In this final part of the conversation with Sebastian Varela, we get into something that might be the most important piece of the puzzle: how do you build organizational structures that create coherence without crushing the diversity of perspectives that actually makes your work valuable?

Sebastian is the Director of Strategy and Institutional Alignment for the Cities Program at the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global think-do tank focused on environmental work. Over the course of this three-part series, he's walked us through the tensions of alignment, how organizational vision creates space for flexibility, and now—the organizational foundations that make any of this possible.

Part 3 digs into what Danielle calls "designing for the design." Sebastian shares how WRI spent years building frameworks and vision—the guardrails that let you actually prioritize instead of trying to do everything at once. Without them, you can't commit to metrics, you can't attract larger grants, and decisions get made by whoever's loudest rather than what's most evidence-based. It's painful work that involves real organizational transformation, redistribution of power, and discomfort.

But here's the tension: those guardrails aren't meant to shut people down. Sebastian's closing message is about embracing diversity—of intentions, values, ways of doing things. "Every person is a universe," as one of his bosses used to say. The goal isn't to constrain those galaxies of perspective, but to create enough structure that you can actually harness them. Use facilitation to make space for the people who aren't naturally vocal, because they often have the most transformative insights.

If you've ever struggled with balancing the need for organizational clarity with the messiness of multiple voices, or wondered how to build structure without stifling creativity, this episode is for you.