Org Development Strategy

THREE CHANGE STRATEGIES IN ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT: DATA-BASED, HIGH ENGAGEMENT, AND GENERATIVE BY GERVASE R. BUSHE & SARAH LEWIS

This article categorizes organization development approaches to change management into three strategies, explains their differences, and when each might be most appropriate. It focuses on the differences between two change strategies that utilize the same methods and are associated with a Dialogic OD mindset: high engagement and generative. Brief case examples follow descriptions of the high engagement and generative change strategies. The differences in roles and activities of leaders (sponsors), change agents, and those affected by the change are identified. Propositions about when each strategy is appropriate are offered. The generative change strategy is the newest and least discussed in the change literature, and we describe essential differences that make it the most rapid and transformational catalyst for change. However, generative approaches are of limited value when high levels of interdependence or significant capital outlays require central coordination of change. In such cases, one of the other strategies is a better choice.

Highlights from ABP conference

Highlights from ABP conference

At the ABP conference on the 10th and 11th of November, I was struck by the professionalism of the presenters and the high standard of their content. I wanted to share a few of the ‘nuggets’ I picked up with you.

The ‘know it all’ and ‘learn it all’ culture difference

Matthew Syed introduced these two terms, the first reflecting a fixed mindset. The ‘know it all’ mindset can have some adverse effects:

A Client’s write up of an Appreciative Inquiry Event

This account of a recent one-day Appreciative Inquiry Event by Alan Brunstrom of ECSAT. He wrote it for their internal use and copied me in. I thought it gave a very good sense of the client experience and asked if I might share it on my website.

I hope you find it useful in creating a sense of how these events come about, how they are experienced, and what they can produce.

Where Next With Positive Psychology

Where Next With Positive Psychology

Earlier this month I attended the Global Strengthscope Practitioner Conference in London. A wonderful and inspiring conference where completely unexpectedly I was presented with the 2017 conference ‘Outstanding Contribution to Positive Work Practices Award.’ I was delighted and honoured and it got me thinking about what we have achieved so far in bringing positive work practices into the workplace and what we have yet to achieve,

Book Review – Holocracy The Revolutionary Management System that Abolishes Hierarchy: Brian Robertson (Originally published in AI Practitioner)

Brief account of the book

The book has noble, honourable and inspiring intentions: it offers holocracy as a ‘new operating system’ for organizations that will create a ‘peer-to-peer distributed authority system’. This operating system creates empowered people who are clear about the boundaries of their authority, about what they can expect from others, and are able to be highly effective in their roles.

The Distinctive Nature of Co-creative Change

How is it different, why is it better?

Co-creative approaches to organization change such as Appreciative Inquiry, Open Space, and World Café have some very distinctive features that differentiate them from more familiar top-down planned approaches to change.

The Economic Value Of Social Capital To Organizations

Elsewhere on this website we explore social capital as a group or social phenomena that adds value by increasing trust and information flow around an organisation, however it can also be understood from an economic perspective.

 

From this perspective it can be defined as a combination of the number of relationships some one has, the economic usefulness to them of those relationships and the quality of them: effectively, how well known someone is, in what circles, and with what degree of affection. It is the social capital in an organisation that means that we care about the effect our work will have on the next part of the production chain, rather than slinging substandard work over the functional line saying, ‘done my bit, their problem now’.

Ten Top Tips For Weathering The Storm With Strengths Enhancing Appreciative Leadership

 

When disaster strikes, under the intense pressure to do something fast, it is very easy for leaders to make quick, isolated obvious decisions i.e. to have a round of redundancies. Very few people like to have to do this, but often feel they have no alternative. However alternatives are available, what they demand is a willingness to go beyond simple and obvious solutions and to call upon the wisdom and goodwill of the workforce. A leader who is willing to work appreciatively with his or her workforce in finding ways to survive and thrive in these challenging trading times will reap the benefit now and later.

Ten Tips for Effective Strategic Development

What is Strategy?

Strategy is often thought of in organizations as a plan for achieving a specific future. The plan is created by a small group of people who then inform others of the vision of the future and the plan to get there.