Advancing your OD practice – Part 3
You are the primary “instrument” in OD!
Organisational Development is a wide and varied field, but let’s not overwhelm ourselves, it simply starts with you.
Examples of change projects, products and services
Organisational change: finding your way
Journeying into the unknown Organisational change is a journey into the unknown, along changing terrain. Finding your way in that changing terrain requires (i) new understanding about the dynamic patterning of change; (ii) new processing skills of sensemaking and learning; and (iii) new tools to help people in the midst of on-going change to notice…
Advancing your OD Practice – Part 2
Part 2: A framework for advancing your OD practice – Dr Sharon Varney & John Hovell OD practice – an evolving field Part 1 in our series on Advancing your OD Practice explained how Organisational Development (OD) thinking and practice has evolved over the past 70 years to ensure it remains relevant and…
Advancing your OD practice – Part 1
Part 1: A mindset, skillset and toolset for change – Dr Sharon Varney OD is for you! Saying that Organisational Development is just for OD specialists is a bit like saying computers are just for IT professionals. In the past, OD was the preserve of specialists. Yet, with increasing organisational complexity, the job…
Why line managers need change expertise
by Sharon Varney and Sue Ells Line managers are the most critical people in any change effort. Yes, we repeat, THE MOST CRITICAL. Success or failure often depends on the energy and engagement of line mangers. But they’re often just left to get on with it, with a sink or swim attitude. We want…
Adaptive and responsive action. What’s the difference?
Normally at this time of year, I’d be reaching for the winter woollies – cardigans, jumpers, coats and scarves. But not this year. Not yet, anyway. When I went out earlier this week, I instinctively put another layer on and grabbed a scarf to keep out the expected Autumn chill. Yet within 5 minutes, the…
Beware the mad dash for change!
The morning after the Scottish referendum on independence and there seems to be a mad dash for constitutional change in the UK. That change has been called for is not in question. Some want greater self-determination. Some want a new system for social justice. Some want to grab greater personal and political power. Some…
The balloon under the stairs – Pt 2
To my surprise, I’ve realised that the red party balloon under the stairs is now two years old. A bit more actually – it’s 751 days old today. That seems very old for a party balloon. It was blown up for a party during the London 2012 Olympics, and it’s still inflated. This is an…
Small data, the new BIG thing!
An edited version of this article was originally published in theHRDIRECTOR in June 2014 The buzz is about Big Data, but does that mean ‘Small Data’ is brushed under the carpet? Big Data is a fashionable phrase describing the vast amounts of digital information now available – from stratospheric growth in online traffic and…
What does the future hold?
This is an important question for governments, businesses, organisations and individuals. Because when we make decisions today, we are often making bets on an unknown future e.g. about retirement or energy needs and provision. Some are sceptical, rightly so, about the limitations of prediction in a complex and uncertain world. [See new blog posts from…