutions emerge not from assumptions, but from deep engagement with communities and their lived experiences. For meaningful social change emerges through co-creation: it listens deeply, adapts continuously, and grows through the communities it empowers and serves.
Co-Creating Social Impact
We stand uniquely poised to contribute to this evolving discourse. The world's greatest challenges—climate change, inequality, access to education—cannot be solved by a single person or organisation. They require collaboration, creativity, and the willingness to embrace complexity.
As I reflect on my own journey, I am reminded that it is as much about unlearning as it is about learning. Social innovation challenges you to think differently, act boldly, and remain committed to creating meaningful change. Ultimately, it is standing on the shoulders of giants while offering others the space to stand on yours.
To anyone reading this, as you chart your own path forward, ask yourself how you would like to give back? Where do your authentic experiences and insights point you? Perhaps list your core values and map them to the causes you're passionate about. The answers may not come all at once, but I promise you, they're worth pursuing.
A note of gratitude: To Professor Neil Stott and Professor Paul Tracey – whose guidance has been invaluable to me. And to my remarkable MSt - Social Innovation Cohort 8, from whom I’ve learnt so much. What an honour to grow alongside each other!
References
Tracey, Paul & Stott, Neil. (2016). Social innovation: a window on alternative ways of organizing and innovating. 10.17863/CAM.7990.
Phills, J.A., Jr., Deiglmeier, K. & Miller, D.T., 2008. Rediscovering Social Innovation. Stanford Social Innovation Review. Available at: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/rediscovering_social_innovation (Accessed 10 April 2024).
Maha Waseem
Maha is pursuing an MSt in Social Innovation at the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, is the Director of Metromilan and is a researcher at Cambridge ThinkLab. With a background in Psychology, she is an avid mental health advocate, a serial entrepreneur and recent recipient of the Homerton Changemakers Catalyst Fund. Maha’s current research lies at the intersection of Psychology, Technology, and Social Entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on Habit Theory.