On the edge of my curiosity

Peggy Holman shares her change-is-changing insights with Lucy Garrick (OSR 12). Peggy is co-author of The Change Handbook, now in its second edition, and is the keynote speaker for the OSR Annual Conference on Saturday, June 28.

LG: What brought you to change work?

PH: I come out of the world of software. During the early days of the cellular phone industry, my company brought in a quality expert to help us with a project that was in trouble. I’d never seen a professional facilitator before and as I watched what he was doing I thought, “If I knew more about that we’d be better at delivering software systems.” I spent the next three years engaged in a company-wide adoption of Total Quality that made us the best in the industry by virtually every measure.

Thinking I understood change, I started to do some work and instantly fell flat on my face. That’s when I actually started to learn what change work was about. By then, our vice president of quality had hired me to find out what was on the leading edge of change and learning organizations. It was shortly after The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge came out. I ran into new practices like dialogue, appreciative inquiry, open space technology and future search. I looked for places inside the company where we could experiment.

Bali trip cancelled for 2008

The OSR-Northwest sponsored trip to Bali, scheduled for Sat Aug 30 through Sat Sep 20, has been cancelled due to low registration. You can still join the Bali conversation at our new online networking space.

OSR alumni planning public events

OSR alumni are busy planning public events this spring — including members of OSR Alumni Association designing our third Annual Conference for Saturday, June 28. Online reservations begin Monday, May 5.

Lucy Garrick (OSR-12) hosted A Million Ideas for Peace at Seattle Art Museum on Saturday, April 12.

Systems Thinking 101 workshops are offered in May in Olympia and Seattle, designed by Steve Byers (OSR-13), Nalani Linder (OSR-12) and Colleen Ponto (OSR-7, current OSR faculty). Registration deadline is Monday, April 28th.

Creating Gracious Space is a 3-day course hosted by Pat Hughes (OSR-8) and Dale Nienow, Executive Director of the Center for Ethical Leadership. Thu, May 29–Sat, May 31.

Systems thinking 101 workshop

Needing a refresher in systems thinking basics?
Want to get some practice identifying causal loop variables?
Feel rusty with the system archetypes and leverage points?

With this nine-hour course, you'll gain the competence and confidence to start using systems thinking in your organization. You'll reinforce your systems thinking skills so that you can better understand systemic problems, make effective decisions, lead meaningful change and design your preferred future.

Workshop content includes:

• How to identify when complex issues can be better understood through systems thinking
• Developing and using a systems thinking perspective / worldview
• The ways of a systems thinker
• How to use and construct causal loop diagrams
• How to use and identify system archetypes

Dates:
In Olympia: Mondays, 6-9 pm, May 5, 12 & 19
In Seattle: Tuesdays, 6-9 pm, May 6, 13 & 20

Special Introductory Price: $375 Includes three, 3-hour sessions and all materials

To register or for more information, contact one of the facilitators: Steve Byers (OSR-13), Nalani Linder (OSR-12) and Colleen Ponto (OSR-7, current OSR faculty). Registration deadline is Monday, April 28th.

Creating Gracious Space

A residential course, Thursday, May 29 through Saturday, May 31

Facilitated by
Dr. Dale Nienow, Executive Director of the Center for Ethical Leadership
Pat Hughes (OSR-8), primary author of Gracious Space: A Practical Guide for Working Better Together, now in its second edition.

Dale and Pat will share how Gracious Space helps leaders work with difficult issues, cross boundaries and transform the way people work together. Participants will come away able to design and lead processes to create and hold Gracious Space in their own communities and organizations.

IslandWood, one of the nation’s most innovative educational facilities, is an outdoor learning center, set in 225 beautiful acres, and just a 35-minute ferry ride from the downtown Seattle ferry dock.

Creating Gracious Space is limited to 30 participants. Fees include the cost of tuition, materials, two nights of double-occupancy lodging, and all meals and snacks. A limited number of single rooms are available.

Contact the Center for Ethical Leadership at +1-206-328-3020 for more information or register at www.ethicalleadership.org.

Peggy Holman to keynote third annual conference

Effective, sustainable change requires organizations and communities to engage in “whole system” approaches. How we engage systems is shifting.

“When talking about the need for changing the way we change… we’ve honed in on some particular patterns/trends that exert tremendous forces screaming for changes in the way we work together... The need for organized group events [is] an imperative for any leader – at any level – who is seeking improvements in his or her organization or community.” — The Change Handbook, page 3

Peggy Holman,  co-author of The Change Handbook: The definitive resource on today’s best methods for engaging whole systems, will keynote the conference.

Come explore the evolving attributes of change intervention. Investigate the emerging nature of consultative work. Probe the current and emerging ethical issues concerning change.

OSR Annual Conference • Saturday, June 28 — find reunion and renewal at the annual conference, presented by the OSR Alumni Association.

Workshop proposals requested for June conference

How do you see change changing? What are the new patterns of practice?

“When talking about the need for changing the way we change… we’ve honed in on some particular patterns/trends that exert tremendous forces screaming for changes in the way we work together... The need for organized group events [is] an imperative for any leader — at any level — who is seeking improvements in his or her organization or community.” — The Change Handbook, page 3

The OSR Annual Conference design team is seeking presenters interested in developing  90-minute interactive and experiential workshops that explore the nuances of effective and sustainable change in complex human environments. Workshop proposals are now being accepted through Sunday, March 30, 2008.

Learning intentions for the conference cover the three main questions below. Successful proposals will demonstrate how the workshop attendee would develop a specific skill set or gain specific insights related to the conference theme and intentions.

How are global patterns and current trends impacting change intervention methods? Possible topics:

• Global dissemination of communication technology
• Increased global participation
• Increase of conflicting demands of multiple stakeholders
• The potential impact of the social networking phenomenon

What are the emerging possibilities in consulting practices? Possible topics:

• People discovering wisdom within themselves
• Connection to one another and respect for peoples’ differences
• Emergence of inspired organizations and enlightened communities
• The art of hosting conversations

What ethical issues and skills are necessary in helping organizations and communities adapt to change and lasting solutions rather than quick fixes? Possible topics:

• The whole person-community; Head, heart, and spirit
• Analysis of power and dominant cultures in organizations and communities
• Leadership roles and responsibilities
• Depth of intervention in an age of geographically-dispersed teams

Download the workshop proposal application, conf-workshop-application-2008.pdf.

For additional information, contact Nalani Linder at +1-206-625-0527, or any conference design team member.

Related links

Peggy Holman keynotes third annual conference — “How is change changing?” Co-author of The Change Handbook is featured speaker on the topic.

Design team forming for June 28 conference — New features highlight annual conference

Design team forming for June 28 conference

by Lucy Garrick (OSR-12), OSR Alumni Association board co-chair

Each year's Annual Conference (this is our 3rd) has included some experimentation with new themes and/or design ideas (aka renewal). Some renewals have been better than others, but that's how we learn, right?

This year's conference has the following experimental elements which should be fun and challenging:

• The conference falls on the June OSR Masters weekend and will play a role (details to be determined) in the weekend design for OSR 14.
• The cohort learning topic is Change and Ethical Interventions.
• The conference will focus on advanced issues related to those leering themes, but you will notice that is pretty broad and how that will take shape is up to the design team.
• Design work will begin in earnest in January.
• How the conference is structured, who else presents, whether there will be concurrent sessions and other details are all yet to be determined.

Volunteers needed

Alumni Association board members Dee Endleman (OSR-7) and Larry West (OSR-9) are the board co-sponsors for the conference. They would like to hear from interested parties by Mon, Dec 31, if possible and estimate a time commitment for volunteer on average of 6-10 hours a week. It will probably depend on what you decide to do. Sharing a role, like Dee and Larry can be fun and a way to control your time.

Ways to be involved include, but are not limited to one or more of the following:

• Collaboration as part of the design team (design of the event);
• Facilitating for the conference design team or other conference teams;
• Project management;
• Helping with conference logistics, marketing, registration, greeting, decorations, etc.

Interested? Email Dee Endleman or Larry West.

November: Stems

Organization Design Forum seeks proposals at April conference

Organization Design Forum is an international association dedicated to advancing the theory and practice of organization design. Their call for presenters for their April 2008 conference in Philadelphia closes November 15th. Download the pdf

Large group methods from  Marvin Weisbord

Marv Weisbord sends OSR a chapter he wrote for ASTD Handbook for Workplace Learning, edited by Elaine Biech. Weisbord's “Large Groups Methods: A three-part shopper’s guide” will be published in 2008. You can read it today. Download the pdf >>

Weisbord and Sandra Janoff also have a new book out — Don't Just Do Something, Stand There!

Apply for spring's Community Consulting Partnership teams

The mission of the Community Consulting Partnership is to build on the spirit of learning and service, the CCP inspires people to join in learning about the organizational development process while working as a volunteer consultant with local not-for-profit organizations. We seek to enhance our community's vital and diverse human bounty. By participating in CCP, individuals develop their own knowledge and skills and magnify their power to positively influence the communities in which they live.

If you would like to be on a team of volunteer consultants led by a senior consultant serving the needs of a non-profit client, then now is the time to get your name on the waiting list. Sign up to be a volunteer consultant now. Learn more about ccp >>

Free video rental library

OSR is building a library of videos  available for students and alumni to borrow for personal or professional use.

• Celebrate What's Right with the World by Dewitt Jones (a great warm up for Appreciative Inquiry).
  
• Presence In Action: An Introduction to Theory U with Otto Scharmer.
  
• Deep Presence a series of digital video tone poems over images of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
  
• All of the 18 keynotes from the 2006 Bioneers Conference ( Paul Hawken, Michael Pollen, Amy Goodman, James Hillman, etc.).
  
• For the Love of It by Dewitt Jones; he discusses how we all have the ability to love what we do through honoring our passion, making a contribution to those around us, and expressing gratitude.
  
• The Star Thrower Story by Joel Barker, a brief 6 min depiction of the Loren Eiseley story about finding purpose.
  
• 1 Giant Leap a collaboration of many of the world's most culturally significant musicians, thinkers, artists authors, actors and scientists from 20 countries to explore the unity in diversity.

Please send an e-mail to make recommendations for videos that you would like to see available for loan to OSR students and alumni. More