Tool

Summary

It is useful to think about the application of Organization Development as one or more person’s intentional, systematic, and sustained effort to evolve an organization in a specific way to perform better in the future. Kurt Lewin first introduced the application of behavioral psychology to human dynamics in organizations after World War II.

In so doing he launched the evolution of Organization Development (OD) including Change Theory (unfreeze, change, refreeze), Group Dynamics (how people relate to each other when working together), Action Research (evolving a system by asking questions of those in the system), Force Field Analysis (assessing the forces that work for and against something), and Sensitivity Training (including self-management).

OD is going through a similar progression: Coming from outside ⇒  to inside staff support ⇒ to inside core skill that eventually pervades the organization.

Thoughtful application of OD theory in work situations has led to the evolution of tools and methods that accelerate and smooth the pace at which groups grow to achieve their potential to perform. See example tools, methods, and principles at intelliven.com and in Manage to Lead: Seven Truths to Help You Change the World.

University programs and training labs have taught thousands about OD. Many of those trained wonder where they ideally fit in the organizations that employ them. Business master’s students who took an OD class or two come to realize how useful OD skills (such as getting team members to work better together and to give and get constructive feedback from each other) are as their careers blossom and wish they had taken even more.

In an effort to get OD and the “people perspective” a seat at the table, most major organizations have defined and hired those with OD training or interests into a roll called Human Resources Business Partner. Those in this role are tasked to work with organization senior leaders to develop and direct people initiatives. The effort is noble and helps progress through the new skill evolution, but there is a long way to go still for line-executives to embrace and internalize OD competence.

Decades from now, every leader will likely have and apply OD tools, methods, and principles just as today’s leaders internalize and deploy skills in math, economics, and now also IT. The question is: How do we get from here to there?

How to deploy OD-competence.

Just as those trained in IT, those with training in OD tools, methods, and principles have three choices. They can:

• Help others use OD to perform better in the role of outside consultant in a small or large consulting firm; as in Stage 1.

• Help others use OD to perform better in the role of inside consultant; as in Stage 2.

• Personally use OD to perform better in whatever role they happen to have; as in Stage 3.

Stage 1 and 2 Goal

Success for the OD consultant operating in Stage 1 or Stage 2 is when s/he works as part of a collaborative leadership team contributing what s/he knows about OD in a way that it is internalized by those s/he helps. Once accomplished, the OD professional can stay with that team to help achieve ever higher levels of performance or go off to help another leader and team.

Stage 1 or 2 success could, in theory, put OD professionals out of work.  But it will take decades for OD competence to become commonplace and, in that time, just as with IT, new OD tools, methods, and principles will evolve to keep practitioners employed.

Stage 3 Goal

OD-competent leaders should not lead with OD. They should lead instead with the improved performance OD helps produce. Stage 3 OD-competent leaders will consistently produce better results, sooner, and more cost efficiently.

OD-trained persons who seek Stage 1 and Stage 2 roles should themselves first put OD competence to work as Stage 3 leaders to learn what it is like to be a leader putting OD into action. Internal and external OD consultants who have been successful as OD-competent leaders will give better advice just like leaders who get good at getting feedback are better at giving  feedback.

Stage 3 leaders may find their value created and impact delivered incredibly satisfying and want to make a career being an OD competent leader. It can also be financially rewarding considering those who develop, internalize, and use OD to achieve high-performance will be better recognized for their success than those who merely provide OD advice, as important as it might be.

Another approach entirely is to empower up-and-coming executives with tools, methods, and principles that happen to be OD-informed. The IntelliVen mission and mandate is to provide the platform, tools, and programs for developing OD-Competent executives. IntelliVen doesn’t lead with OD. We just use OD in everything we do and teach.

OD-Competent Leader Maturity Continuum

OD competence will eventually show up everywhere in organizations just as today we expect to find rigorous analytical thinking to be ubiquitous across an organization and not housed in a math or economics department.

The evolution of Stage 3 OD competence in leaders will likely progress through a continuum from Unaware to Innovator as illustrated in the Competence Maturity Model in the accompanying figure.

Guidance

Those committed to the evolution of OD competence in leaders and the improved performance it helps secure, should, regardless of where they sit in the organization, strive to take four positive actions as summarized in the table below: