Building a new capability doesn’t mean learning a new skill. It means changing how we see, organize, and show up for the work.
At Creation In Common, we’ve learned that four levers must be engaged to create lasting, liberating change. Whether we’re working with a grassroots coalition, a foundation, or a public agency, these levers form the scaffolding of new possibility.
The Four Levers
- Mindset – How we see the world
All change starts with perception. Do we believe people are assets or recipients? Are we focused on limitations or opportunities? Changing a mindset isn’t easy—but it changes everything. - Resources – What we bring to the table
Resources are more than dollars. They’re relationships, lived experience, time, and energy. New capability requires recognizing and re-aligning the assets we have, not just seeking what we lack. - Systems – How we work together
Every organization has patterns: how decisions are made, how time is spent, how people participate. New capabilities require new systems—not just more effort inside the old ones. - Identity – Who we believe we are
This is often the most powerful lever. When an organization stops seeing itself as “just a service provider” and starts seeing itself as “a facilitator of equity,” everything shifts, from the stories it tells to the strategies it chooses.
To build a new capability, you don’t have to pull all four levers at once. But you do have to start with one—and pull it with intention.
Ask:
- What mindset is holding us back?
- What resource have we overlooked?
- What system no longer fits?
- What identity are we ready to grow into?
The answers won’t just lead to a better process. They’ll lead to a new kind of power, one that that comes from alignment, not control. Because the freedom to be and to do isn’t just a vision. It’s something we can build, together.