Best Recognition and Rewards Programs for the Post-Recession Economy
February 23rd, 2010 by Jeremy Lurey
At Plus Delta Consulting, we are committed to creating a brighter future for those seeking to improve individual, group, and organizational performance as well as those focused on transforming organizations in ways that produce better business results. Broadly speaking, we are part of “OD” (Organization Development), but we also push the boundaries of the field and what many call “new OD” to connect communities of organizational professionals from other arenas. We not only seek but also strive to share new theories and practices that serve the 21st century organization with others. Towards that end, we launched a LinkedIn group called the “Future of Organization Development (OD)” last fall (see http://bit.ly/FutureOD) and regularly participate in other online conversations to facilitate these discussions.
Here is an excerpt of a recent discussion about the Best Recognition and Rewards Programs for the Post-Recession Economy:
[Jeremy Lurey]: A couple weeks ago, I facilitated a great session with a local NHRA (National Human Resources Association) chapter. The topic was Recognition and Rewards programs, and we used a World Cafe (see www.theworldcafe.com) format to bring everyone – and their richly diverse perspectives – into the room. During the World Cafe rounds, groups were asked the following 3 questions:
1. What are the top three MONETARY recognition and rewards approaches that you use in your company?
2. What are the top three NON-MONETARY recognition and rewards approaches that you use in your company?
3. What are the underlying assumptions of your recognition and rewards system, and does the absence of receiving a reward equate to PUNISHMENT?
Provided below are some of the key themes that emerged from the group. I’m curious if this is in line with your experiences or if you have other “best programs” you would recommend.
Lessons from an Organization Development Professional: Staying Centered and Clear on Values at Work & in Life
January 25th, 2010 by Cris Hagen
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Entertainment. It’s all around us. The late night talk show wars between Jay, Conan, and Dave. The new TV season is starting with American Idol and 24, and SuperBowl Weekend is just on the perceivable horizon. I don’t know about you, but we live in exciting times!
Really? Really? What have we become? Does Hollywood really dominate our attention so much as to dull our senses about what is going on in the world around us? Have we become so numb to our world that we let “The Tonight Show” shenanigans take precedence over what happened in Haiti these past weeks? Or to take precedence over what’s going on in our own homes with our spouse and children?
We are deluged daily, not only with entertainment, world news of disasters, war, and economic turmoil, but we are “attacked” with e-mails (let’s start a contest to see who gets more than 500 e-mails a day!), and overwhelmed with requests for our time to attend meetings and teleconferences. Where do we draw the line? When do we start to get control over our lives and our time? How do we start to manage our commitments and keep a focus on the important relationships in our lives to make a statement about what is important to us? How do we dig out of everything that gets piled on top of us so that we can breathe fresh air and regain a sense of balance that will both sustain us and energize our efforts to lead more productive and fulfilling lives? Is this all too much to ask? Is it pure fantasy that we can actually achieve this? (more…)
Have you ever considered the possibility that the language we use in organizations can have a direct impact on the experience of an individual worker or larger group? How many times have you seen individuals or work groups that seem to exude a culture that undermines either their own stated goals or those of the organization as a whole? In what ways do they speak of themselves, their co-workers, and the work itself, and how has this correlated with their success?
Alternatively, have you seen individuals or groups within organizations that seem to “get it?” How do they speak about themselves and others, and what culture tends to form around them and spread to other parts of a larger organization?
Tribal Leadership, written by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright, provides a framework from which to understand the various “tribes” in an organization and the cultural stages in which they reside. One of their goals is to educate leaders on how to take a tribe (or set of tribes, if in a larger organization) from one cultural stage to the next, until they align around core values and a noble cause. This is achieved both through providing specific coaching tips and through addressing how a leader and an employee can speak about themselves and others. (more…)
Future: Unconference! Interview with Juliette Powell from OD Network Conference ‘09 – Part II
November 3rd, 2009 by Michael Liskin
As promised in part I of my Interview with Juliette Powell, in the video below Juliette discusses the future of conferences. If there was any misconception about the nature of the “unconference” versus the “conference” arising from her keynote address, or about the future of how people will interact in such settings, this video will bring clarity to that and might inspire you to go to an unconference in your city this year. I also asked Juliette to discuss more about the Leadership Engine and how that was created. We are looking forward to our next collaboration with Juliette!
What Makes Ordinary Groups Extraordinary? An Interview with Geoffrey Bellman and Kathleen Ryan, authors of Extraordinary Groups
October 30th, 2009 by Jeremy Lurey
I recently had the honor and privilege of sitting down with Geoff Bellman and Kathleen Ryan, co-authors of the new book Extraordinary Groups: How Ordinary Teams Achieve Amazing Results. What a treat! Geoff has been a personal idol of mine ever since I started my doctoral program more than 15 years ago, and Kathleen may now be my newest favorite OD consultant. Whether I’ve known them long or short, both are tremendously caring and generous souls who are ever-so-graciously giving back to the field of OD these days just as they have given to their local Seattle community for many, many years.
So why do you, our blog readers, care about Geoff and Kathleen? Because they are two leading team performance experts who just published an eye-opening book… (more…)
Tweeting the Organization Development Network Conference: Collaboration, Transparency, & Engagement
October 29th, 2009 by Michael Liskin
In a time of decreasing attention spans partially due to the flood of information many of us experience, it has become an important skill to encapsulate the main point of a complex idea in as few words as possible — especially if one is “tweeting” on Twitter.com, limited to 140 characters or less per tweet. Laura Horwitz not only excels in this regard, but has written an insightful guest post drawing connections between new technology and its implications for conference interaction and the foundations of OD. After reading her post, please share your reactions (in our comments section).
Edie Seashore (left) and Laura Horwitz (right)
As organizational psychologists, we look at human interactions as comprised of content and process. The OD Network conference was certainly chock full of great content, sessions that re-explored foundational theories, highlighted innovations, and introduced new applications at the boundaries of the field. And, with 800 participants, including many of organizational development’s leading theorists and practitioners, the conference offered a rare chance to connect with others who share my interests and values. Yet, as I reflect on my time in Seattle, what stands out about my first OD Network conference is not so much what I learned or who I met, but how I engaged with the content and process… through Twitter.
Juliette Powell Interview on Social Media in Organization Development: Part 1
October 27th, 2009 by Michael Liskin
I recently conducted a two-part interview with Juliette Powell (author of 33 Million People in the Room) at the OD Network Conference in Seattle, just after she delivered the final keynote speech, titled “The Technology of Relationships: Social Networking and the Future of Human Communities.” This first interview gives you a behind-the-scenes look into Juliette’s take on the field of OD after delivering the keynote and meeting with OD practitioners for several days. You’ll especially want to watch if you were at the keynote or you plan to watch it on YouTube when it gets posted by the OD Network. I highly recommend you watch that keynote address when posted; her points are crucial for OD practitioners to remain relevant in the shifting organizational and media landscape.
You won’t want to miss our upcoming blog post featuring the second interview. There she clears up the misconception from the keynote address around her provocative comment regarding the demise of traditional conferences. She also further elaborates on her upcoming Leadership Engine project – an exciting new development for OD.
Here is a quick glimpse of that comment regarding the future of conferences during the keynote address
Community – Online and Offline: A guest post from OD Network Conference 2009
October 21st, 2009 by Michael Liskin
We have a strong commitment to provide the Organization Development community with a series of conversations highlighting the use of social and collaborative media within organizations. We believe that these technologies can be an empowering and enabling force for human potential. We have asked Jackie Alcalde Marr to write a guest post from the OD Network Conference 2009. Her new book, along with authors Arthur Jue and Mary Ellen Kassotakis highlight the use of new communication technologies in the workplace. After reading her post, please share (in our comments section) your experiences with these technologies in the workplace, or what you wish you could do for organizations with them.
This week at the OD Network Conference, organization development consultants – -seasoned and newly inspired – gathered to hear one of our favorite thought leaders, Peter Block. Block spoke of the “collective possibility” to “create a future distinct from the past.” This conference, like so many others, lives off of this premise – that people come together to share experience, debate new ideas, learn from each other in order to move their cause, profession or passions forward.
Plus Delta Hosts a ‘Fireside Chat’ with Charlie & Edie Seashore Discussing the Future of OD (Organization Development)
October 20th, 2009 by Samantha Lurey
Our adventures at the Organization Development Network conference continued last night with our firm hosting an exclusive fireside chat with Charlie and Edie Seashore. This amazing couple has been in the field of OD for almost 40 years and their experience and accomplishments are legendary. But what impressed me the most about these two last night was their humility and willingness to give back. They have generously donated their time to countless events like ours and continue to give back to the field that has given them so much.
The topic of the conversation last night was the “Future of OD”. Here is what these two had to say about their professional (and personal) past, and where they see the field going in the future:
This quiet venue was the perfect ending to an action-packed day, and we deeply thank the Seashores for their time!
Where do you think the field of OD is going? Is the future bright or dark? Join the discussion on our Future of OD group on LinkedIn and provide your initial comments below!
