The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change: Principles, Practices, and Perspectives, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVENOD PRACTITIONERS AS AGENTS OF SOCIAL CHANGE^a

Mark Leach and Robin Katcher

Many of the things we find most intrinsically fascinating in life—the distribution of power and resources, group and intergroup dynamics, cultural differences, the role of leadership and the unconscious mind in group situations, making sense of complex human puzzles—are some of the very things we have found most useful as practitioners supporting progressive social change. But dramatic shifts in recent years have led us to recognize that the practice of social change OD itself must change. Like our clients, we are reshaping our external analysis, our organization, and our competencies to better contribute to progressive social change.

Introduction ...