OrgDev with Distinction

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message!Learning and Development that moves the needle. How do you design learning for high performance. What kind of friction is slowing your organisation down—and is it the kind that challenges, or the kind that quietly corrodes performance? In Organisation Development, we often look to build capability, improve systems, and align people to strategy. But sometimes the biggest gains come not from adding new layers, but from removing the friction that’s already there.. Our guest expert  Michelle Parry-Slater is on a mission to explore this area and offers a practical take on how to spot and reduce these points of dragMichelle Parry-SlaterFollow Michelle on LinkedIn  / michelleparryslater  Go to the Kairos website: https://www.kairosmodernlearning.com/Buy the Learning and Development Handbook here: (use the code at the checkout)https://www.koganpage.com/hr-learning...Get your 20% discount code here: LDH2Wish you had a handy recap of the episode? So did we. That’s why each week in our Next Step to Better newsletter, we’re sharing From Pod to Practice – a 2-page visual summary of each episode designed to help you take the learning from the podcast and into your work. You’ll get: ■ Key insights from the episode ■ A reflection prompt ■ A suggested action Sign up now to get From Pod to Practice delivered to your inbox each week: https://distinction.live/keep-in-touch/ About Us We’re Dani and Garin – Organisation Development (OD) practitioners who help leaders and people professionals tackle the messiness of organisational life. We focus on building leadership capability, strengthening team effectiveness, and designing practical, systemic development programmes that help you deliver on your team and organisational goals. We also offer coaching to support individual growth and change. Find out more at www.distinction.live We'd love to connect with you on Linked In:linkedin.com/in/danibacon478https://www.linkedin.com/in/garinrouch

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message!Why does progress feel harder than it should, even when everyone’s working flat out? Why do good teams struggle to have the right conversations, make clear decisions, or follow through effectively?In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we explore the invisible drag on performance: team misalignment. When people act on different assumptions, even the most committed teams end up stuck in confusion, slow decisions and fractured collaboration.It’s not about effort – it’s about shared understanding. And alignment is what cuts through the fog. But alignment doesn’t just happen.That’s why we’re joined by Lindsay Uittenbogaard, Founder of Mirror Mirror and a leading expert on team alignment, to discuss:What alignment really means (beyond just agreement)Why misalignment is often overlookedHow to make alignment a standard part of how teams workIf you’re leading change, running teams or supporting strategy delivery – this episode is for youGo to the Mirror Mirror website: https://mirrormirroralignment.com/Follow Lindsay and Mirror Mirror on Substack: https://mirrormirroralignment.substac...Become a Mirror Mirror Practitioner: https://mirrormirroralignment.com/get...Wish you had a handy recap of the episode? So did we. That’s why each week in our Next Step to Better newsletter, we’re sharing From Pod to Practice – a 2-page visual summary of each episode designed to help you take the learning from the podcast and into your work. You’ll get: ■ Key insights from the episode ■ A reflection prompt ■ A suggested action Sign up now to get From Pod to Practice delivered to your inbox each week: https://distinction.live/keep-in-touch/ About Us We’re Dani and Garin – Organisation Development (OD) practitioners who help leaders and people professionals tackle the messiness of organisational life. We focus on building leadership capability, strengthening team effectiveness, and designing practical, systemic development programmes that help you deliver on your team and organisational goals. We also offer coaching to support individual growth and change. Find out more at www.distinction.live We'd love to connect with you on Linked In:linkedin.com/in/danibacon478https://www.linkedin.com/in/garinrouch

Linda Holbeche, a prominent researcher and author of 'The Agile Organisation', dives deep into the essence of agile leadership. She discusses how organizations can adapt and thrive amid rising expectations and limited resources. The conversation highlights the importance of resilience and innovation, alongside the tensions leaders face between control and empowerment. Holbeche also emphasizes the need for structured experimentation and upskilling employees to navigate the complexities of today’s fast-paced environment. Her insights pave the way for meaningful change in HR and organizational development.

Derek Cabrera, a distinguished systems and cognitive scientist from Cornell University, and Laura Cabrera, an expert in systems thinking and leadership, share their insights on navigating complex organizational challenges. They discuss the vital role of systems thinking in improving decision-making and aligning mental models among leaders and teams. The conversation highlights innovative educational methods to nurture systemic skills in students. Additionally, they introduce the Thinking Quotient (TQ) as a tool to assess cognitive abilities and transform learning experiences.

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message!How can we leverage what neuroscience experts know about the brain to design learning that actually sticks? If we know so much about how the brain works – why is so much learning still designed in ways that ignore it? In this episode, we’re looking into what neuroscience can teach us about how people and organisations really learn – not just in theory, but in practice. We explore how memory works, how we build skills and retain knowledge, and even the role of exercise in boosting cognitive performance.Wish you had a handy recap of the episode? So did we. That’s why each week in our Next Step to Better newsletter, we’re sharing From Pod to Practice – a 2-page visual summary of each episode designed to help you take the learning from the podcast and into your work. You’ll get: ■ Key insights from the episode ■ A reflection prompt ■ A suggested action Sign up now to get From Pod to Practice delivered to your inbox each week: https://distinction.live/keep-in-touch/ About Us We’re Dani and Garin – Organisation Development (OD) practitioners who help leaders and people professionals tackle the messiness of organisational life. We focus on building leadership capability, strengthening team effectiveness, and designing practical, systemic development programmes that help you deliver on your team and organisational goals. We also offer coaching to support individual growth and change. Find out more at www.distinction.live We'd love to connect with you on Linked In:linkedin.com/in/danibacon478https://www.linkedin.com/in/garinrouch

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message!What does it take to scale a company without losing its soul? How can you grow an organization without losing the original ingredients that made it so successful in the first place? Our guest today is Tanya Lopez, VP of Strategic Organizational Development at reMarkable. Tanya and her team have played a pivotal role in supporting reMarkable's growth from 120 to 500 employees, shaping, its culture, and ways of working. They leading on strategic initiatives in organization design, leadership development and capability building.Wish you had a handy recap of the episode? So did we. That’s why each week in our Next Step to Better newsletter, we’re sharing From Pod to Practice – a 2-page visual summary of each episode designed to help you take the learning from the podcast and into your work. You’ll get: ■ Key insights from the episode ■ A reflection prompt ■ A suggested action Sign up now to get From Pod to Practice delivered to your inbox each week: https://distinction.live/keep-in-touch/ About Us We’re Dani and Garin – Organisation Development (OD) practitioners who help leaders and people professionals tackle the messiness of organisational life. We focus on building leadership capability, strengthening team effectiveness, and designing practical, systemic development programmes that help you deliver on your team and organisational goals. We also offer coaching to support individual growth and change. Find out more at www.distinction.live We'd love to connect with you on Linked In:linkedin.com/in/danibacon478https://www.linkedin.com/in/garinrouch

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message!In this jam-packed episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we welcome the brilliant and boundlessly productive Dr. William (Bill) Brendel - award-winning OD educator, researcher, consultant, and founder of OpensourceOD.com. If you’ve ever wondered "What kind of OD practitioner am I?" or "How do I actually get into this field?" then this episode is for you.Bill shares insights from over 25 years of global OD consulting and cutting-edge research, including his work developing the MOST (Mastering Organizational and Societal Transformation) assessment - the first psychometrically validated OD competency model. Based on thousands of job descriptions, this tool helps emerging and seasoned practitioners align their strengths and interests with real-world career paths, providing clarity in a field often marked by ambiguity.We unpack the challenges of entering and navigating OD careers, from the blurry boundaries of OD roles to the messy reality of job descriptions that rarely reflect the true nature of the work. Bill discusses how Opensource OD is helping bridge the gap between academia and practice, offering a "dojo" for practitioners to build technical skills and reflective wisdom through immersive, real-world case studies contributed by legends like Ed Schein and Peter Block.Other highlights include:Why OD is best understood as evolving practice rooted in a three-part test: social + technical + influenceHow social presencing theater and design thinking are being used in traditional settingsThe ethical dilemmas OD professionals face, and how reflective practice and “use of self” help navigate themHow to thrive in a world of “permanent whitewater” with mindfulness and intentional learningThis episode is a goldmine for anyone shaping or shifting their OD path. Dive in and discover your next step.Wish you had a handy recap of the episode? So did we. That’s why each week in our Next Step to Better newsletter, we’re sharing From Pod to Practice – a 2-page visual summary of each episode designed to help you take the learning from the podcast and into your work. You’ll get: ■ Key insights from the episode ■ A reflection prompt ■ A suggested action Sign up now to get From Pod to Practice delivered to your inbox each week: https://distinction.live/keep-in-touch/ About Us We’re Dani and Garin – Organisation Development (OD) practitioners who help leaders and people professionals tackle the messiness of organisational life. We focus on building leadership capability, strengthening team effectiveness, and designing practical, systemic development programmes that help you deliver on your team and organisational goals. We also offer coaching to support individual growth and change. Find out more at www.distinction.live We'd love to connect with you on Linked In:linkedin.com/in/danibacon478https://www.linkedin.com/in/garinrouch

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message!What if your organisation didn’t need a traditional hierarchy to thrive?Are endless meetings, layers of approval, and rigid structures holding your team back? Could self-management be the key to unlocking greater agility, innovation, and trust?These are questions we've been wanting to explore for a long time on the OrgDev Podcast.In this episode, we’re joined by self-management expert Paul Jansen, who shares what it really takes to make self-management work – not just as a concept, but as a practical, sustainable way of operating. From decision-making without hierarchy to building accountability in a distributed system, Paul brings both clarity and experience to one of the most misunderstood ideas in organisation design.Whether you're curious, cautious, or already experimenting with self-management, this one’s full of insight.Wish you had a handy recap of the episode? So did we. That’s why each week in our Next Step to Better newsletter, we’re sharing From Pod to Practice – a 2-page visual summary of each episode designed to help you take the learning from the podcast and into your work. You’ll get: ■ Key insights from the episode ■ A reflection prompt ■ A suggested action Sign up now to get From Pod to Practice delivered to your inbox each week: https://distinction.live/keep-in-touch/ About Us We’re Dani and Garin – Organisation Development (OD) practitioners who help leaders and people professionals tackle the messiness of organisational life. We focus on building leadership capability, strengthening team effectiveness, and designing practical, systemic development programmes that help you deliver on your team and organisational goals. We also offer coaching to support individual growth and change. Find out more at www.distinction.live We'd love to connect with you on Linked In:linkedin.com/in/danibacon478https://www.linkedin.com/in/garinrouch

Regan Miller, a seasoned organization design and development consultant, shares insights from her extensive experience in both public and private sectors. She discusses transforming from an accidental to an intentional OD practitioner, highlighting the importance of continuous learning and system understanding. Regan also emphasizes the need for meaningful dialogue during organizational change and how self-awareness fosters effective client relationships. Lastly, she advocates for authenticity over rigid models, urging practitioners to tailor their approaches to unique client needs.

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message!Bias isn’t just an ethical issue – it’s a business issue. In this episode, we explore how recognising and addressing bias can transform both your organisation’s bottom line and the daily experiences of your people.Our guest, Chris Garrison, brings deep expertise in workplace culture, behavioural science, and inclusion. She shares practical insights on how organisations can move beyond good intentions to create fairer, more inclusive workplaces where everyone thrives.Bias costs businesses billions in lost productivity and turnover each year – but its impact runs deeper. From hiring and promotions to everyday team interactions, unchecked bias lowers morale, reduces engagement, and stifles innovation. So, how can organisations tackle it effectively?Join us for a thought-provoking conversation that goes beyond the basics of unconscious bias training to explore real strategies that drive meaningful change.Wish you had a handy recap of the episode? So did we. That’s why each week in our Next Step to Better newsletter, we’re sharing From Pod to Practice – a 2-page visual summary of each episode designed to help you take the learning from the podcast and into your work. You’ll get: ■ Key insights from the episode ■ A reflection prompt ■ A suggested action Sign up now to get From Pod to Practice delivered to your inbox each week: https://distinction.live/keep-in-touch/ About Us We’re Dani and Garin – Organisation Development (OD) practitioners who help leaders and people professionals tackle the messiness of organisational life. We focus on building leadership capability, strengthening team effectiveness, and designing practical, systemic development programmes that help you deliver on your team and organisational goals. We also offer coaching to support individual growth and change. Find out more at www.distinction.live We'd love to connect with you on Linked In:linkedin.com/in/danibacon478https://www.linkedin.com/in/garinrouch