Creating the Future’s board meeting will happen at this post on Monday, December 8th at 1pm ET / 10am PT.
Board Packet Materials: December 2014 Board of Directors Meeting Agenda
Key Theme: Evaluation that is aligned with Creating the Future’s aim for a world where bringing out the best in one another results in people living well, individually and collectively.
Most of us have felt squeamish at one time or another about being evaluated – about having someone else judge the outcome and quality of our work. There’s a sense that evaluation is about tearing apart and finding fault. Things people may naturally want to avoid, getting away from a “cage-match approach” to professional growth…
As we de-construct and re-build an evaluation approach, Creating the Future acknowledges what can be a very uncomfortable and unproductive practice, and has begun a conversation about what evaluation makes possible in a workplace, among members of a board of directors or other team and among people who bring their hearts and souls to work, without receiving a paycheque. What does evaluation make possible, when we intend to bring out the best in one another? What would it look like if we put more effort into “valuating” one another’s work, rather than “e-valuating” it?
In November, our board of directors got right to work by exploring the topic with a lens of empowerment. We noted that evaluation brings with it assumptions regarding merit, salary and the sense of ownership towards ones’ efforts, both individually and within an organization.
But we also were excited by the recognition that, if we were doing evaluation with a focus on bringing out the best – in our world, in our team members, in each other – then we would experience a natural zest for reflection, for perfecting practice to the degree that it is possible.
At the December board meeting of Creating the Future, we intend to deepen this conversation by laying out how we might meet this goal in practice. We will explore questions of design and application. We want to look at what we would document as policy, to lay out what people can expect in evaluating their own progress. We want to consider what our teams – from the board to any working groups – will be considering as they evaluate their efforts.
As always, we invite you to join us in this conversation. Our board has had benefitted so much from the contributions made by those who participate in good faith, getting involved in our dialogue via Twitter. We hope you will feel the spirit, and be there on Monday.