Practicing Organization Development, 5th Edition

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVEThe Power of Agency: A Transformational Organization Change Intervention

Frederick A. Miller and Judith H. Katz

Creating a workplace that works for all has been foundational to the ethos of Organization Development (OD) technology for decades. The question is, what is the next evolutionary step in the realization of that goal? Organizations need the best effort and work results from each person; and people want to have meaningful work, to be respected and valued, and to have the work-life-me integration that enables them to have the life they want and need (Miller and Katz 2023a). In this chapter, we identify agency as the next step in the journey and discuss 10 steps to unleash agency to transform workplace cultures for higher individual and organizational performance.

People have always wanted their talents and differences to matter, to feel a sense of belonging and community, and to be able to do their best work. Unfortunately, that has often been a reality only for a very small percentage of people in organizations—and that needs to change. Efforts to create a workplace that enables everyone to do their best work and see differences as assets have evolved over time (i.e., employers seeking to be an employer of choice; a focus on inclusion and belonging; the need for sustainable organizations; and, the need for work-life-me balance and integration to name a few examples). OD methodologies and processes have been fundamental in efforts to create cultures ...