Giving Compass' Take:

• In an article for Forbes, Kris Putnam-Walkerly offers strategies on how to avoid the self-inflicted, well-meaning wounds of delusional altruism.

• What is delusional altruism? What are you doing to avoid it in your own giving? What can you do to warn others of its harmful effects?

• Further develop your understanding of delusional altruism and its manifestations here.

As philanthropists seek to change the world, many need to get out of their own way. By that I mean that, too often, philanthropists see the change they want to create but prevent themselves from acting on it. And what’s worse, most don’t even realize they’re doing this.

These philanthropists don’t want a Band-Aid solution. They want transformational change. Lasting change.  But this is where delusional altruism often creeps in: Their delusional thoughts prevent them from achieving the impact they seek. Here are just three ways this problematic thinking affects giving:

1. Many philanthropists have a scarcity mentality. They believe all of their funding should be given away to help others, so they maintain a spartan operation for their philanthropy. The trouble is, in their altruistic effort to be frugal, they hold back on investment in important things, including strategy development, talent, technology, evaluation and even their own learning.

2. Many funders create too many steps. Those extra steps delay reaching their goals. They insist on rigid conformity to rules that hinder decision-making. They call for unnecessary duplication. They adhere to practices that are inefficient, convoluted and inflexible.

3. Some funders suffer from “Donor Distraction Disorder.” Too often, philanthropists don’t have clarity on their strategy. While they might be very busy reviewing proposals, making funding decisions and attending philanthropy conferences, they can easily get distracted because they don’t know their end goal.

Once aware of the delusion, however, a philanthropist can quickly change. We can turn things around by embracing a mindset of abundance instead of scarcity. We can ask the right questions, which will take us down the right path and increase our speed in philanthropy. We can rapidly formulate and implement our philanthropic strategies. We can become more innovative, agile and adaptive.

Read the full article about avoiding delusional altruism to give more effectively by Kris Putnam-Walkerly at Forbes.