Shaping Culture that Empowers

Abstract Information: For years, the evaluation community has said that the status quo will no longer do. Thus, we cultivated many useful strategies, perspective shifts, and tools focused on individuals who conduct evaluation. Are we still feeling confident that placing the onus to change onto the individual will evoke the progress we need? We propose yes, and organizations have an additional sphere of influence with ample opportunity to evoke change in the evaluation landscape. Additionally, individuals within organizations could catalyze the process. It happens through shaping workplace cultures that embed psychological empowerment. We invite participants to explore the creation of an environment where all employees feel welcome to bring forth their new ideas, take risks, and practice creativity.

Our guiding philosophy is that evaluators from all backgrounds and at all stages in their careers have strong ideas that will shape our future. We believe that it is not enough to invite their perspectives in a consultative way. To prepare the next generation, we must become partners: meaningfully including, empowering, and emboldening them to take risks that will shape our future.

In this session, we will share how Centerstone practices a commitment to develop and partner with early-career professionals, our initiative to center psychological empowerment, and our linkage of direct staff and executive leadership in iterative feedback loops. Together we will follow an emergent process of imagining, reflecting, then strategizing the processes and structures to get there. Participants will co-create a list of strategies and elements that shape an empowering workplace culture.