OD Therapeutics – A checklist for Positive Organizational Development

Sandeep Kulshrestha, PhD

Organization development is all about bringing in change in the way an organization functions, considering the fact that organizations are dynamic and synergistic. The changes are just not about redefining job roles or hiring an OD Consultant to assist in some brainstorming but it is also about whether there is a culture of participation, of empowerment, or of some sort of autonomy and flexibility which enable people to perform at optimum levels. Added to this, there are new tools like strengths-finder which help individuals ascertain their work related strengths and lead them to tide over their limitations. Now, there is a recent phenomena of Positive Psychology, recognized as "science of happiness, well-being and flourishing" and also being practiced in a beta mode in considerable organizations in the world and it talks about making workplaces positive and creating enabling structures which make people flourish. The logical consequence of this was embedding OD with positive psychology and the resultant philosophy has now been coined as "Positive Organizational Development" which signifies a paradigm shift in the way OD was looked at till recently. Of course OD as a process had majority of positive outcomes but in Positive organizational development the ideas and the processes incorporated are positive from the very beginning!

In the first step of determining the positive OD framework, the following is the suggested matrix or a checklist of Positive Organizational Development needs in an organization, which can be brainstormed by the participants in any internal in-company workshop

Here "Passive" signifies that there is no importance given to a particular function, "Active" signifies decent level of activity while "Functional" tells us about a process been implemented and working well and "Flourishing" signifies a very high level of activity, which is continuous and is enabling the stakeholders (especially the employees and the board) align themselves with the organization in a very positive way.

Human function	Passive	Active	Functional	Flourishing
Employee Achievement Recognition
Systematic approach to Applied Learning
Effective performance rather than peak performance
Social interaction of employees
Employee Benefits
Efficacy of Mentoring and Coaching systems
Employee contribution to society
Line Manager’s Feedback system
Support mechanisms in events of crisis
Happiness surveys

This is just one example in which an OD practitioner can assess one job role or multiple job roles, finally the whole organization, which can lead to an understanding of where the organization is in the current phase and where it is headed to if we want to develop happy employees in an flourishing organization. 

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AutoMagical leader

The new Oxford Dictionary of English has a new word “automagically” (automatically and in a way that seems ingenious, inexplicable or magical). I have coined the word automagical leader for such business or political leaders who either by their own beliefs are automagical or those who become so and provide the magical direction to an organisation or a state. In brief, following are some of the traits of an automagical leader;

1. Ability and “soft patience” to listen
2. Create the “destiny” of an organization or of the country, as the case may be
3. Take independent decision on individual perception, but maintain equilibrium.
4. Be able to understand what is realistic magic verses impractical magic (magic here means magical touch of leadership)

According to Jack Welch, “The world of the 1990s and beyond will not belong to ‘managers’ or those who can make the numbers dance. The world will belong to passionate, driven leaders – people who not only have enormous amounts of energy but who can energize those whom they lead”

Ralph Waldo Emerson had said, ”If you would lift me up you must be on higher ground.”. It is true about leaders who are automagical and who bring a leadership magic in any organization.