Understanding and developing our practice models

As organisation development (OD) and change practitioners our work draws on a breadth of training, tradition and consideration. Those influences, plus our internal theory of change, organisation and practice can help us to notice and develop our own individual practice models. As Patricia Boyle (2023) illustrates in her recent chapter in Agency, Change and Learning, leaning into the work of David Kantor.

Put simply, a practice model is the combination of experiences, influences and ways of thinking about our professional domains, which have combined to develop what we do, how we do it and why in our work. We all have one. Whether we think we do or not, and whatever our particular role and professional area.

For the organisational development and change practitioner our practice model is shaped by what we believe organisation, theory and good work is and looks like. These beliefs, while grounded in theory and practice, are not, nor should not be, immutable and irrevocable. As a community, OD practitioners should be committed to the principle of supporting the development of others, through investing in the development of ourselves.

This applies to our own practice models at The King’s Fund, as we had the privilege of exploring early this summer with Tricia and our alumni community. To better understand what had made us the practitioners we are, we drew our ‘lifelines of development’. Tracing our journey, from our entry into the OD field of work, or other professional domain, to the professionals we are today, highlighting moments where we shifted, changed or amended our practice in response to circumstances or events. In sharing our journeys we recognised the deep entanglements of our personal identities, commitments to values and beliefs, and significant shifts and influences over time, through training, and encounters with others, all strewn with similarity and difference.

We were able to take this work further by sharing our experiences with The King’s Fund’s Advanced OD practitioner alumni community, who found it helpful to connect with each other and explore our work. Our internal authority as practitioners was strengthened through both becoming more aware of who we are and how we became us, as well as seeing other practice models in the room. We concluded with considering our developmental needs, and next steps in our development.

It became clear that while the OD and change body of practice is diverse, there is much alignment on purpose, orientation, and developmental pathways. But what happens when we work with people who have a different model? It can be intriguing, evocative, provocative and difficult. Feelings of agitation and stress were shared, defensive perhaps of our identities so entangled with our work. We may not like it, yet we must recognise the truth, that our way, is not the only way.

Ego, credibility, reputation and perceived expertise by our clients and colleagues are all significant factors in a consultant’s development and resistance to learning. There is a tension between being in a place we feel safe, supported and equipped and the ongoing requirement of our work to develop. Our alumni day offered so much in bringing all of this and more to the surface of our awareness.

The triggers are real, but can be helpful in our development. One of the many, ever close to mind, things that Mee-Yan Cheung Judge (a teacher, leader and mentor in the field of OD whose presence is felt and missed deeply) said to me was that the work we are drawn to, is the work we need to do. Working across boundaries between myself and others and within myself is good and beneficial work. Our ability to be helpful as OD specialists, to offer good work to our clients grounded in the values we serve is benefitted by us also expanding our practice models and understanding those of others.

For me personally, this exercise has helped reaffirm the nature of my development as a journey through rich and varied terrain, and the need to balance periods of rest with times of moving on and renewal. It takes courage and eternally curiosity.

Above all, the workshop reminded me of how impossible such reflection and personal work would be without a community of practice like the Advanced OD alumni. It allows us to be curious, open and explore our practice models and let go and change where this is needed and helpful. As a community we can help each other and bring in our diverse experience and roles to the benefit of all.

References 

Boyle, T., Developing your practice model. In Agency, Change and Learning (pp. 65-78). Routledge.