Practicing Organization Development: A Guide for Leading Change: A Third Edition

THE CHALLENGE FOR THE OD PRACTITIONER

The challenge is to be able to see, understand, and master the systemic contexts in which we and others operate. Immediately, there is a problem. We do not see context; all we see are people. So we become fascinated with people, understanding them, analyzing them, assuming that if only we understood them better we would know how to interact with them. Unfortunately, in system life, this is not the case. To be personally effective, we need to understand and master the systemic contexts we move in and out of. To interact effectively with others, we need to understand and take into account the systemic contexts in which they are living. Let’s observe the trials of Dora and Sam as they struggle to do well ...