What are the best OD Practices?

Our March 9 meeting was about best practices in six areas of OD. This was the third time we have held this kind of program, and each time we have varied the practice areas to be considered. In this 2006 version we had subsections on coaching, culture change, diversity, leadership development, performance improvement, and team building. In previous meetings in July 2003 and March 2004, we also gave attention to best practices in change management, conflict resolution, and strategic planning.

Meetings in this format (often referred to as the “John LeBlanc” format, after the former Coordinating Committee member, now in Seattle, who invented it) have always been well attended and enthusiastically reviewed. It provides a valuable opportunity to update one’s thinking and to find out what is going on in various practice areas, and it could even lead to actual communities of practice within the Learning Group.

Rather than single out any practice area, we are thus inviting, as the Question of the Month, discussion on what are the best OD practices. So let’s have your thoughts on what practice areas are particularly important and what are the best tools, interventions or models in these areas.