What Is Organizational Development?

In a long-anticipated expansion of TSNE’s small Consulting Program, Bob Greene has been hired as the program’s senior consultant. His specialty is organizational development (OD) consulting, which he has been doing for 15 years with nonprofits, primarily in Washington, D.C., and with national clients. Prior to entering consulting, he was a long-time volunteer and staffer with progressive advocacy organizations and with a non-profit publisher. Read more about Bob Greene and visit his LinkedIn profile.

OD in Action

What exactly is organizational development consulting? It’s easier to describe OD in action than provide a concise definition. As an OD consultant, I help identify and address the root causes of problems and assist an organization’s leaders, staff, board members, and others in building skills and expertise. Here are a few of the things I’ve helped clients with:

Focusing strategic direction, rather than trying to be all things to all people.
Assessing organizational strengths, weaknesses and opportunities.
Building unity and open communication among leadership team members.
Promoting a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
Resolving conflicts and identifying systemic factors that allow conflicts to keep occurring.

Helping You Build a Strong Foundation

My efforts help clients focus on how they get their work done. Most people in non-profit organizations are concerned with serving the mission and bettering the world, not necessarily with the nuts-and-bolts of running an organization. Yet we need well-run organizations to keep our good work going long-term.

So far from being that “touchy-feely” stuff that’s separate from the real work, organizational development consulting helps improve the foundation for long-term success. It’s amazing how much talent and energy are wasted when the strategic direction is unfocused, people don’t communicate with each other, leaders feel isolated and overwhelmed, and people are immersed in unproductive conflict.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a good example of how OD consulting can help energy and creativity blossom. With a clear strategic direction, people can focus their efforts and concentrate on the organization’s top priorities. What helps distinguish the OD approach to planning is that stakeholders are actively engaged throughout the process, building understanding, consensus and buy-in.

This contrasts with the approach of some consultants who go off and do their thing, submitting a report and an invoice at the end. When I hear of instances like that, I wonder whose plan it is ultimately, the nonprofit’s, or the consultant’s? (By the way, if you’d like an overview of effective strategic planning, please attend my workshop on October 15, “Strategic Planning that Works: An Introduction,” which is part of TSNE’s Capacity Building Training Series.)

I’d appreciate hearing from you and what organizational issues and questions you’re thinking about. You can reach me at rgreene@tsne.org.

New Column

Starting next month, I will write a monthly column, Consultants Corner, for the TSNe-Bulletin. I’ll regularly offer a perspective on a topic, a practical tip or tool for you to use, and a review of, and links to, resources. And I’ll ask for your input, ideas and resources in the comments section. So, the discussion can continue as long as you’d like. And until next month, here’s an article I co-wrote a while ago on “Planning for Those Too Busy to Plan.”

And as they say, if you’re ever in the neighborhood…

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