Voices - MNODN

Transcription

Voices - MNODN

Vo i c e s
The MNODN is a professional community committed to excellence in learning, growth and
innovation in the field of OD. Our mission is to learn and apply organization development theory
and practice, integrating human and organizational systems, to create sustainable change.
June 2010 • Volume 24 • Number 10
Energetics and OD
Presented by Dr. Alla Heorhiadi and Dr. John Conbere
Date:
Tuesday, June 8 (note date change to second Tuesday)
Time:
3:00 – 4:00 Special Peer Learning Clinic: “What Did I
Learn About OD This Year?” Tell us your key learnings or
experiences and learn from each other. Fun allowed!
4:00 – 4:30 pm Networking
4:30 – 7:00 pm Program (note longer program)
Where: University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MOH Room 201
Cost:
$20 for MNODN members & partner organizations
$25 for non-members
$10 for students with student ID
Program Overview
Persons working in Organization Development call upon a vast toolset to
help them navigate the organization change process. Despite the theory,
tool, or measurement selected, we need data to act. Energetics training helps
practitioners see and sense subtle energies that they can then use as data to
help them act.
Energetics is another tool to help with understanding. Just as a CT-scan
provides data to a complex situation, it doesn’t fix the situation; it helps you
choose how to act. Energetics is the same way—it doesn’t fix; it is a tool
that provides data. It helps to create awareness to and understanding of the
complexity.
Join this interactive session and learn about the emergence of Energetics
in Organization Development. Dr’s. Heorhiadi and Conbere will provide
an introductory overview of Energetics and OD. They will be joined by
practitioners and students who’ve applied the concepts and techniques. It is
an opportunity for the development of a basic understanding and appreciation
Energetics and OD, continued page 2
June Monthly Meeting
Join us on June 8th for our final evening program
of the membership year.
Program
Energetics and OD
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Member Clinic
4:00 – 4:30 p.m. Networking
4:30 – 7:00 p.m. Program (note longer
program)
Cost
$20 for MNODN members & partner
organizations; $25 for non-members
$10 for students with student ID
Pre-register at mnodn.org Pre-registration
is not required to attend this event.
Presenter
Dr. Alla Heorhiadi, founder and director of
the Institute of Energetics; Department of
Organization Learning and Development,
St. Thomas & Dr. John Conbere, Professor,
Department of Organization Learning and
Development, St. Thomas
Program Location
University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis,
MOH Room 201. Parking in ramp below
building. Enter on Hennepin at 10th Street
If questions, contact: Cino Adelson at
cinoadel@aol.com
Inside this issue
Letter from the Chair.................................................. 2
Reflections on Rosie Ward........................................ 3
Self as Instrument: Using Energetics
Responsibly................................................................ 4
7 Levels of Effectiveness: An Energetics
Influenced OT Approach........................................ 5
Voice of the Member............................................... 8
MNODN Board Update........................................ 11
OD Scan.....................................................................12
Energetics and OD
Biographies
of Energetics and as another tool for
practitioners to consider for their toolbox.
Alla Heorhiadi, Ph.D., Ed.D. teaches in the Organization Learning and
Development Department at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis,
Minnesota. She earned her Ph.D. in Economics at the National Academy
of Science, Ukraine, and her Ed.D. in OD at the University of St. Thomas.
She holds a certificate in Energetic and Informational Development from
St. Petersburg, Russia, and has been involved in energetic interventions
with individuals and groups for more than 10 years.
Change your paradigm and change your
practice. Learn to tune into the subtle
energies that can take an initiative offcourse. Recognizing the existence of
these energies can help you focus your
assessment, select the appropriate
intervention, and save time and money on
your way to an effective and sustainable
change.
To learn more about this fascinating topic,
click here.
John Conbere, Ed.D., is Associate Professor of the Organization Learning
and Development Department at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis,
Minnesota. He earned his Ed.D. and M.Ed. in Human Resource Development
at the University of Minnesota, and M.Div. at the Episcopal Divinity School. He
has been using his skills in energetics in his consulting for the past 5 years.
Letter from the Chair
I can hardly believe
we are at the end of
another program year
for the MNODN. It’s
been a landmark year,
especially in terms of
monthly programs.
Gwen Riedl
We’ve had some of
the most highly attended meetings of
recent history, and we continue to have
new members join every month. This is
the last newsletter of this membership
year and it may be the last in this PDF
format as we work to increase our web
savvy over the summer.
There are some big announcements from
the board this month. We are saying
goodbye to six board members, including
Cino Adelson, Co-Program Chair, Jamie
Barrie, Web 2.0 Director, Laura Delavie,
Marketing Chair, Gary Fleishacker,
Chair of Peer Learning, Margie Oleson,
Membership Chair, and Megan Rounds,
Newsletter Editor. The MNODN has
benefited tremendously from the
creativity, energy, and drive of each of
these individuals. Please give them a pat
on the back and a huge “thank you” when
you see them.
As the MNODN moves forward, we
are thrilled to welcome David Crussel
to the board as the new Web 2.0
Director. David has a unique and vast
set of technical skills combined with
organization and change management
experience so we look forward to rapid
advancement in our use of website as a
key Network tool. The board has other
positions open and is considering restructuring to best meet the needs of
members. Please contact me if you have
an interest in serving on the board or a
committee, or if you have suggestions.
Also, the board made the decision to
convert to a rolling membership year,
beginning September 1, 2010. This is a
change from membership that has run
from September 1st to August 31st the
following year, regardless of when one
joins during the year. Anyone who joins
or renews between now and September
1st will be included in the new rolling year.
Hopefully, this month’s newsletter will
send you into a summer of reading about
new and edgy topics. Our theme, as well
as the topic for June’s monthly program,
is Energetics.
Never heard of such a thing, you say?
That’s ok; it’s new to a lot of us and
that’s why the esteemed Dr’s. Alla
Heorhiadi and John Conbere are joining
us. Dr. Heorhiadi is the founder and
Director of the Energetics Institute and
Dr. Conbere is professor and Director of
the Doctorate in OD at the University of
St. Thomas. We also have two feature
articles this month. First, we can get a
sense of Energetics from Robin Silverman
in “Self as Instrument: Using Energetics
Responsibly.” Second, Ann Betz, of Be
Above Leadership, has written “7 Levels
of Effectiveness, an Energetics Influenced
OT (Organizational Transformation)
Approach.”
We have Reflections on Dr. Rosie
Ward’s program last month on intrinsic
motivation of employees by Brigid
Bechtold, and Brian McDermott is
highlighted in the Voice of the Member
by Margie Oleson. You may also want
to supplement your summer reading by
checking out the Energetics-related books
highlighted in the OD Scan.
Have a great summer and see you in
the fall!
Gwen Riedl, MNODN Board Chair
Minnesota Organization Development Network (MNODN) June 2010 • Volume 24 • Number 10
2
Rosie Ward
By Brigid Bechtold, Ph.D.
When I was an internal Organization
Development (OD) consultant, our
department at times reported to
Human Resources and at other times
to Total Quality. OD never reported to
Health and Safety, and when we as OD
consultants think of healthy organization
cultures and engaged employees, we
probably aren’t thinking of safety or
health and wellness initiatives.
Looking at organizational effectiveness
through the frame of health and wellness
was the interesting link that Rosie Ward
made in her presentation, Engaging
Employees through Intrinsic Motivation,
at our May ODN meeting. Noting that
it takes more than health promotion
initiatives to decrease workplace injuries
and benefit claims, Ward highlighted
the need for an organization culture that
valued people’s strengths and talents.
According to Ward, a trusting
work environment, job satisfaction,
collaborative management, and an
opportunity to use one’s strengths
daily not only decreases the number of
accidents and days away from work; it
also enhances employee engagement
and productivity. Engaged employees
connect with their organization, work
with passion, drive innovation, and move
the organization forward. They care
about their co-workers, think creatively,
and feel they are part of something that’s
meaningful.
To an OD consultant, these attributes
echo the philosophy of Appreciative
Inquiry of building on strengths,
generating possibilities, and moving
forward constructively. The idea of
“thought self-leadership” that Ward
described also aligns with appreciative
concepts. “Intrinsic thinking” or “values
thinking,” based on Hartman’s hierarchy
of values, describes a “hierarchy of
goodness” in which people are more
valued than things and things are
more valued than ideas of things or
people. The hierarchy of goodness is
I>E>S, meaning that Intrinsic individual
uniqueness, is greater than Extrinsic
strategy or expertise, which is greater
than Systemic, what should be. In an
organization, Systemic is the policies,
mission, and values, Extrinsic is the roles,
functions, and tasks and Intrinsic is the
unique talents of each person.
Specialists in Nonprofit & Small Business:
Executive Transition
Strategic Planning
Team Building
Leadership Coaching
The Business of Navigating Through Change
Latitudesgroup.net
763-525-1003
Strengthening the intrinsic thinking
is also strengthening the “I” of the
person—and this becomes the role of
the OD consultant or coach working
with an individual: Listening for what
the person says—and for what the
person doesn’t say. Increasing the
intrinsic thinking means that the people
who need to change do the thinking—
figuring out what is important and
meaningful, creating their own ways of
being effective, and making the changes.
Through this process, employees
increase their capabilities, their
resiliency, and their engagement with the
organization. According to Ward, it also
creates healthier people—and that will
mean a healthier and more constructive
organization because the people shape
the culture.
Brigid Bechtold, Ph.D., is president
of Brigid Bechtold Consulting and
a member of the University of St.
Thomas Opus College of Business
Management faculty. You can reach
her at BrigidBechtold@msn.com.
Interested in taking
your membership to the
next level?
Consider applying for
the MNODN Board.
Vacancies are posted
at mnodn.org
for the next program year
(September through
August).
3
Double
Feature
Self as Instrument: Using Energetics Responsibly
By Robin L. Silverman
As OD practitioners, we examine
systems, strategies, processes and
practices; measure levels of employee
engagement; facilitate communication;
enhance collaboration; and much more,
all in an effort to help organizations
perform at their best. But as all OD
practitioners know, even the most
carefully made and well-executed plans
can—and occasionally do—go awry,
leaving disappointment and frustration in
their wake, both for us and for our clients.
Why does this happen? The reason may
not always be visible and/or measurable.
Instead, the root cause of a failed,
compromised, or for that matter, even a
successful engagement may be Energetic,
located in the unseen biofield that
affects all humans and their interactions.
Energetics is the study of this field, which
is increasingly being used by medicine
and business to improve and accelerate
results.
“The human energy field is a
collection of electromagnetic
energies of varying densities that
permeate through and emit or
exit from the physical body of
a living person.”
(Alla Heorhiadi)
Becoming Energetically
Self-Aware
A very simple, broad definition of
Energetics is that it is the scientific study
of energy under transformation
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Energetics). For the purposes of this
article, Energetics will be confined to
a discussion of the OD practitioner
transforming the energy in his/her own
biofield for the purpose of being a more
self-aware, responsible, and holistic
professional.
The human biofield includes not just
the physical body, but all seven energy
bodies: 1) physical body; 2) etheric
body; 3) astral body; 4) mental body;
5) causal body (also called the etheric
template body); 6) spiritual body (also
called the celestial body); and 7) spirit
body (also called the ketheric body).
Beyond the physical body, some of the
other energy bodies can be detected with
special equipment, like a Kirlian camera;
but for the most part, they are invisible
and indistinct. They can, however, be
accessed and transformed through
awareness practices, like mindfulness
and meditation, and/or through abilities
like clairaudience, clairsentience,
clairvoyance, empathic, and kinesthetic
impressions.
Whether or not an OD practitioner sees
him/herself as having these abilities is
not the issue. All of us have experienced
things like gut feelings, intuition,
compassion, and knowing that goes
beyond mere intellect or experiences
with our five physical senses. In addition,
we hear ourselves and others talk about
“feeling in tune” with a client, or “getting
bad vibes” about something. From a
scientific standpoint, we all know that the
human body is made up of cells, which
in turn are composed of molecules and
atoms. You don’t need a background in
quantum physics to know that atoms
are not solid, but are simply energy in
motion. So even though we, as human
beings, may appear solid, we are actually
fields of energy that both inhabit and
extend from our physical form. This is
the biofield, and we bring all of it into
everything we do, including our OD work.
Working with the Biofield
Why should OD practitioners be
concerned about working with the
biofield? There are two reasons: 1)
because it is the responsible, ethical thing
to do and 2) attuning it to our highest
intentions increases the possibility of
successful client outcomes. Just as
physicians take the Hippocratic oath to
“do no harm” to their patients, we as
OD practitioners have a responsibility to
approach our clients holistically so that we
both prevent harm and facilitate success.
As trusted advisors, we are expected not
just to bring tools, skills, and experience
but also our professional presence to our
engagements. This presence goes beyond
how we dress, speak, or act to how we
impact others with all of the energy that
comes through us as we work.
“Working with your own energy is
like self as instrument on steroids.”
(OD practitioner as interviewed in
“Application of the Human Biofield
to Organizational Development,”
a research project by April Orem,
August 2009)
Athletes often talk about being “in
the zone” when they play their best
games. Attuning your biofield before
a “big game” with a client produces a
similar result. It is not what we think
or want, but rather, how we feel that is
often reflected in the experiences of our
clients with us. Anyone who has ever run
late for a client meeting or faced down
a skeptical executive leadership team
knows that in those situations, things
often go from bad to worse. Conversely,
when we feel focused and relaxed, it’s not
Self as Instrument, continued page 5
4
Self as Instrument
unusual for things to fall into place, almost effortlessly. In his book,
The Divine Matrix, author Gregg Braaden describes this phenomena
this way: “Through the hologram of consciousness, a little change in our
lives is mirrored everywhere in our world.” (Braaden 2007)
Preparing Yourself
So how can an OD practitioner work purposefully and positively with
his/her own biofield? In a word: consciously. One of the easiest
ways to start is to prepare for a client meeting by activating energy
flows through your physical body. To do this, close your eyes and sit
quietly with both feet flat on the floor; hands resting on your thighs
or on the arms of your chair. Imagine energy coming up from the
earth and flowing upwards in front of the full length of your spine
and then out into the universe. As you feel the energy moving
up through you, feel its power and emotion awakening both your
physical and extended bodies. Do this several times until you feel
alive, lit up, and aware.
Then reverse the process, imagining light coming down from the
universe, into your head and down the front of your spine. This
downward flow is cool and clear, and brings clarity and information.
Run this energy a few times until you feel balanced and relaxed.
(Note: this can also be done during a client meeting if things start
to feel unbalanced. Start the upward and downward flows and then
allow them to move through you as you stay with the conversation.)
Once you feel balanced, open your heart chakra, which is the energy
center in the middle of your chest. To do this, simply imagine an
opening there with either green or pink light emerging from it (people
experience the color differently). Allow the colored light to leave
your body and fill your etheric and other bodies. You don’t need to
know the size, shape, or locations of those bodies to do this. Just
know that it is similar to having a coat of green or pink light cover you
more densely near your physical body, and more finely—like a soft
shimmer--in its outermost layers.
Next, simply think about your client, and any meeting you might be
having with him/her/them—past, present or future. Do not try to
control the meeting or think about what you’re going to do or say.
Just let the light fill the space that you are sharing with them until
you feel completely relaxed. You will know when enough is enough.
Return the light into your physical body and open your eyes. (credit
for exercise: Alla Heorhiadi, Energetics 1).
You can do this exercise any day, any time, anywhere. It can be done
in a matter of minutes, but it has been known to transform what
otherwise might be hours, days, or weeks of struggle and resistance
and create positive outcomes for all in a single meeting.
In short, transform your own energy for the better, and you are likely
to see the energy of your engagements transform for the
better as well.
For an OD practitioner, ignoring energetics is like bringing
only half of your “A” game to the table. For our clients not
only depend on us to do no harm; they also hope that we
will help them and their organizations be as good as they
can be. Working energetically as well as intellectually can
do both.
Robin L. Silverman
robin.silverman@right.com
Robin L. Silverman is an OD
practitioner with Right Management,
specializing in talent development.
The opinions expressed in this article
are hers, and are not necessarily reflective of those of
her organization. She has been studying energetics and
the human biofield independently for over 15 years, and
recently received a certificate in Energetics from the
University of St. Thomas.
16th Annual
Midwest Qualitative Research
Conference
The Power of Grounded Theory for Social Change
Dr. Kathy Charmaz, Professor of Sociology and
Coordinator of the Faculty Writing Center at
Sonoma State University, will explore how grounded
theory can help us illuminate issues of inequities
whether it be in education, law enforcement, medicine, public policy, or business. She will describe
how social justice researchers can use and adapt
several grounded theory strategies to advance
inquiry for social change.
Join us
June 17 - 18, 2010
University of St. Thomas
Minneapolis Campus
For more information visit
www.stthomas.edu/education/events/mqrc
College of Applied Professional Studies
School of Education | Graduate School of Professional Psychology
1000 LaSalle Avenue • Minneapolis • Minnesota 55403 • USA
education@stthomas.edu • 651-962-4550 •
5
Double
Feature
7 Levels of Effectiveness: An Energetics Influenced OT
(Organizational Transformation) Approach
By Ann Betz
Recently, I was sitting around the
fire having a glass of wine with five
other talented, brilliant, high-powered
Organizational Effectiveness/
Development experts. As the conversation
progressed, we all found ourselves
sharing stories of the toxic organizations
we’d worked in. Stress, illness, sleepless
nights, anger, loss of self-confidence, and
general disillusionment in the very idea
of organizations were common themes.
We looked at each other at one point and
someone said “Well, where are the healthy
ones?” We shook our heads and noted that
most of us were working as consultants.
We are programmed for community,
and truly, we long for connection. Like
many of you, I have worked individually
with hundreds of leaders and trained/
consulted/intervened in dozens of
organizations. The pain is widespread, but
no one intends—or wants—to create it.
There are many explanations that can help
us begin to make sense of this conundrum:
Turbulent times, the prevalence of selfdeception, old structures bumping up
against new ideas (and generations), the
list goes on. And yet, many of us in the
field are longing for deeper understanding
and more elegant, long-lasting, truly
effective solutions. Is too much of what we
have been doing simply rearranging deck
chairs on the Titanic? What is the core
of the problem? At BEabove Leadership, it’s
these questions that have led us to stop
talking about Organizational Development
or even Effectiveness and start looking
deeply into Organizational Transformation.
Seven years ago my business partner and I
found ourselves on a journey of discovery
that has led us into an exploration of
energy fields and how they impact human
experience. For example, many of us have
had the sense on occasion of feeling that
a certain office or organization simply
feels heavy or light. We might try to
figure this out by looking at the physical
environment, policies, leadership, etc.,
but what we have come to understand is
that the organization is embodying—and
being used by—an energetic field that is
either helpful and productive or unhelpful
and destructive. All of the above factors,
of course, play into the generation of this
field, which becomes a dominant force
that shapes human behavior. To alter
the effectiveness of an organization,
this field is what must be addressed and
transformed. At BEabove Leadership, we
have identified 7 major fields of personal,
group, and organizational effectiveness
(please note that we are not attempting
to claim an absolute definition for any
of these labels, as we know and respect
that others use them in both similar and
different ways):
1. Hopelessness—Fundamental inability
to see or work towards a positive
future.
2. Fear—Belief that one must protect
against almost certain loss, attack or
disappointment.
3. Frustration—Focus on fighting and
jockeying for position against (not
with) others; the feeling that the
external world (both people and
circumstances) must be resisted.
4. Courage—Willingness to take a stand
against previously held negative or
disempowering beliefs and actions,
trust in the possibility of a positive
future (often despite current evidence
that a positive future is not likely or
predictable).
5. Engagement—Desire to bring value,
to be a contributor; basic enjoyment
of the enterprise; focus on assets and
strengths rather than limitations and
detriments.
6. Innovation—Ability to set aside ego,
personal agendas, and perceived
restrictions and explore possibilities
from all angles; quest for, seek, and
focus on the most effective solution
to the problem or goal.
7. Synchronicity—Working from a true
understanding that what is within
creates what is outside; focus on
creating a positive experience for
all; the ability to see the gift and
possibility in anything.
In each energetic field, certain behaviors
are predictable while others are rare. The
field drives the behavior and compels
people to conform or leave. It’s common
knowledge that ineffective organizations
chew through talented people, who either
become bitter or jaded like everyone else
or simply quit. In addition, communication
as well as what people hear is determined
by the field. What a highly effective
organization hears as helpful ideas, an
organization in Frustration or Fear levels
can hear as disloyalty.
In fact, we believe the ability to focus on
rational, thoughtful analysis is the hallmark
of an organization calibrating at level 4
(Courage) or above. It sounds harsh, but
organizations in the fields of Hopelessness,
Fear, and Frustration are quite irrational.
For example, if you have an organization
in Frustration (level 3), where most of the
energy is focused on internal competition
and personal (not organizational) gain, few
will be able to engage in planning a new
organizational structure in the way that
makes the most sense for the organization.
They will say they are, but the process will
be about power, not effectiveness, and this
will most often not be consciously done.
Whereas in an organization at the level
of Engagement (level 5), open and frank
7 Levels of Effectiveness, continued page 7
6
7 Levels of Effectiveness
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Frustration needs aligned vision
Courage needs affirmation
Engagement needs passion unleashed
Innovation needs higher purpose
Synchronicity simply needs room to
express itself
discussion can be had around what makes
the most sense for the overall success
of the enterprise.
So what do we do? At BEabove, we are
developing an assessment of the levels
of effectiveness so that organizations can
begin to understand where they are—and
look to where they want to be—in terms
of the energetic field that is shaping
their actions, behaviors, and results. We
believe that effective Organizational
Transformation begins with knowing as
much as we can about the energetic field
predominating in the organization so that
it can be named, addressed, and shifted.
To do this, the only way out is through. A
forced focus on “being positive” will not
get an organization out of Fear; it will only
annoy people. To move through any of
the energetic fields to a higher state, the
organization must have the courage to be
present to where they are, fully honoring
what is so right now before focusing on
where they want to go.
We offer this introduction with the
intention of being in conversation with our
fellow pioneers and healers, who are as
passionate as we are about the possibility
of healthy organizations, empowered
employees, and authentic leaders. We
know that this is a somewhat simplistic
view of organizations and their needs,
but hope that it spurs thought, curiosity,
and a spark of recognition. At BEabove we
are also passionate about connection and
community, and the power of multiple
perspectives. We believe there is a crying
need for all of us to help organizations
transform, and we share these ideas in the
hope that they contribute in some way to
the healing of our world. We welcome your
thoughts, stories, and advice!
In addition to honoring the current energy
state, we think each level needs to be
met with a different energy intervention
in order to move to the next level, with
courage being present in any upward
movement. As we work with this model,
discovering more about what makes
a difference in shifting an energy field,
we are also looking to you, our fellow
practitioners, for your wisdom. So far, we
think it looks something like this:
BEabove Leadership was co-created by
two life coaches, change management
trainers, and transformational leaders:
Ann Betz, CPCC; and Ursula Pottinga,
CPCC. The vision for the organization arose
from a shared passion for heart-centered
leadership and living with joy, combined
with a deep desire to help others remember
their innate capacity to lead and live “above
the line.” www.beaboveleadership.com
1. Hopelessness needs healing
2. Fear needs honesty
EQ-I ® Certification Training
C
oaches & consultants worldwide use the EQ-i® (Emotional Quotient Inventory)
to support leadership/team development including work/life coaching.
EQ-i® Certification Training teaches you more about emotional intelligence
and how to successfully administer, interpret & coach using the EQ-i®.
Lisa Griebel M.Ed. ● 612.718.4389
lgriebel@crescendoinc.com ● www.crescendoinc.com
Coming soon: CEU’s (International Coaches Federation)
Ann Betz,
CPCC, has both
a passion and a
gift for making
teachings and
theory real,
understandable,
and powerfully
Ann Betz
applicable in
day-to-day life. A certified coach and
experienced trainer, Ann currently
leads the Certification Program for
the Coaches Training Institute and is
on contract as a leadership coach and
trainer in Cargill’s High Performance
Management Program. Ann is the
co-founder (with Ursula) and former
executive director of the non-profit
organization AmeriCoach, which
provided leadership development and
training for young leaders engaged in
community service. Over the past ten
years, Ann has developed numerous
workshops on using coaching skills in
the workplace, effective leadership,
the power of living from love instead
of fear, and creativity. She has
worked extensively with Fortune 500
companies, non-profit organizations,
school districts, and volunteer
programs on strategic planning, team
building, and leadership. Ann recently
relocated to Minneapolis from four
years in Costa Rica. Her email is
ann.betz@gmail.com.
Join the MNODN Group
on LinkedIn!
This is a professional group
dedicated to excellence
in learning, growth and
innovation.
For MNODN members only.
7
Voice of the Member
Brian McDermott
bmcdermott@growthworksinc.com
We get to know members of MNODN through
Voice of the Member. Meet Brian McDermott,
Chief Storyteller and a Senior Partner with
GrowthWorks Inc.
What is your role in OD today?
GrowthWorks is a 3rd-party provider of facilitation,
training, and consulting services. Our philosophy and
success is based on a belief that there is wisdom in the
room when working with teams, and the best thing we
can do is figure out how to tap into it. I am motivated
to put people into the business equation, which
means raising the value of the people factor in the
organization. Simon Sinek said, “People don’t buy what
you do, they buy why you do it. What you do serves
as the proof of what you believe.” The work is about
creating engagement. We’re helping leaders tap into
the skills, talent, wisdom, and energy that people bring
to their work. Most people want to make a difference
and want to make a contribution to something
bigger than themselves. And they want to help their
organizations succeed.
We talk about connecting knowledge, creativity, and
the human spirit. That can sound soft, but everything
we do is based on achieving business results. We
start by getting clear about the outcomes a business
or leader needs to be successful, and then we build
strategies and processes to engage people in the work
of making that happen. At times we’re involved, for
example, with an executive team on creating a strategy,
and we focus on getting ownership and ideas from
Brian McDermott
that team to develop the strategy together. Down the line, we
might be involved with middle managers or front-liners to involve
them in the process of implementing that strategy – essentially
asking them how to bring the plan to life. I think everybody wins
when the people factor becomes stronger in this equation. As a
result of my core motivation, which is very consistent with “the
rest of GrowthWorks” – Gerry Sexton – I work only with leaders
who say (and live up to) a belief that their people are their most
important resource – a maxim some people may toss around
lightly.
We help leaders and their teams create better change and
improvement through the engagement of their people, and we
always begin with clarifying the business driver for the change/
improvement. Then we design and facilitate appropriate
processes to engage the right stakeholder groups to maximize
engagement, ownership, and a commitment to achieving the
desired outcomes.
Tell us about your background.
I’m first a writer and knew I would be since fifth grade. My
education is in Journalism, and I minored in Spanish, including a
year in Madrid – a life-changing experience. I spent 12 years with
Lakewood Publications, where I was involved in starting several
training, management, and OD-type publications. We started a
conference specifically for training executives. Then I worked
with Bob Pike (a guru in the training world), The Service Edge
with Ron Zemke, Total Quality, and then I served as Executive
Director of the Positive Employee Practices Institute.
With all that training, business management, and OD exposure,
I joined GrowthWorks in 1997 to do marketing and public
relations. In 1999 we started working with client groups –
identifying specific business needs and crafting a unique change
management process for each client and group.
I have ghost-written two books – The Social Style Handbook
and Versatile Selling, part of the Wilson Learning Library Series
produced by NovaVista Publishing. Gerry Sexton and I coauthored Leading Innovation – Creating Workplaces Where People
Excel So Organizations Thrive. I also co-authored Time Out for
Leaders – Daily Inspiration for Maximum Impact and edited two
volumes of Managing the Training Function (Vol. 1 and 2).
Voice of the Member, continued page 9
8
Voice of the Member
What is your history with MNODN?
I attended a national OD Network conference in Minneapolis,
and then I joined the local MNODN after receiving
encouragement from some of the members. I joined the
programming committee last year.
What is the role of OD in organizations?
• Helping leaders and organizations live up to the adage that
“people are our greatest asset”.
• Connecting human performance to business results in
ways that tap into people’s innate desire to do good work,
contribute, make a difference. This becomes particularly
important around major change initiatives.
• We help leaders/organizations do what great leaders/
organizations do innately. It’s not magic or simple to put
into practice. But because what they do is predictable and
replicable, we can help them develop the skills, systems,
and practices to get better results.
a given change/improvement/vision/ business result/
challenge. That’s why they pay us the big bucks!
What is something people would not necessarily
know about you?
• My Spanish accent is good enough to get me into
conversations that go over my head. I may sound like I am
fluent, but I’m not.
• I play a lot of tennis and have been a jock my whole life…
baseball, basketball, volleyball.
• I have a variety of creative interests: I’m a pretty good
photographer, have tried my hand at fiction writing, and
would love to apply some of my skills to filmmaking.
Brian blogs regularly at:
www.growthworksinc.typepad.com
• Focusing on the needed business results and then doing
whatever it takes to engage and equip the right people for
the right work at the right time (never revealing the secret
that there is a strategy called “OD”).
• The role of OD, like the role of a training or marketing
executive, is to help an organization provide highquality, high-value products and services that meet the
organization’s customer needs.
What would you like to see develop in the field of
OD going forward?
OD professionals can intertwine all of the human systems
knowledge, processes, and tools they have and approach
the organizational issues from the executive perspective. In
some ways I’d like our practice to be invisible, that is, when
we do good work, the people we helped think they did it. We
have to help leaders see the connection between business
results (overcoming obstacles, taking advantage of potential
opportunities, etc.) and great people/OD practices.
OD needs to be a seamless (invisible) interface between
business results and human potential and performance.
We need to understand and speak the language of business
while practicing the art and science of human performance.
Companies don’t create or change or innovate. People
do. People are an organization’s greatest asset and are
maddeningly difficult to align around the achievement of
9
MNODN Board Update
Farewell and thanks to outgoing Board Members
Cino Adelson (3 years)
Programs
Laura Delavie (2 years)
Marketing
Gary Fleishacker (7 Years)
Peer Learning
Margie Oleson (1 year)
Membership
Megan Rounds (1 year)
Newsletter
Thank you for the continued commitment of the following board members
Gwen Riedl (6 Years)
Board Chair
Also, many thanks to the following
Committee Volunteers:
Paul Pelkola (1 Years)
Peer Learning
* returning volunteer
**new volunteer in 2010/2011
membership year
Janet Webster (2 Years)
Treasurer
Welcome new MNODN Board Member, David Crussel in his role as
Web 2.0 Director!
Newsletter Committee:
Jinah Chernivec*, Brigid Bechtold**,
Margie Oleson
Program Committee:
Cino Adelson*
Joan McIntosh* 
Alex Morton* 
Vikas Narula**
Alex Portnoy 
Faith Ralston**
Greg Rodgers
Brikkelle Thompson
Sheila Hines-Edmondson
(1 year) – Programs
David Crussel
I am very excited to join MNODN to learn from the experienced
change leaders.  I look forward to a constant learning experience
and for life-long relationships with the members. Between the peer
learning, programming and networking opportunities, MNODN’s
available learning opportunities are both numerous and valuable.  By
volunteering, I am able to make a substantive investment in the future
of MNODN and guide the technology vision.  I would encourage any
members with similar passions to contact me regarding MNODN’s
technology volunteering opportunities.
David is the principal consultant of Dual C Business Solutions Inc., which focuses
entirely on the effectiveness of technology organizations. He fell in love with
organizational effectiveness after witnessing first-hand the frustration experienced by
growing technology organizations.  Prior to hanging up his own shingle, David was a
software development lead at Microsoft in which he worked on very geeky problems.
David is certified as both a PMP® and Scrum Master, which allows him to
effectively guide technology leaders on the best practices for adopting new delivery
methodologies.  He has a B.S. in Computer Science from North Dakota State University
and is pursuing an MBA at University of St. Thomas.
David is a very passionate but poor tennis player and lives in Chaska, MN with his
wife and son. David can be reached at david@dualc.com.
10
Attention!
Changes to Annual Membership Renewal Schedule
Effective September 2010, MNODN annual membership will switch to a rolling calendar. Membership will be effective for one year
beginning on the date that members join MNODN or renew their membership. This will allow our members who join mid-year to
always have a full year of membership for their annual dues.
 
For example, a new member who joins on September 15, 2010, would be considered a member through Sept. 14, 2011. A current
member who renews on September 1, 2010 would be considered a member through August 31, 2011.
 
Membership for the majority of our current members expires on August 31, 2010. You will be receiving a renewal notice by email
later this summer. Beginning May 1, 2010, we offered our newest members membership through August 31, 2011. If you are in this
group, you will not have to renew your membership until that time. Annual membership is only $50. Check out our website to
review the list of member benefits.
Reach
higher.
Late summer MNODN social
gathering is in the works. Check
our website throughout the
summer for updates
mnodn.org
Professional development short courses
and certificates to take your
HR career to the next level.
Certificates and short courses in:
• Organization Development
• Human Resource Generalist
• Talent Management
• Train-the-Trainer
Courses now available at select Hennepin County Libraries!
For more information or to request a catalog:
cce.umn.edu/HRcourses or 612-624-6468
Offer code: 2128
Northop Auditorium
columns, East Bank
campus
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
© 2010 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
CPE0164_08_HR_MnODN_JuneAd.indd 1
11/9/09 12:15:16 PM
Looking for a great
T-Group experience?
Contact
KristineQuade@DynamicalLeadership.com
now for the Oct. 28-31 session.
11
OD Scan:
Compiled by Margie Oleson
Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic
World, 2006
By Margaret Wheatley
Quantum Physics and Organizational Practices
Wheatley updated her 1992 text with personal experiences about human systems and
organizational practice. She challenges the old ways of approaching leadership and
organizational culture by including quantum physics and chaos theory. Her belief is that
organizations of today were designed upon 17th century Newtonian principles, and it is
time to recognize what was appreciated in earlier centuries about energy and movement
across elements. Command and control is out. Excellence is achieved through experiencing
relationships and potentials. We must shift from predicting and planning to working within
systems of being and creating.
Quantum Success: The Astounding Science of Wealth and
Happiness, 2006
By Sandra Anne Taylor
The Science of Attraction and Manifestation
Authors vary on their descriptions of quantum physics and universal laws, but most describe
similar themes, including the Laws of Intent, Attraction, and Karma. Taylor discusses how
we can view and maximize what can be experienced beyond the physical senses. She
shares how to tap into vibrations and energy that is always moving in and around us –
affecting interactions and outcomes and developing the present while impacting the future.
Her primary theme is that we do not have to believe in these phenomena for them to be real
or central in our lives. It is when we are aware and honoring the universal laws that we can
create what we desire.
Across Time and Death: A Mother’s Search for Her Past Life
Children, 1994
By Jenny Cockell
First-Hand Account of Multiple Life Experiences
Ms. Cockell recounts experiences from an era that spanned decades before she was born.
Even as a toddler and pre-schooler, she drew pictures and described grief over children
who needed and missed her. Decades later, she tracked the location of her drawings and
memories – early 20th-century Ireland. Eventually she met adults years older than her
who had secrets only she could recall and who she remembers as her children from a
previous life. Documented on TV and in the press, Jenny’s story was shocking even to her,
but she couldn’t argue with the memories corroborated by others that fit her drawings and
memories as a young child in the U.S.
12
SoE0388_09 OD Ad:Layout 1
8/13/08
1:45 PM
Page 1
Membership Information
Web site: MNODN.ORG
For general information regarding
our programs, membership and
membership renewal, please contact
the appropriate board member
listed below.
MNODN NEWSLETTER
© 2010, Minnesota OD Network.
All rights reserved. Published monthly
by MNODN for its members benefit.
Persons submitting articles grant
SoE0388_09
MNODN the right to publish articles
in this electronic newsletter and on the
MNODN web site, retaining further
publication rights. MNODN does not
endorse nor warrant any courses,
products, or services advertised or
summarized in this publication. MNODN
reserves the right to refuse advertising and
articles that we deem to be unsuitable for
this newsletter.
Articles and advertisements for the newsletter
are due by the 15th day of the month for the
following month. Please send article and ad
submissions to Megan Rounds at
newsletter@mnodn.org.
ADVERTISING
Advertising must be related to the OD
field, or directly benefit practitioners of
Organization Development.
Membership entitles you to two free ads
(up to 3.5” x 4.75” high) per year.
Non-profit organizations may advertise
at no charge in our newsletter.
MNODN Board Office Numbers
Gwen Riedl, Board Chair
612.813.6993
Gwen.Riedl@childrensmn.org
Megan Rounds, Newsletter
952.496.1444
newsletter@mnodn.org
Sheila Hines Edmondson, Co-Programming
651.271.8535
shineslight@yahoo.com
Laura Delavie, Marketing
952.232.5264
marketing@mnodn.org
Cino Adelson, Co-Programming
651.699.3083
CinoAdel@aol.com
Margie Oleson, Membership
612.720.9870
membership@mnodn.org
Paul Pelkola, Secretary
651.332.0181
Janet Webster, Treasurer
612.735.3030
treasurer@mnodn.org
Gary Fleishacker, Peer Learning
763.525.1005
Special thanks to the MNODN Newsletter
Committee: Margie Oleson, Jinah Chenivec
and Brigid Bechtold
Designed and typeset by;
Soyphet Phomsamouth, 952.426.5056
soystudio@me.com
David Crussel, Web 2.0
952.237.4350
david@dualc.com
Additional MNODN Assistors
Kinnon Lilligren Co-Founder (Deceased) Roland Sullivan
Co-Founder
952-474-8363
13

Voices - MNODN

Transcription

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