OrgDev with Distinction

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! What does it really take to create large-scale organisational change that lasts? In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we speak with Paul Tolchinsky - pioneer of Whole-Scale™ Change, cofounder of the European Organisation Design Forum (EODF) and one of the most influential voices in large-system transformation and organisation design. Drawing o...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! Why do so many transformation and change programmes fail to deliver in practice – even when the strategy looks solid? In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we explore why organisational change breaks down during execution, and what leaders, HR and organisation development practitioners can do to make change actually stick. We look at the gap be...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we’re joined by Rick Buccheri, an organisational development practitioner based in New York, to explore conflict, collaboration and the real work of change. Drawing on his experience in organisational consulting and conflict resolution, Rick shares how tension shows up beneath the surface of teams - and wha...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! How do leaders handle endings well - and why do so many organisations rush past them? In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we speak with Lizzie Bentley Bowers and Alison Lucas about one of the most overlooked aspects of leadership and organisational change: endings. Many organisations focus on launches, growth, restructures, mergers and new st...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! What does it take to support people and organisations working under pressure, complexity, and trauma? In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we welcome Gareth Evans, Lead for Specialist Organisational Development at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. A facilitator, coach, and thought leader in relational and trauma-informed OD, Gareth is t...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! Most organisations are still managed as if they can be controlled, predicted and engineered into success. But what if that assumption is the problem? In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we explore a different way of seeing organisations - not as machines to optimise, but as complex human systems that are constantly shifting, adapting, and res...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! Why do so many organisations struggle to improve productivity - even when they invest heavily in strategy, transformation and new ways of working? Nelson Repenning, co-author of There’s Got to Be a Better Way, describes the hidden systems that shape how work actually gets done. Drawing on decades of research at MIT and real-world organisational...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! Why do leadership teams say the future matters - and then fail to make time for it? This episode examines a common pattern inside organisations: strong strategies, but limited execution. We explore how top teams prioritise, make decisions, and enable strategic change, and why leadership effectiveness is often constrained not by capability, but b...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! In this episode, Dr Jean Boulton joins us to explore how ideas from complexity science can help leaders understand strategy, power and change in uncertain environments.  What really drives change in organisations - and what quietly kills it? Why do some initiatives gain traction while others fade away, even when the intent is strong? Originally...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! Why has HR’s operating model barely changed in 25 years – while everything around it has? In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we speak with Perry Timms about the uncomfortable truth at the heart of modern HR: we’ve spent decades optimising processes instead of redesigning how HR actually works. As organisations evolve at pace – driven by digi...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! What if organisations can’t be engineered into better performance — only invited into change? We’re joined by Gervase Bushe, one of the most influential contemporary thinkers in Organisation Development and a leading voice in dialogic OD. For decades, many change efforts have assumed that if we design the right structure, define the right proces...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! What does organisation development look like when AI, complexity and constant transformation become the norm rather than the exception? In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we’re joined by Omar Morales, Head of Organisation Development at Microsoft, to explore how organisations design for adaptability, leadership resilience, and sustained perf...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! How to apply complexity thinking in your organisation If we can’t reliably predict what will happen in our organisations, can’t control outcomes in any simple way, and can’t even agree on what’s true – how do we lead? That’s the territory explored in this conversation with Dave Snowden. We move beyond tidy change models and into the realities of...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! Strategy is one of the most overused words in organisational life – and one of the least well understood. In this conversation with Rupert Morrison, we explore what strategy actually means, who really owns it, and why so many organisations struggle not with ambition, but with focus. We talk about why strategies so often turn into shopping lists,...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! This week on the OrgDev Podcast we’re joined by the brilliantly provocative Nick Shackleton-Jones, a guest who never fails to challenge how organisations think about learning. Nick brings energy, clarity and a healthy dose of disruption as he unpicks why so much workplace learning fails to change behaviour and what actually works instead.  He sh...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! Top tips from leading Organisation Development and Design Experts This is part 2 of a special highlights episode. This year has been a big one for us. We recorded 44 episodes, and the podcast reached listeners in 109 countries. Our guests joined us from as far afield as California, Spain and Australia – as well as Austria, the Netherlands and Sw...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! op tips from leading Organisation Development and Design Experts This is a special highlights episode. This year has been a big one for us. We recorded 44 episodes, and the podcast reached listeners in 109 countries. Our guests joined us from as far afield as California, Spain and Australia – as well as Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden, and t...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! What does leadership look like when it’s driven by purpose rather than control? In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we’re joined by Dr Louise Van Rhyn, social entrepreneur, leadership and organisation development practitioner, and founder of Symphonia. Louise shares powerful insights from more than four decades of practice working with leader...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! Why Do Transformations and Change Fail - And What Can Leaders Do About It?  Where do leaders go when the map runs out – when the terrain ahead is shifting faster than they can chart it? Today on the OrgDev Podcast, we’re stepping into the space where the known meets the unknown, and where transformation takes root. In this episode. we’ll hear ho...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! How Can Design Thinking Solve Your Organisation's Most Intractable Problems? Design thinking has transformed how we approach products and services - but what does it really look like when we apply it to people, culture, and organisations?  How do we move from post-it notes and empathy maps to real organisational change?  To explore the inte...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! Is it time to rethink leadership and management? Many leaders work under the illusion that they can control what goes on but in reality organisations are messy, and unpredictable. So what does this Complexity  really means for how organisations function, how leaders make decisions, and how people navigate uncertainty. One person who has challeng...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! What does it take to deliver on an ambitious strategy – especially in a mission-driven organisation where the stakes are high and capacity is limited? How do you align people, processes, and systems to deliver on the organisation's ambitions? Our guest this week is the Maria Farres, Director of Organisational Development & Employee Expe...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! What really derails a change project – the plan, or the relationships behind it? Our guest today, Sophy Pern, has spent her career helping leaders and teams untangle the relational dynamics that quietly shape whether strategy and change succeed or stall. An international consultant, facilitator and executive coach, she works with executive leade...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! How do you make sure your organisation’s design is truly fit for purpose – not just neat on paper, but aligned to the strategy your future depends on? And how do you work with senior leaders in a way that builds real trust – so you can understand how value is created in their world, and the tough trade-offs that come with redesigning it? Today w...

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message! What separates good OD practice from great OD practice – skill, strategy, or self-awareness? You can have the tools. The models. The frameworks. But what really shapes your impact as an OD practitioner? According to Dr Frances Baldwin, it’s not what you do – it’s who you are. Frances has been shaping the field of Organisation Development for mor...