OD Network Conference 2009: Advancing the theory and practice of OD
October 18-21, 2009  Seattle, WA
Conference web site and registration

Join Sharon at the Organizational Development Network meeting for sessions on Positive Deviance and Liberating Structures.

Weaving Positive Deviance into a Large Array of Liberating Structures
Like Internet entrepreneurs and political strategists, organizational change practitioners are learning to unleash decentralized, self-organized action to get results better-than-expected-or-imagined. The presenters are using a large array of self-organizing change methods — Liberating Structures — in grass-roots-initiatives in Latin America, Europe and the US. Multinational business, hospitals, and NGOs are developing more like “starfish” than “spiders” (Brafman, ODN 2008 Keynote). Similar to Positive Deviance (Sternin, ODN 2007 Keynote), these methods are easy to learn, spread quickly peer-to-peer, and require limited coaching. This mash-up of methods introduces new ways for people to work together. Novel patterns of interacting are transforming leaders and stimulating innovation and productivity organization-wide.
Presenters: Sharon Benjamin, Keith McCandless, and Henri Lipmanowicz

Shift - Leading in a hyper-connected society
Conventional leadership models are not evolving quickly enough to keep pace with leading in today’s hyper-connected world. Leading in complex adaptive social systems requires dynamic shifts to respond to unpredictable change. This session explores a networked leadership perspective that closely resembles humans’ central nervous systems and integrates existing, conventional cause and effect leadership models by examining three case studies: the Center for Future Banking, an adaptive approach to disease control, and emerging positive deviance in healthcare and education. The session will conclude with a sense-making activity to encourage practitioners to deepen and strengthen their own personal leadership models. See http://leadingnetworkmaps.ning.com
Presenters: Sharon Benjamin, William Kirkwood, and Michael Arena

If you can't join us in person in Seattle, but would like to hear more about this exciting work e-mail Sharon at sharonbenjamin.com.