A week in the life of an OD Professional

A week in the life of an OD Professional – Feb 2019 Event Review

Our first event of 2019, “A week in the life of an OD Professional”, sought to unpack the careers and current thinking of four panellists and to challenge ourselves to think critically about OD and all its facets. Thanks to the forthrightness and thoughtful reflections of Diana Dalton, Sharon Griffin, Elspeth Fink-Jensesn, and Nicola Hayes, we had a good crack at the question ‘what does it mean to be an OD professional’. This is a question that ODA has asked a number of times over the years, and we will continue to ask in years to come. Read more

The panel discussion covered a lot of ground; facilitated by Max Edwards who challenged the room to be deeply curious when considering “where is the profession now, where is it going, and where does it need to be going?” The discussion ranged from a time when any and all people practises within a business was managed by the “personnel” department before they adopted the much more modern name “human resources.” Executive Director of Faculty of Business and Economics, Diana Dalton, shared that she has never had a position title that included “Organisational Development”, but she considers herself an OD practitioner (and we couldn’t agree more!) This comment shifted us away from titles and role accountabilities towards asking “what does it mean to have an OD practise?”

The panellists shared their experience in learning, culture, psychology, leadership, talent, change, business, transition and strategy. Regardless of the deliverable, most conversation circled back to the central principal that if your people aren’t driven by the core purpose of the organisation and/or project, you aren’t going anywhere fast. All speakers shared that at the core of their practise, they were simply incredibly interested in people and behaviour.

We would like to say a huge thank you to our four panellists and to Max for facilitating, and to everyone who came and contributed to the discussion.