Organizational Development
While there are many definitions of organizational development(OD), I’ve selected this one for its simplicity:
"Organization development is a systems-wide; primarily behavioral science based and planned approach to changing organizations, improving organization effectiveness and quality of work life."
Practicing Organization Development, 2005
The systems perspective of OD may involve the entire organization as well as individuals, groups, and sub–groups within the organization. Organization development describes all efforts designed to improve the present and future capabilities of an organization. These efforts can range from small acts of individual coaching to transforming an entire organization. The process is always values–driven so that it is results-oriented and focused on positive changes.
Which of these statements sound like your organization or department?
I would like my organization to:
- Determine our training needs
- Create a performance management process
- Increase overall effectiveness
- Increase employee engagement
- Implement a talent management process
- Unleash human potential and creativity
- Change the culture
- Improve communication
- Create team alignment & cohesion
- Enhance productivity
- Develop our leaders
- Improve overall health and morale
- Expand our employee development options
- Reduce conflict among staff
Similar to the Executive Coaching process, I use the following steps in organization development:
- Explore: Analyze the current situation and discuss the intended results or future state — What is the outcome you would like to see? Do you know the changes that need to happen? What will occur if these changes do happen? What will occur if they do not happen? Why is it important for change to occur? How will you know when the organization has met its goals?
- Discover: Assess the situation further by gathering data – this step is driven by the information uncovered in the exploration phase. This phase will be based upon the intended results, the type of change desired, the type and size of the organization, current research in the OD field, and budgetary constraints. Data gathering could include various needs assessments, interviews, employee surveys, personality assessments, and focus groups, among others. See the “Assessments” page for further information on the types of assessments we use.
- Transform: Plan the intervention and implement it – the intervention could be a number of different things, ranging from a coaching and mentoring program to a leadership development program to a series of team building sessions. An organization–wide talent management process or rollout of a new performance management system will also be considered. The approach will be customized to your organizational situation.
- Create: Review the results – did we achieve the intended outcome? What worked? What didn’t work? What has shifted in the organization? What changes have been embraced? What still needs work? How do people in the organization think, feel, and behave now? The process may need a repeat of the Discovery phase to determine where the organization has grown in relation to where it was. Often a pre–test and post-test are designed into the process to qualify results.
Remember, organization development is not an effortless process. Our description is a highly simplified version of reality. The most important part of an OD process is a collaborative partnership, that is, the role the “trusted advisor,” is accepted so that all issues are addressed consistently and continuously throughout the engagement.
At Igniting Excellence we are committed to being your authentic, thorough, and trustworthy partner before, during and after your engagement. The business relationship is one of utmost integrity and we pride ourselves on creating a connection that you will trust to come back to time and time again.