ODDA introduces its 2010-2011 schedule of OD "Salons," gatherings for managers and leaders to explore common issues.

As leaders and managers, we spend much of our days dealing with the most pressing project or demand, occasionally taking time to think about strategy. We rarely have time to examine our underlying assumptions about organizational life or look at our conceptual models. Yet these assumptions and models drive our daily behavior, in turn creating experiences for those who work in our organizations.

Organizations are community creators and they have a profound influence on how well the world is moving toward a place of greatest good for the greatest number. In all three sectors of the economy (public, private, nonprofit), non-governmental organizations can move the fastest to make policy changes and choices that improve people’s lives.

How can we do that better? How can we better understand what it means to be a “good” organization? One way to do so is to stay in dialogue with other managers and leaders. Having regular discussions, in which our thinking is challenged and grows, is key to finding new and better ways to have a positive impact on our organizations, the people in those organizations, and the world.

To that end, Organizational Design & Development Associates will be hosting a series of organizational development “salons” – each formed around one question which a small group of managers and leaders will explore together.

For a schedule and list of topics, visit our website. If you can't attend, you can follow our report on the discussions, including comments from participants, here on our blog following each salon.