I had the pleasure of immersing myself in a series of email exchanges with Dr. Merrelyn Emery, a renowned social scientist, who co-developed Open Systems Theory (OST) methods. Ever since I was introduced to the theory by Dr. Emery herself in a week-long summer graduate intensive in 2008, I fell in love with the theory and the person.

It is inevitable that organizations are becoming more and more virtual due to our neverending technological advances. In earlier research, virtual teams have been defined quite rigidly, strictly focusing on groups in which members communicate solely using technology and who are usually geographically dispersed…

In my first few years as a young consultant, and even to this day, I always wonder about what happens after I leave. What about a year later? Five years later? This question comes up a lot in the OD community: how can one know the impact of our interventions without seeming ‘salesy’ or prying for another mandate?

They say that session design can make or break your facilitation. A good design is where it starts – it is the foundation of a good session – whether it’s a workshop, conference, class or retreat. Then, you add good facilitation and last but not least, awesome, energetic and passionate participants.

Volunteer-based organizations and groups have their own set of particular characteristics, challenges and opportunities. The most prevalent client request is for volunteer engagement: how do we motivate our volunteers to feel a sense of ownership, engagement and responsibility in the work that they do?