Who Are The People People? Organizational

Development Career Paths by Matt morava

4.14.2014

Source

The following presentation has developed slowly over many years, tracing the winding course of unique conversations, and represents an amalgamation of advice, inquiry, challenge, vision and prayer in regards to young professionals who are thinking about organizational development as a career choice. It is intended to support further conversation and inquiry and help guide others towards more informed career decisions. Enjoy.

Who have you Come to Know yourself to be?

I’ve come to understand that a majority of the people who are interested in a career in organizational development have two predominant traits — they are equal parts Strategy and Empathy. They have a particular ability to hold the tension of these opposing strengths.

Core Strengths: Strategy/Reason — Is the ability to hold objectivity Empathy/Emotion — Is the ability to connect with a

client’s emotional state

The strategic mind & the empathetic mind

Strategy Allows For: Love of information and the pursuit of deep analytics, the ability to hold an objective state and keep end goals in mind, focus on the client’s ultimate goal, the understanding of theory, and the focus on the professional aspects of relationships.

Empathy Allows For: Ability to understand the issues/challenges from the client’s perspective; relate to to the depth of pain, hopelessness, and confusion the client is experiencing; and a profound faith and trust that the client has the answer.

A Variety of career paths

A Person of Strategy and

Empathy

Other Forms of Healing — Mind, Body and Soul

Therapeutic Arts

Coaching — Life, Relationship, and Career

Learning Delivery and Management

Organizational Development

Human Resources

the makeup of a people professional

Training and Experience

Strong Ethical Constitution

Exceptional Listening Skills

Boundary Setting

Clear Communication

Visioning Skills

Understanding of Transference and Counter Transference

Courage and desire to support health and wellbeing

The trick is that we only have so much time, a

limited number of hours to give our training and experience. It becomes imperative that there is

focus.

The following questions are designed to help you find your focus. The big three questions… What relationships appeal to you? To what depth do you want to work with people and/or systems? To what breadth do you want to work with people and/or systems?

what separates the differing career paths?

The drive of many people with Strategy and Empathy is a focus on creating exceptional relationships. It becomes a question of what kinds of relationships appeal most to you as a professional…

Intimate/Romantic, Parenting, Professional, Self/Other, Family, Peer Group, Community, or Organizational?

It’s best to start with an exploration of what type(s) of relationships you’d most like to work with because that will determine your immediate next steps.

All of these types of relationships intertwine and feed off each other, but generally speaking, it’s best to become an expert in one kind of relationship first, before moving to another.

what level of depth appeals most?

Level of Depth

Alcoholism/Addiction Depression and Anxiety DisordersBipolar and Personality Disorders

BorderlineSchizophrenia/Schizoaffective Disorders

Career and Job ChallengesRelationship/Marriage

Family SystemsHealth and Nutrition

Loss and Grief

Organizational Strategy Organizational Structure

Business Unit PerformanceOrganizational Culture

Onboarding & OrientationTeam and Group Behavior

Individual Performance Issues

Organizational Development

Coaching

Therapeutic Arts

what level of breadth appeals most?

Level of Breadth

Affects Change by Working With

Systems

Organizational Development Coaching Therapeutic

ArtsLearning Delivery and

ManagementHuman

Resources

Affects Change by Working With

Individuals

Affects Change by Working With Both

Systems and Individuals

The Organizational Development Professional

1. Focuses on Professional & Organizational Relationships

2. Prefers to work at a low level of depth in regards to individuals. The desire is not to dig deep into the personal psychology of the individual, rather the depth comes from working with the systems within which that individual works

3. Breadth is to work system-wide, impacting hundreds up to tens of thousands versus training and development which impacts dozens to hundreds verses a therapist which impacts the individual

Education and Career Paths

Areas of Study

Working With Systems

Working With Individuals

Working With Both Systems and

Individuals

Organizational Behavior Organizational Strategy & Communication

Organizational Culture Business Process Improvement

Diversity and DemographicsQuality Assurance

Global Equity and Justice

Personality TheoryMotivation

Disorders: Neurosis and Psychosis Perception and Decision Making

Creativity and Visioning Energy Flow & Stress

Quality of Life

Leadership and Management Development Knowledge Delivery and ManagementInstructional Design & Learning Theory

Rewards and RecognitionTotal Compensation

Teams and Group Function and DysfunctionRelationship and Power Dynamics

a sampling of higher education options

Working With Systems

Working With Individuals

Working With Both Systems and

Individuals

Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior or Development Ph.D. in Industrial Psychology

MBAM.S. in Organizational Development

Juris Doctorate

Ph.D. in Psychology Masters in Psychology Masters in Social WorkCoaching Certification

Ph.D. in Higher EducationPsy.D. in Education

Ed.D. or D.Ed. in Education Ph.D. in Learning Theory

Ph.D. in Human Resources

a sampling of career options

Work Internally in the Organization

Combination

Work Independently

Organizational Development Organizational Effectiveness

Leadership Development Human Resources Executive Coaching

Training and DevelopmentChief Learning Officer

Work Both Internally and Externally

Management Consulting Organizational Development Organizational Effectiveness

Executive CoachingTraining and Development

What will be the focus of the OD in 2025?

Major Areas of Focus

With the disintegration of “command and control” style leadership, there will be a continued focus on leadership development throughout the organization

Supporting exceptional organizational culture and high performance

Putting high performance teams together

Helping organizations maximize the matrix structure

Help organizations understand and maximize demographics and diversity

Supporting knowledge and learning with technology

Corporate governance and transparency

Increasing the quality of work life for employees

Supporting organizational change towards sustainability and global care