about

Who and What and How

Approach

Mission. Dedicated to a paradigm of creative work that serves the self, others, and the good of the whole. Our mission is to bring individuals and groups in into vibrant creative aliveness – to become engaged energized and connected – for greater enjoyment, meaning, empowerment, and impact. Non-habitual. Comfort with change and uncertainty increases with practice entering unfamiliar territory in non-habitual ways. We do this using whole-brain, whole-person creating with a focus on inspired, practical results. We synthesize knowledge, experiential wisdom, energy, and our creative emergence process to enter new creative territory in safe ways. We integrate “left-brain” methods with “right-brain” and somatic approaches in our highly experiential programs.
Working at Intersections. Creativity happens at intersections. We work with you at the intersections of personal and business goals, what is and what's emerging, your inner "landscape" and outer contribution, mind and heart, passion and purpose, ideation and embodiment, and the aspirational and the practical.
Beyond linear-only thinking, Our work is about imagining, experiencing, and embodying new ways of thinking, perceiving, and being.
Integrative and Customized. Michelle's approach is informed her experience and research in the fields of creativity, psychology, group dynamics, organizational development, complexity sciences, integral theory, archetypes, systems thinking, community building, somatic intelligence, parts work, improvisational theater, Playback theater, psychodrama, the expressive arts, neuroscience, and applied storytelling. Most of all, this work is informed by direct experience in the field: discoveries made from over two decades of experience with thousands of workshop participants and coaching clients.

Core Values

Co-creation is natural and leads to buy-in and bonding
With safe cocreating, a group collective intelligence takes over and the whole exceeds the sum of its parts. Also known as group flow, the co-created field becomes part of the creative process. It's in nature, and human nature, to consistantly co-create in an environment. We help create foundations and move through the blocks for nature to do its thing.
Holistic generativity
Our framework includes a focus on moving from compromise to co-creation: mutual generativity - good for self, others, and the whole; exponential "wins" across all levels. Building new patterns on what works, what's alive, and what's emerging instead of staying stuck in old patterns. It's generative creatively, financially, and meaningfully.
The integration of opposites: turning ORs into ANDs
Most "either/or's" can become "both/and's" at the next level of creativity and perspective. It often means zooming out to a new framework or way of perceiving the situation to see how two seemingly opposite functions, values, beliefs, or ways of seeing are really parts of an expanded larger whole. Most ORs are ANDs-in-waiting.
Pattern breaking for something new to emerge
The nature of creativity contains disrupting something current to add something new. From a small break in routine, to how a team works together, to the creation of a breakthrough technology or service, a pattern is broken to create room for the emergence. At the core of all our work is breaking patterns – with safety, full-on engagement, fun, and meaning.

About Michelle

Michelle James

CEO, Chief Emergence Officer
Michelle is a pioneering creativity catalyst who has been using universal creative principles and the process of emergence as the basis for her work with thousands of people - individuals, corporations, and communities - for over 25 years. Michelle developed the Creative Emergence Process, with principles and practices - which is both a framework and integrative approach for creatively unfolding what's next and what's alive - within an individual or group. Known for her original, dynamic, and imaginative learning environments, Michelle facilitates at conferences, summits, and events internationally, on and offline. She is one of the pioneering practitioners in the fields of Applied Creativity, Applied Improvisation, and Somatic Creativity, and really lives her message of making discoveries by directly (and creatively) engaging. Michelle founded The Center for Creative Emergence based on her experiences and discoveries with the natural creative emergence process that unfolded over time in her personal journey, as well as and years of work with and study of various facets of creative process and related fields. She has trained over 2000 professional facilitators, coaches, leaders, and experience designers in her integrative train-the-trainer programs.
Also informing Michelle’s work is her experience and education in creative processes and techniques, brain research, organizational change, group process work, depth and somatic psychology, integral theory, group dynamics approaches (such as holacracy, appreciative inquiry, world cafe, open space, futuresearch, polarities, psychodrama, dialogue, participative design, parts work, design thinking), the arts, movement, bodywork, mythology, improv theater, systems thinking, consciousness studies, storytelling...and transformational experiences in her life. A creator at heart, Michelle performed full-length improvised plays with Precipice Improv for 10 years and currently performs in Virginia Playback theater. She is an abstract painting artist, a CoreSomatics™ Movement and Bodywork Master Practitioner, author, and TEDx Speaker who also enjoys hiking in the Shenandoah, pole fitness, and dancing to live music. She founded the Applied Creativity Network, produced in-person Creativity in Business Conferences (with the eBook, Navigating the New Work Paradigm), and several online summits. She's been recognized for her work in catalyzing creative community in Fast Company and other publications, books, podcasts, and on television. She put her own insights and discoveries (AI free) into her creative facilitation book, Pattern Breaks: A Facilitator's Guide for Cultivating Creativity.

Co-creators and Collaborators

Our co-creators and collaborators have expertise in a variety of areas. They are facilitators, entrepreneurs, practitioners, and leaders in their fields. Based on the scope and needs of your project, we gather the team who can best serve you.