The Vygotskian emphasis on externalization as well as internalization in learning means that the cultural historical mind is outward-looking, interpreting and acting on the world. Personal sense-making is therefore in a dialectical relationship with public meaning-making so that we are not only shaped by, but also shape the knowledge-laden practices we inhabit. When learning is seen in that way, learning professionals in organizations can be seen a people capable of taking creative action on problems of practice. At a time of austerity, when material resources are stripped away and workforces are drastically reduced, the expertise of the remaining workforce becomes overtly a focus for professional development and ensuring engagement with the long-term purposes of the organization. When these reductions are occurring at a time of systemic reconfiguring of the relationships between services, the need for leaders to recognise, enhance and give purpose to the capability of colleagues at every level of the systems they lead is crucial. The sites in which we were working therefore amplified the need for a strong sense of organizational purpose, which was built dialectically as personal sense-making informed and was informed by a publicly presented narrative.