Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Personal Development
In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Personal Development. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.
In the context of a learning environment, studying is getting new useful information in order to solve a problem, achieve a goal or pass a test. New and useful information is considered to be new knowledge. If you apply that knowledge, then you can develop new skills.
The way that you study depends on your style of learning. For example, you might prefer to read books, listen to lectures, write about a subject or do some kinds of hands-on experience. People might use a combination these types. (See Learning Styles)
A study guide is a tool to help you learn. It helps you to understand new information by better organizing, interpreting and summarizing it. Tools can be in the form of, for example, reference sheets, maps, charts, flash cards and sample test.
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.
Market research shows that we adults are enthralled with courses. We love to
learn! Trainers and developers are responding with an explosion of new courses,
and these are costing more than ever. Therefore, it’s critical to know
your learning needs and how to meet them
Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Personal Development
In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs
that have posts related to Personal Development. Scan down the blog’s page to
see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the
sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in
the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.
· Too often, we decide what courses to take by scanning
a list of new courses. This is like picking dessert from a dessert
tray: you pick what you want more than what you need. Reflect
on your needs. What do you need for your career? Is there a particular
problem you’re facing in your career, home life or job?
· Try to specify your needs in terms of outcomes or impacts,
not in terms of activities. For example, seek certain enhanced
skills, knowledge, perceptions, etc. Think about how you’ll
know if these outcomes were reached or not.
· Don’t just look at courses as means to achieve your
preferred outcomes. Too often, we think we only can learn in classrooms
from an expert who lectures us. With today’s technologies,
we have immediate access to a wide range of materials and information.
“Homeschooling” is an increasingly useful technique
for learning.
· Think about how much you’ve really used materials
from earlier courses. For example, are you the kind of person
who takes a course and brings materials home to sit on a shelf
and never be looked at again? If so, what can you do to change?
When Considering a Course
· Look at the outcomes promised from the course. Do
they match your needs? Do the objectives and learning activities
sound like they’ll really produce those outcomes promised
from the course?
· Call the instructor and discuss your needs. Find out
if he or she believes the course will be useful. Beware the person
with a big hammer — to them, everyone is a nail.
· Get a biography of the instructor. What evidence do you
see that the instructor really has the expertise to be teaching
that course and subject matter?
· Attempt to get an outline of the course. Is the course
well organized? Does the course include sufficient time for questions
and for evaluation? Are materials provided to support lectures?
· Ask the school or the instructor for a copy of the form
used to evaluate the courses and the instructor. What objectives
are measured by the form? These objectives are often those that
the instructor will try to reach.
· Assess if the course will be jam packed and very hectic.
If so, there will probably be little time for questions and answers.
You might be overwhelmed with a “datadump” of information
and little knowledge.
· See if there’s a discount to take the course a second
time if needed. Occasionally we don’t get enough from a course
even if the instructor does a fine job and the materials were
very useful.
During the Course
· Be sure you’re comfortable and can hear the instructor.
Sit at the front of the room if possible.
· Take notes by recording important points and conclusions,
not everything the instructor says. Note if the instructor is
speaking from a set of materials, in which case, you may not need
to record all the important points because the materials may already
contain those points.
· Get a list of who’s in the course. Ask some classmates
if they are interested in getting together to help each other
apply the materials and exchange feedback about experiences.
· Is the instructor following the agenda? Will promised
topics be discussed with sufficient time?
· Find out how to get in touch with the instructor at a
later time if needed. You may have a question or two about how
to apply materials. The instructor may appreciate your feedback.
· Ask questions if you don’t understand the instructor
or what’s going on! This may be the most useful activity
for getting the most out of your course. Speak up if you wonder
whether information or materials seem realistic or practical.
Evaluation
· You can learn a lot from evaluation! The most useful
forms of evaluation include time at the end of course for learners
to discuss the quality of the course. At the beginning of the
course, ask the instructor to try leave sufficient time for this.
· Too often, evaluations are based on our feelings about
our experiences in the course, rather than if the course achieved
its objectives or not. Carefully consider whether the course met
its objectives or not.
Follow-Up
· Very soon after the course, review your notes and
the materials. This will ensure your notes are complete and help
you internalize the materials.
· Mark your calendar for three months out. At that time,
ask yourself if you’re using materials from the course? If
not, why not? What can you learn from this?
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.
Sandra Larson, previous executive director of MAP for Nonprofits, was once asked to write her thoughts on what makes an effective leader. Her thoughts are shared here to gel other leaders to articulate their own thoughts on what makes them a good leader.
An effective leader is a person with a passion for a cause that is larger than they are. Someone with a dream and a vision that will better society, or at least, some portion of it. I think a very key question has to be answered: Can someone who is a charismatic leader, but only to do evil or to promote herself, be a leader — especially if she has a large following?” I would say no, she is a manipulator.
Also, without passion, a leader will not make the necessary courageous and difficult decisions and carry them into action. This is not to imply that all decisions are of this nature. But you can be sure, some of them will be. The leader without a passion for a cause will duck.
Holder of Values
Leadership implies values. A leader must have values that are life-giving to society. It is the only kind of leadership we need. This then also implies values that are embedded in respect for others. So often we think of people skills or caring about people as being “warm and fuzzy.”
I think a leader can be of varying ‘warmth and fuzziness,” but a leader has to respect others. You can’t lead without it. Otherwise we are back to manipulation. Respect means also that one can deal with diversity — a critical need for a leader in today’s world — probably always has been, although diversity may have been more subtle in the homogenous societies of the past.
Vision
This is a bit different than passion, but in other ways it isn’t separable. If one doesn’t care about a subject, an issue, a system, then one won’t spend the time thinking about how it could or should be different. Yet, one could have strong feelings about something and not good ideas, particularly if she didn’t spend a good deal of time studying the topic.
Thus a leader has to have some ideas about change, about how the future could be different. Vision then is based on two components that leaders also need: creativity and intellectual drive.
Creativity
One has to try to think out of the box to have good visions and to come up with effective strategies that will help advance the vision. I’d also add here the need for a sense of humor. It’s a creative skill that is in great need by leaders. We should read the funnies more!
Intellectual Drive and Knowledge
I believe a leader has to be a student. In general it is hard for a leader to be around enough other leaders to pick this up just through discussion, so I think a leader has to be a reader and a learner. Furthermore, I can’t see someone leading in a field they know nothing about.
Confidence and Humility Combined
While one can have a great vision and good ideas for change, and even passion for it, if one isn’t confident, then action will not occur. Without action, there is no change. Yet, paradoxically, a leader needs to have humility. No matter how creative and bright one is, often the best ideas and thinking are going to come from someone else.
A leader needs to be able to identify that, have good people around who have these ideas. This takes humility, or at least lack of egocentricity. The leader is focused on the ends and doesn’t have to see herself always as the conduit or creator of the strategy to get to that end.
Communicator
None of the above assets will work for a leader if she can’t speak or write in a way to convince others that they should follow along, join the team, get on board. All the above gets to the old adage that a leader knows how to do the right thing and a manager knows how to do things right. But a leader has to be a manager, too. I don’t think these skills and abilities can be separated out very easily. Both need to be in the mix.
Thus a leader has to be some of the following, too:
Planner/Organizer
Someone who can see what needs to be done and help the team plan and organize the getting it done. Management is getting things done through people. While a writer or other visionary person may be very influential, even seminal for the cause of change, this is not quite my definition of a leader. A leader means to me, someone who is taking action, trying to get others to do something they want to see done.
Interpersonal Skills
Leaders must have the ability to act in an interpersonally competent manner, yet they also need to learn the techniques of good listening, honest and open communication, delegating, conflict resolution skills, etc., to actually get work done and keep the whole movement/organization/project together.
Other Business Skills
While in some arenas you may be able to get by with only some of these skills or none of them (if you can hire good enough people to do it for you), generally speaking you must have at least some skills in financial management, human resources, information management, sales, marketing, etc.
If I were to sum it all up, I’d say a good leader has to have a purpose that is larger than she is and the balanced personality and skills to put that purpose into action.
For the Category of Management:
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.
Be Sure You Know What Learning and Development Really Are
Most of us are so conditioned from many years in schooling that we think of learning and development as coming from a program in which our participation is graded by experts in a certain topic. As a result, many of us still miss numerous opportunities for our own learning and development. Perhaps one of the reasons is that we do not know what learning and development really is. So before undertaking a leadership development program, we should be sure that we know what we are talking about.
Learning could be interpreted as new:
Knowledge, which is information that is useful in accomplishing a certain activity that is important, for example, to solve a problem, achieve a goal or see a situation in entirely different light.
Skills, which is the expertise — consciously or unconsciously — to continually use the new information to accomplish that certain activity. (Educators often refer to new abilities as a component of learning, but some admit that the difference between abilities and skills is such a fine one that it is often difficult to explain.)
Perceptions, which are new ways of seeing a situation. (When people are continually stuck when trying to solve a problem or achieve a goal, it is often in the way that they see the situation.)
In the field of education, development could be interpreted as the activities to raise the quality of performance, for example, of a person, team or organization. However, like learning, development is best accomplished if it is recognized as such. Thus, development usually requires ongoing focus and attention to the quality of performance, as well as the quality of the activities to raise it.
Consider Two Different Approaches to Learning About Leadership
It is important to understand the different approaches you can take in increasing your learning about leadership. Formal approaches are proactively designed in a comprehensive and systematic way in order to accomplish certain desired outcomes. Traditional classroom approaches to education have that specific form — they are formal approaches to learning and development.
In contrast, informal approaches are those that occur during our typical day-to-day activities in life and can include, for example, reading books, having discussions with friends, on-the-job training and keeping a diary with thoughts about leadership. Informal Versus. Formal Training, Self-Directed Versus Other-Directed Training
Know How to Capture Learning from Your Activities
Whether in formal or informal approaches, the ongoing ability to recognize and capture learning is extremely important. That ability is often referred to as continuous learning and it is frequently mentioned in literature about management development (in this context, the term management is inclusive of leadership and supervisor development). Simply put, continuous learning is the ability to learn to learn.
The key to cultivating continuous learning is the ability to continually reflect on your experiences and the experiences of others in your life. Reflection is continuously thinking about, for example, your experiences, their causes and effects, your role in them, if they changed you and how. It is thinking about how you might use those experiences and changes to enhance your life and the lives of others.
If you can view your life as a “laboratory for learning program”, then you can continue to learn from almost everything in your life. However, learning is best captured if it is consciously recognized as such, for example, discussed with someone else or written down somewhere. Otherwise, new learning can easily be lost in the demands of life and work. So it is very important to document your learning.
Prepare for Your Learning About Leadership
Get Acquainted With Organizational Context of Leadership
Before learning more about leadership, you would benefit first from becoming acquainted with the organizational context in which leadership typically occurs, including understanding organizations as systems, their common dimensions, what makes each unique, their different life cycles and different cultures. Organizational Structures and Design
Get Acquainted With What “Leadership” Is
Then, the next place to start learning about leadership is to get some sense of what leadership really is — in particular, get an impression of the areas of knowledge and skills recommended for effective leadership in organizations. Review the information in the Library’s topic: What is Leadership? How Do I Lead?
Activities for Informal Approach to Leadership Development
Here is but a sampling of the activities from which you could informally accomplish your own leadership development. Here is a sample learning journal that you might use to continually capture your learning.
Start a new project , ideally a project that includes your setting direction and influencing others to follow that direction
Regularly solicit feedback from others about your leadership skills
Ask your supervisor, peers and subordinates for ideas to develop your leadership skills
Ask to be assigned to a leadership position
Close and gaps in your work performance
Performance gaps are areas of knowledge and skills need to improve performance and are usually indicated during performance reviews with your supervisor. This Library topic is to a series of articles about managing performance, including performance gaps. Employee Performance Management
Close any growth or opportunity gapsGrowth gaps are areas of knowledge and skills need to achieve a career goal. Opportunity gaps are areas of knowledge and skills needed to take advantage of an upcoming opportunity. These Library topics can help you think about the growth and opportunity gaps in your career.
Ask for advice from friends, peers, your supervisors and others about skills in leadership. Ask for their opinions about your leadership skills. Try get their suggestions in terms of certain behaviors you should show.Getting and Receiving Feedback
Reference lists of suggested competencies
Competencies are lists of the general abilities needed to do a certain job or perform a certain role. Reference the “How to” sections in the following Library topic: How to Lead Yourself, Others, Groups and Organizations
Reference publications about leadership
There is a vast amount of information about leadership and leadership skills. However, much of it is in regard to character traits that leaders should have. When determining your program goals, translate these character traits to behaviors that you and others can recognize. Guidelines to Understand Literature About Leadership
Consider other sources for learning
Identify traits and behaviors of your favorite leaders
Take strong participation in a course, apprenticeship or internship that involves persistence, risk and initiative
Take a leadership role in a management association
Guidelines for Formal Approach to Leadership Development
You are much more likely to develop skills in leadership from participating in a formal program approach than an informal approach. The following sections will guide you to develop your own complete, highly integrated and performance-oriented program.
Identify Your Overall Goals for Your Program
This section helps you identify what you want to be able to do as a result of implementing your program, for example, to qualify for a certain job, overcome a performance problem or achieve a goal in your career development plan. You are often better off to work towards at most two to four goals at a time, rather than many. There are a variety of ways to identify your program goals, depending on what you want to be able to accomplish from the program. The articles might be helpful in preparing you to identify your goals. Goals — Selecting the Training and Development Goals
Various Ideas for Leadership Development Goals
Do you have career plans that would require certain new leadership skills? See How to Plan Your Career.
Did your previous performance review with your supervisor suggest certain improvements in leadership that you need to make? See Goal Setting With Employees.
Are there certain opportunities that you could take advantage of if you soon developed certain new leadership skills? See How to Look for a Job.
You might do some self-assessments to determine if there are any areas of leadership development that you might undertake. See Assessing Your Training Needs.
Determine Your Learning Objectives and Activities to Achieve Each
The purpose of this section is to help you to identify the various learning objectives you should achieve in order to achieve your overall program goals, along with the activities you should undertake to achieve each objective.
Identifying Your Learning Objectives
Carefully consider each of your program goals. What might be the various accomplishments, or objectives, that must be reached in order to achieve each goal? Do not worry about doing all of that perfectly — objectives can be modified as you work to achieve each goal. Which of these objectives require learning new areas of knowledge or skills? These objectives are likely to become learning objectives in your program plan. To get a stronger sense for learning objectives, see
Learning activities are the activities you will conduct in order to achieve the learning objectives. The activities should accommodate your particular learning styles, be accessible to you and be enjoyable as well. The long list of activities in the above two columns might be useful, as well.
Carefully think about each of the activities to achieve the learning objectives. Consider, for example, getting books, signing up for courses, reserving rooms and getting trainers.
During the implementation of your program, you want to make sure there are no surprises. For example, how will you make sure you understand the new information and materials. Will your learning be engaging and enjoyable? Will you have all the support you need? How Do We Ensure Implementation of Our New Plan?
It is a major accomplishment to design and implement a leadership development program. Celebrate what you have done! Reflect on what you learned about developing the program — and about yourself. Follow the steps in the Guidelines’ section Follow-Up After Completion of Your Plan.
Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to This Topic
In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to this topic. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may
want to review some related topics, available from the link below.
Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been
selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.
The purpose of this topic is to acquaint the reader with the field of Organization Development, a field with a rich history of research, publications and highly qualified practitioners dedicated to improving the performance of organizations, whether they are teams, departmental units or the overall organizations.
The information in those topics is not sufficient to develop competencies in guiding successful significant change. Those competencies comes from extensive experience in applying those types of information.
NOTE: This topic distinguishes the difference between “organizational development” and “Organization Development.” The former phrase refers to the context, focus and purpose of the change while developing an organization. The latter phrase refers to a field of people with expertise in guiding successful organizational development. An organization can be a team, departmental unit within an entire organization, the entire organization itself or a collaboration of organizations. However, there are various articles below which refer to “organizational development”, but it is clear that their content relates as directly to the field of Organization Development itself. Thus, those articles are included in this topic.
Like many relatively long-standing fields, the members of each are constantly discussing what their field really is. However, the following definition is standard and often used as the starting point for further discussions about the definition of Organization Development.
“Organization Development is an effort planned, organization-wide, and managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the organization’s ‘processes,’ using behavioral-science knowledge.” — Beckhard, “Organization development: Strategies and Models”, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1969, p. 9.
Some More Modern Definitions
Today’s organizations operate in a rapidly changing environment. Consequently, one of the most important assets for an organization is the ability to manage change — and for people to remain healthy and authentic. Consider the following definition of Organization Development:
“Organization Development is the attempt to influence the members of an organization to expand their candidness with each other about their views of the organization and their experience in it, and to take greater responsibility for their own actions as organization members. The assumption behind Organization Development is that when people pursue both of these objectives simultaneously, they are likely to discover new ways of working together that they experience as more effective for achieving their own and their shared (organizational) goals. And that when this does not happen, such activity helps them to understand why and to make meaningful choices about what to do in light of this understanding.”
— Neilsen, “Becoming an Organization Development Practitioner”, Englewood Cliffs, CA: Prentice-Hall, 1984, pp. 2-3.
Experts might agree that the following definitions of Organization Development represent the major focus and thrust of many of today’s Organization Development practitioners.
“Organization Development is a system-wide application of behavioral science knowledge to the planned development and reinforcement of organizational strategies, structures, and processes for improving an organization’s effectiveness.”
— Cummings and Worley, “Organization Development and Change”, Sixth Edition, South-Western Publishing, 1997, p.2.
“Organization Development is a body of knowledge and practice that enhances organizational performance and individual development, viewing the organization as a complex system of systems that exists within a larger system, each of which has its own attributes and degrees of alignment. Organization Development interventions in these systems are inclusive methodologies and approaches to strategic planning, organization design, leadership development, change management, performance management, coaching, diversity, and work/life balance.” — Matt Minahan, MM & Associates, Silver Spring, Maryland
Organization Development Practitioners as “Organizational Physicians”?
There is a complex integration of various systems in an organization. Likewise, there is a complex integration in the human body. Therefore, when trying to understand the field of Organization Development, it might be useful to compare aspects of the field of Organization Development to aspects of the field of medicine.
For example, the study of the theories and structures of organizations (often in courses called “organizational theory”) is somewhat similar to the study of anatomy and physiology of human systems. Similarly, the study of organizational behavior is somewhat similar to the study of psychology and sociology in human systems.
So in Organization Development, its practitioners might be considered to be “organizational physicians” intending to improve the effectiveness of the organization by:
Establishing relationships with key personnel in the organization (sometimes occurring in phases called “start-up”, “entering” and/or “contracting” with the client organization);
Researching and evaluating systems in the organization to understand dysfunctions and/or goals of the systems in the organization (“diagnosing” the systems in the organization);
Identifying approaches (or “interventions”) to improve the effectiveness of the organization and its people;
Applying approaches to improve effectiveness (methods of “planned change” in the organization); and
Evaluating the ongoing effectiveness of the approaches and their results.
There are many practitioners who would oppose that comparison, believing that physicians too often take a mechanical, linear and detached approach when treating their patients. Those practitioners would assert that approaches in Organization Development are much more dynamic in nature.
Additional Perspectives On What Organization Development Is
Other Overviews of the Field of Organization Development
It is useful now to build from those various definitions to consider various overviews of the field. The field itself is so large that an overview should start with a relatively small scope and then broaden from that.
The topic of organizational change has received a great deal of attention over the past several decades as organizations face new and complex challenges like never before. Correspondingly, the field of Organization Development is receiving a great deal of attention now, too. As the field has grown, so has the diversity of perspectives on the field. The question “What is Organization Development?” is now common in discussions among those interested in the field.
Field or Profession? (Ethics and Certification)
Organization Development is sometimes referred to as a profession. Yet others assert that it is a field because it does not have a standard code of ethics or universal accrediting body. Early practitioners recommended a Credo, which is widely respected. The Organization Development Institute has also recommended an International Organization Development Code of Ethics.
The Organization Development Institute admirably suggests levels of certification for Organization Development practitioners, but these do not appear to have become standard for practitioners. The Organization Development Network is a large organization that also focuses on developing the field and serving its members, including by developing a framework of competencies.
Scope of the Field?
Some have distinguished Organization Development from other fields because it works from a systems perspective and according to humanistic values to help people to change for the better. Others might respond that other fields or professions, however, such as trainers and community organizers, also work from a systems perspective and according to humanistic values — and, thus, that description is not unique to Organization Development. Those people might assert that Organization Development must proclaim a scope for their field, in particular, a scope to changing organizations.
Focus on People Side and/or Business Side?
Another area of diversity about perspectives on Organization Development is in regard to how people view organizations. Some focus especially on the structures, strategies, policies and procedures (the “business side”), while others focus especially on the human relations and interactions (the “people side”). Still others focus especially on the politics and power, while others focus especially on the cultures and values of the organization. The following article gives more information about these perspectives: Understand the Preferred Lens Through Which You View Organizations
Currently, there seems to be strong focus on “soft” skills in Organization Development, for example, coaching, leadership development, facilitation, conflict management and process consulting. However, many would assert that the “hard” skills, such as organizational theory, strategizing, and various quality management initiatives should also be a focus in Organization Development. The following article gives more information about these perspectives. What Type of Organization Development Practitioner Are You?
Organization Development Versus Change Management?
Recently, there have emerged many opinions that Organization Development and change management are two somewhat different disciplines. The opinions are that Organization Development is focused primarily on changing a whole system, for example, a team, departmental unit or organization, while change management is focused on the necessary changes among people in the organization in order to accomplish the overall change in the organization.
Others believe that change management is not a separate discipline and is actually an aspect of what Organization Development naturally focuses on when changing the entire system, that is, that Organization Development also focuses a great deal on what is needed to change people. Other views on change management might sound much like how others would define Organization Development, for example, “Organizational Change Management is about an organization achieving a desired future state from its current state with minimal disruption or negative impact to the organization” … “Change Management … is not organization-wide or enterprise-wide. It is change specific to a project or program” (Rona Puntawe).
There is a rich history in the field of Organization Development. Professional practitioners in the field should know that history, including the early beginnings of the field and the major players in it. They should know its history and evolution, including its major phases of development over the years that bring us up to the dynamic changes that are now occurring in the field.
Future and Emerging Theories of Organization Development
Dialogic Organization Development
As quoted from the website Dialogic Organization Development, “Dialogic Organization Development is the next step in the evolution of organizational change theory, from thinking of organizations as organisms that adapt to their environments, to organizations as conversations where individual, group, and organizational actions result from self-organizing, socially constructed realities created and sustained by the prevailing narratives, stories, and conversations through which people make meaning about their experiences.”
The field of Organization Development includes a wide range of perspectives on the scope and, in particular, how it relates — or does not relate — to other fields. Many believe that an activity could be classified as an “Organization Development” activity if it is focused especially on changing a significant part or all of an organization. Others believe that activities focused especially on changing a person or people (such as learning and development, coaching, training and facilitation) within an organization also changes the organization itself and, thus, each of those activities could be classified as an “Organization Development” activity. Here are some articles that further portray differences in perspective.
Recommended Competencies for Organization Development Practitioners
Almost as diverse as the opinions about the focus, scope and nature of Organization Development are the opinions about the competencies that its practitioners should have. The following link will take you to a list of recommended competencies from different organizations and professionals in the field.
Books Focused on the Field of Organization Development
The field of Organization Development encompasses a wide variety of business-, management- and organization-related practices. Therefore, a list of Organization Development-related books could well be exhaustive in length. The following are some of the major books focused primarily on the field of Organization Development.
This short list is by no means meant to represent the singular “foundation” texts in the field. Rather, the list is a good starting point from which to gain some basic understanding of the field.
Organization Development-Specific Books
Much of the content of this Library topic came from this book:
Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development by Carter McNamara, Authenticity Consulting, 2006. This book is about the field of Organization Development and combines major practices from the field with major practices from the field of consulting, as well. (The author of this book is the author of much of the content in this Library.) Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development
Organization Development and Change Sixth Edition, by Cummings and Worley. South-Western Publishing, 1997. Available from Amazon Books. This is one of the best books about the background, movements, theories, models and case studies regarding Organization Development.
Organization Development Classics : The Practice and Theory of Change — The Best of the Organization Development Practitioner by Van Eynde (Editor), Judith C. Hoy (Editor), Dixie Cody Van Eynde (Editor), Donald Van Eynde (Editor). Jossey-Bass, 1997. Available from Amazon Books. This is a collection of classic articles from the pioneers in the field of Organization Development. Together, they provide a very meaningful overview of the field.
Practicing Organization Development : A Guide for Consultants by Rothwell (Editor), Roland Sullivan (Editor), Gary N. McLean. Pfeiffer & Co., 1995. Available from Amazon Books. This is one of the best books with guidelines and practical about applying all phases of Organization Development.
Annotated Lists of Organization Development-Related Books
Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Organization
In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Organization Development. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.
For the Category of Organizational Change
and Development:
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.
You have to assemble the whole puzzle before you’re truly crisis-ready
Business continuity is just one element of strategic crisis management, and failure to recognize this reality can leave you dangerously vulnerable to communication or reputation-related threats. Any company believing that a business continuity plan alone makes it prepared to face a serious crisis situation is in for a sudden (and costly!) surprise.
Not to minimize the importance of business continuity planning! To be clear, making sure your organization can continue to actually function during tough situations with as little disruption as possible is a piece you can’t go without. But, if you’re not ready to communicate about issues you encounter when, for example, your production line has to shut down, or a key staff member posts something inappropriate online, you’re still missing a critical part of the puzzle.
While ten to fifteen years ago I’d say the risk of loss posed by the actual disruption of things like supply lines or operations centers were much more obvious than those related to communication related to those issues, that’s not really true anymore, is it? It feels fair to say that the vast majority of negative headlines today are generated by poor crisis communications practices connected to operational hurdles, not the hurdles themselves. To me this says most are now educated on the sheer level of trouble saying the wrong thing – or saying nothing at all! – can create.
Getting real
I don’t want to be unrealistic here. After all, everyone has a budget to mind and a pile of priorities they have to juggle. If I may though, here’s a statistic — according to Weber Shandwick’s study, “The State of Global Reputation,” your average global executive attributes 63 percent of their company’s market value to its overall reputation. Given that fact, wouldn’t protecting and nurturing the single most valuable resource your company possesses (reputation, in case that wasn’t abundantly clear…) feel like a can’t-skip piece of making sure you have a budget to mind or priorities to juggle?
How do you rectify the situation and ensure you have both business continuity and crisis communications covered? The answer is simple: have a plan for both! And, answer this one with me now…do we create the plans separately, never the twain shall meet?
NO! (we surely all said together, yay) These plans need to know each other very well indeed. They must be created with the needs of each specific organization in mind, they need to complement rather than conflict, and ultimately they have to work to both keep operations running as best possible and mitigate reputation damage during the entire process, through to recovery, in a real-world crisis situation with the many variables those create.
As with so many crisis management-related topics, it’s a holistic approach that’s best in the end. Sync up your business continuity and crisis communications planning, train to use those plans, and when it comes time you’ll be ready to face the bad – and then move on!
Preventing marketing-related crises of reputation without sacrificing effectiveness
One of the most common questions for clients to ask us today is, “How far is too far when it comes to edgy marketing?”. Competition for audiences across all forms of media is at an all-time high, and for brands that are struggling to break through theidea of ‘any publicity is good publicity’ starts calling. While I’ll never agree that any publicity can have good aspects (disagree? let’s hear your thoughts – catch me on Twitter @nomorecrisis), if your brand voice doesn’t feel out of place doing something that walks that line then it’s not a complete no-go, you just need to be careful.
So, what protections should brands put in place to prevent marketing efforts from crossing that line and sparking outrage, or worse?
The answer for this one is short, but time and budget-related constraints often mean this critical piece of crisis prevention is cut early, only to have missteps create greater costs down the line.. Brands need to have a specific person or small committee dedicated to asking, “What could go wrong with this marketing effort?”, and give them confidence they won’t be canned for putting the kibosh on an ‘almost complete’ ad or plan. If possible these filters should be familiar with the brand but not fullinsiders, as it’s often tough for those closest to these projects to take an objective viewpoint.
With success in social media marketing so often equated to speed, how do we avoid missing out?
I’ll borrow a phrase from the Navy SEALS here that applies to almost anything you can think of: Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. While speed is a factor in social media marketing, risk assessment and dynamic adjustments to new information can’t be discarded. Your speed comes from advance preparation and planning, including making crisis or reputation management protocols part of day-to-day operations so you aren’t faced with a massive checklist when it’s time to get a project out the door now. Yes speed is a big part of many marketing efforts, particularly if you’re trying to capitalize on current events or engage in the type of publicity grabbing sparring that brands like Wendy’s have taken to new heights, but remember – being first is meaningless if you’re charging into your own destruction.
Stop and think…
While successfully playing the edge can be a powerful tool for earned media that far outvalues your spend, it’s not for everyone. Before investing the money and energy into vetting a full campaign give some serious thought to whether your brand should even be swimming in those waters. Take a serious look at your audiences, work to understand their expectations, and before taking the plunge make sure you’ve built up enough goodwill to absorb a minor fail and quick apology to boot!
What does this shift mean for your own crisis management efforts?
I don’t think anyone will be surprised when I say that most people get their news online today, with a massive number neglecting traditional reporting in favor of social media.
In 2000, about half of all Americans used the internet. Today, with smartphones and home internet connections available in almost every corner of the country, that number is more than 9 in 10.
This pervasiveness has touched nearly every aspect of our lives, including the way we stay on top of current events. According to a recently published Pew Research Center report, Americans are consuming news on the internet more than ever. Of the 9,220 U.S. adults that Pew interviewed between Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, 2020, more than 8-in-10 (86%) said they get their news from a smartphone, computer or tablet “often” or “sometimes,” with 60% falling into the “often” category.
This quote, from the Allconnect blog, demonstrates just how many actually are consuming news online. With more than eight in ten choosing to get their news on the internet, it seems clear where your focus should fall when it comes time for crisis management and response. With this rise in online news consumption comes the ability for important stories and neglected causes to cut through the clutter or evade the powers-that-be to make it on the public’s radar. Unfortunately, it also gives the enemies of good reputation management, things like rumor, biased reporting, and anonymous critics, an easy foothold. In fact, a Pew study from 2020 revealed that users who relied most on social media for their political news may be less informed than other groups, with only 17% of this specific group recording “high political knowledge” scores, compared to 41% or higher for those using print, radio, or news websites and app.
So, what does this all mean to your own reputation management and communications efforts?
You need to speak to people where they want to listen, and today this means online or directly to their preferred device.
Your communications need to be stronger than ever before, because the rumor mill is working overtime and there are armies of trolls working to feed it every day.
It’s a tightrope, as your haters are waiting to pounce on one side while you dance to convince the fence sitters that you aren’t out there doing evil. Oh, and don’t forget the random trolls throwing curveballs to switch things up. However, navigated carefully, the internet and social media can be tremendous assets that actually amplify and spread your message, even when more “traditional” channels have failed.
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