Our June event was a two-part series presented by Dr. William Brendel. Bill’s revolutionary tool, M.O.S.T. Meaningful Career Assessment, which has been adopted in OD graduate curricula and professional networks worldwide, has helped countless emerging change agents, graduate students, and professionals transitioning from HR or Talent Development forge a path in OD. The ODA events of 2023 are each aligned to a different OD competency of the Global OD Competency Framework, and this time we focus on OD Careers, which is what the tool is all about.
The first session was called Unleashing the Power of the M.O.S.T. Assessment and so, before we came to the session, we were asked to complete the assessment. During the session, Bill asked us about how we came to work in OD, and we were able to appreciate how diverse and varied our experiences have been. We discussed the varied traditions, strengths and interests of OD. Bill built on our stories to illustrate the four different types of OD career characteristics and we discussed our preferences for each type:
- Outcomes: Organisational vs Societal
- Identity: Pure vs Hybrid
- Approach: Broad vs Specialised
- Mastery: Classic vs Innovative
The power packed and engaging session left us with a lot to think about and digest. and the week’s time before the second session came in very useful.
The second session, Crafting Your OD Career Calling Vision Statement, was even more engaging and interactive, with Bill giving us enough “popcorn” time discuss in trios and share our reflections. During the course of the session, we learnt about:
- a system to chart our career trajectory
- what the discovery process involves
- developing our vision
- testing that vision
- the next steps.
According to Bill, no two career vision statements are alike. A career vision statement feeds our passions, demonstrates our versatility, and differentiates us from other transformation practitioners, and it is with our ability to articulate our values through words and actions, will we be able to attract recruiters and prospective clients.
Bill urged us to write down our vision statement and told us that it doesn’t have to be perfect right away. Whenever we encounter a change – be it positive or negative – we should take up that statement and see whether the vision rings true – what does it do for us, what needs to stay and what needs to go – and then revise it.
Members can log in and watch the videos of both sessions here.
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