Actionable Values
People First | Teamwork | Taking Action
Truth of Lived Experience | Grace | Embracing Discomfort
Creative Evolutions is an evolving and adaptable ecosystem of human beings who believe that We Can Do Better.
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In order to do better, we question our own practices, processes, assumptions, and even our language each and every day. We consistently go back to our values, checking our decisions, our actions, and our new actions against how we have agreed to behave.
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Some practical examples of living our values include the following. This list is constantly evolving as well!
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People First -
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Creative Evolutions has always compensated semifinalist and finalist candidates for their time.
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Instead of starting conversations at an organization or at CE with 'what is each person's job', we start with 'who are the people here, what are their capabilities and interests, and where do they need support'?
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In every workplan, we ask 'is this not just treating the human beings reasonably, but supporting them to fully realize their talents?'
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We treat organizations differently than people. Organizations are systems made to help people - so even conversations about organizational sustainability start with 'how is this helping people - and what people are benefiting/owning/controlling the resources here?'
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Teamwork -
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Working together and valuing people on a team means taking the time for everyone to contribute. We embrace taking the time needed for the whole team to participate, which leads to more effective creative ideas and problem solving.
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People communicate differently and people think differently. Teams can benefit from having different kinds of thinkers, but that requires all team members to embrace taking a back seat, having patience, or even just letting go of the times when things may not make sense to them but do make sense to others.
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Having people to collaborate with and to rely on makes everyone stronger, so every project or idea Creative Evolutions undertakes has the goal of strengthening the creative ecosystem through relationships, including relationships between people who are not part of Creative Evolutions directly.
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Taking Action -
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When we have a goal or idea, or if someone has a need, we ask 'is there something we can do about this right now?' Even if the action is small, it places us in a different space that is always forward-moving. Just do one thing!
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We believe trust comes from repeated action. In pursuit of trust, we make small commitments and follow through on them to demonstrate values.
Truth of Lived Experience - ​
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While we take action always to do better,
reality is. -
If someone expresses their experience, which is not the same for everyone, we all accept it as real and work from there.
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Values, Missions, Rules, Systems, and the like are all tools that are meant to help guide behaviors. But we look to the observed and experienced behaviors first, last, and always to see what is really happening and what could change for the better.
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We know we can't change everything at once, so each effort is focused and we accept for that effort the things that we aren't trying to change today.
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Grace -
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People's lives are full of realities and challenges beyond their 'work'. We see each other as fully realized people who are navigating many issues which can change at any time. We encourage openness and honesty about what is reasonable to expect from each other and how that can change between today and tomorrow. Life be lifing!
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Embracing Discomfort -
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It's ok and encouraged to say 'this is uncomfortable for me'. This opens the door to explore what may need to be explored, explained, or changed.
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We aren't interested in wasting time and money being performative. Saying it like it is with respect, but without fear is valued and appreciated.
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Not every situation is right for every person. To make effective decisions, it is necessary to be open that a next step may mean some people need to leave a group. That is always uncomfortable, but can be normalized.