OD Is an Infinite Game

I would love to ask Kurt Lewin, “When do we get to refreeze?”  If he were alive today, I think he would say, “Never!”

Our clients, and the worlds they live and work in, get more complex and uncertain every day. Regardless of sector, industry, location, or size, organization change is a never-ending story. If we are to succeed as OD practitioners in this complex and turbulent environment, we will do more than empathize or respond to immediate needs. We have to help our clients build the adaptive muscle they will need to navigate the future as it unfolds.

In this session, Glenda Eoyang, founding executive director of Human Systems Dynamics Institute, will help us reflect on our role as coaches in an infinite game. We will learn and practice three skills that build the adaptive capacity we and our clients need to thrive in the future we can’t predict or control. She will share her experiences in changing change for healthcare, government, education, philanthropy, and business. Her stories cover a range of organization challenges from leadership and strategy through culture and process improvement. She has supported change around the world.

Her global perspectives are informed by work in South Africa, United Kingdom, Romania, Netherlands, Finland, Brazil, Canada, and Israel.

By the end of the session, you will:

• Recognize the challenge and opportunity in Wicked Issues
• See the power of inquiry in times of uncertainty
• Learn in action with a simple, practical tool
• Spot patterns to make sense of chaos
• Bring your wicked issues and emerging ideas to share, as we step into the slushy future!

About the Facilitator

Glenda Eoyang thrives at the edges: Between theory and practice, between order and chaos, between past and future. Since 1986 she has drawn lessons from complexity science to help people thrive in turbulent and uncertain environments. Today, more than ever, her work offers insight, options for action, and well-being for people around the world.

As the founding executive director of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, Glenda leads a global community of over 800 scholar practitioners. They work across sectors to build adaptive capacity for individuals, teams, institutions, and communities. For more information about Glenda and her work with HSD, visit: www.hsdinstute.org.

Area of focus from the OD Global Competency Framework addressed in this program:  Systems Change Expert