Philadelphia Region Organizational Development Network

October 1, 2002

Highlights:

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

PRODN CALENDAR

Monthly Meetings – New location for Monthly Meetings

-    October 29 Special Monthly Meeting – Interactive Theater as an Educational Medium (Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine - PCOM – City Line Avenue

-    A $25 fee for all attendees covers actor expenses

-    November 26 Monthly Meeting – Strategic Inquiry:  How Questions can Transform Individuals, Groups, and Organizations, (PCOM City Line Avenue)

-    December 12 Monthly Meeting – “99 Seconds” Presentations and Holiday Gathering with Sister Organizations (The Creshiem Cottage)

 

SPECIAL LEARNING EVENTS

-  January 16 – 17 2003 White People Confronting Racism 9:00 – 6:00

    Leaders - Antje Mattheus and Lorraine Marino PCOM (City Line Avenue) 

 

Special Interest Groups (SIG)

Learning Group SIG

-    October 7, 2002 from 6:30 – 9:00 Huntingdon Valley PA

-    November 21, 2002 from 6:30 – 9:00 Huntingdon Valley PA

New Practitioners SIG

-   October 22, 2002

 -   November 14, 2002 -- NEW DATE!

Both of these sessions are on Tuesdays - the group will begin rotating days of the week in January.  

 

OTHER NEWS

-    MentorNet – Enrich your learning and your practice by being a mentor or a mentee

-  Join the New Practitioners SIG chat room

-                                        Membership becomes “rotating” it’s no longer a calendar year proposition. Seeking:  A PRODN Membership Chair and committee members

-                                        Volunteer Opportunity – Conduct “mock Interviews” at People’s Emergency Center and help individuals move from welfare to work – Contact Nancy Roggen for information (610-834-4418)

 

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

 

LEARNING EVENTS

Check out the PRODN web site http://www.prodn.org to get a full listing of all the upcoming fall events. Summaries of upcoming events are included in the newsletter.

 

MONTHLY MEETINGS

Non-member fee of $20 can be applied to Membership when you join at a meeting.  A PRODN membership includes free admission to monthly meetings. One exception is the Special October meeting, which has a $25 fee for all attendees.  Please try to attend, the CITE group is entertaining as well as enlightening.  Fees cover actor expenses and fees.

 

NEW MEETING LOCATIONS

Prodn Monthly meetings have moved our home from the Buttonwood Suites in the Logan Circle area of Philadelphia to PCOM (The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine) located on City Line Avenue just west of the Schuylkill.  A change in Management at Buttonwood Suites making void all previously arranged fees and contracts prompted the shift, but we are sure you’ll enjoy our new site for monthly meetings.  Thanks to Bill Clinton, PRODN member and the Head of the OD program at PCOM for providing our new monthly meetings site.

 

SPECIAL MONTHLY MEETING

Tuesday October 29, 2002 –The Cornell Interactive Theater Ensemble

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (City Line Avenue Philadelphia)

5:00 – 9:00 Price for this event is $25.00 to cover group expenses.

The Philadelphia Region Organizational Development Network Presents...

with
The Cornell Interactive Theater Ensemble

 

We are fortunate to have The Cornell Interactive Theatre Ensemble (CITE) join us for an evening of dialogue and exploration about sensitive workplace issues. Using carefully scripted scenarios as the trigger, and a safe and open forum, we will engage in conversations to work through our reactions, perspectives and stereotypes to gain a greater appreciation of the underlying motivations and subtleties of misunderstanding that can escalate into intense conflict.

This group of professional actors and facilitators, formed in 1992, has worked extensively with business, academic and government clients across the country.

 

Tuesday November 26 – Strategic Inquiry:  How Questions can transform Individuals, Groups, and Organizations with Dr. Marilee Goldberg-Adams and Dr. Andrea Zintz  Location TBD 5:30 – 8:30

Strategic Inquiry provides the foundation for thinking and communicating. It has strong application for leadership, strategic creativity, effective teams, productivity, and for shaping and achieving desired outcomes both individually and for organizations.

Through a combination of presentation, discussion and interactive exercises, Dr. Marilee Goldberg-Adams and Dr. Andrea Zintz will assist us in developing our own "strategic inquiry" techniques. Come away from the evening with the ability to ask better questions so that your clients get better results!

 

SIG MEETINGS

Learning Group        October 7, 2002 6:00 – 9:30 PM and November 21, 2002

October and November meetings will be hosted by Page Morahan.

 

Reading discussion topic for October 7, 2002 session is:

The book is Lessons from the Field, Applying Appreciative Inquiry,
Sue Annis Hammond and Cathy Royal, eds., published by Thin
Book Publishing, ISBN: 0966537335.  We are reading pages
50-101 for the next meeting, October 7.

How to join us

If you are interested or curious, you are welcome to contact Debbie Woolf at Deborah.J.Woolf@gsk.com to let her know that you would like to come and to get directions.

 

New Practitioners Group SIG

We welcome new and experienced practitioners meetings.

For the last several years, both experienced practitioners and many beginning their OD practices created a space to learn about ourselves, each other and the field of OD. Our opportunity to continue this tradition of sharing, encouragement and support will begin again in September. 

 

Monthly meetings will be near Conshohocken.  Please contact Cynthia Brancato for directions or additional information at 215-652-1602 or email her at Cynthia_Brancato@Merck.com

 

SPECIAL EVENTS - Participants share experiences from Edwin Nevis Learning Event

USE OF SELF AS AN INSTRUMENT OF CHANGE WITH EDWIN NEVIS

Thursday September 12^th

By Julie Spahr, Envision Consulting Associates

The PRODN learning event for September was a delightful and informative day, on “presence and use of self”, with Ed Nevis, one of the founders of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. Ed also is the co-founder of The International Gestalt Study Center on Cape Cod. He referred to himself as a “closet historian.” Throughout the day, he filled his presentation with anecdotes and stories from his wealth of experience, that evoked in us a high level of comfort and similar desire to share ourselves.

One of the major differentiating factors in a Gestalt consulting approach is the “use of self” and of “presence” to influence the client system. He defined “presence” as being grounded in who one is or in what one knows. In Gestalt work, you do not have to give up anything you are now; you just have to learn to do it better. You have to know your center and go from there.

In the morning, we also examined the full range of evocative and provocative modes of the use of self. In an evocative stance, you are modeling and eliciting. In a provocative stance, you are confronting. Both modes have their time and place in the Gestalt approach. What’s important is to get in touch with the client and make “contact,” and then build on it.

In the afternoon, Ed talked about the “use of self” in dealing with resistance. He advised that when there is resistance, it is time to try out some bold behaviors. Lean in and move closer to the resister. Be interested! Try to say something unexpected, perhaps by using a metaphor or telling a story. But mostly, act boldly. Be comfortable with yourself and reach out to legitimize the client. The consultant’s power comes from saying the unexpected.

It was a day of new learnings for many, and one that gave me a chance to relive some of my experience two years ago as a participant of the Gestalt OSD program in Cleveland. Thank you Edwin!

By Ann Colby, Colby-Cummings Consulting

Participants were all very "present" and focused throughout the day September 12 as Dr. Edwin Nevis of the International Gestalt Study Center led an exciting workshop focusing on the concept of using self as an instrument when working with individual clients or within client systems.

Close to 40 practitioners attended this special PRODN event and listened with rapt attention as Dr. Nevis discussed:

• The Cycle of Experience
• The elements of "presence"
• The framework for assessing personal tendencies that help define the nature of the individual's presence, and
• How consultants can make choices in being evocative or provocative with clients

The group applied the concepts through several exercises and had the opportunity to begin to use these techniques in thinking about their work challenges. Dr. Nevis excelled in sharing his deep expertise was very responsive to participants’ questions and comments throughout the session, which was held at the Gregg Center at American University.

January 16-17, 2003 White People Confronting Racism with Antje Mattheus and Lorraine Marino

Location: (PCOM) City Line Avenue. Phone (610) 526-1100             Registration at 8:30 AM, program from 9:00 AM– 6:00 PM Cost: $250 breakfast and lunch are included

Questions?

Diane Kitson (215) 557-5715
diane_l_kitson@uhc.com

For phone registration contact Devon Office Center at 610-341-8600

This workshop - White People Confronting Racism - is part of a long-term learning process for all OD practitioners. Parallel to the white people workshops, people of color will look at how racism has affected them. In addition, joint sessions will be set up for cross-race dialog. The majority of PRODN members who are people of color have encouraged us to hold this workshop and have provided input to the content.

 Who should attend this workshop?
Consultants, trainers and leaders of European-American descent -- white people -- who want to strengthen their self awareness and ability to address racism and racial issues -- at the level of individual, group, and systems. It is also intended for whites who want to learn to become better allies with other whites and people of color to work toward a non-racist society. Also encouraged to come are consultants who might think they've already "been there, done that" with diversity or feel frustrated by previous experiences in diversity programs. We are our best instruments: the more we do our own work, the better we are able to support our clients.

What will I learn if I attend the workshop?
This workshop differs from traditional diversity offerings in that we will learn about racism from the perspective of our whiteness - to understand what it means to be white in a society where whites and white culture predominate.

 

 

 

 

OTHER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES (opportunities for learning from other OD organizations or our presenters)

Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry - Boston, October 28-30

Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry in Boston October 28-30 led by Marjorie Schiller and Bernard J. Mohr is a workshop and case study clinic. This overview program is particularly useful to those who already have a change agenda in mind. This is an even better way for anyone responsible for helping their organizations or communities to implement innovative ways of working and collaborating. For more information contact, Shelia McCann at mccann@beddowsmccann.com. Or call Shelia McCann of Beddows McCann Consulting at  954.602.5753

About MentorNet: Chuck Haughton – MentorNet Chair

Remember what it was like when you were getting started in OD? How about the first time you were asked to lead a high profile project? Having someone who has been there before guide you through these challenges can make a big difference in an OD professional's career. We are looking for experienced PRODN members to mentor one or two other PRODN members through the MentorNet program. The time commitment is not as much as you might think, and the rewards are tremendous. We currently have members looking a mentor match right now.

For more information on the process check out the PRODN MentorNet site or contact Chuck Haughton at 856-783-5948 or chaughton@haughtongroup.com

 

PRODN Membership – It’s a rotating proposition

Membership in Philadelphia Region Organizational Network is $100 per year – based on a rotating year.  If you join at a PRODN monthly meeting the visitor fee of $20 can be applied to your membership.  (*Exception October meeting has a fee of $25 for all members)

 

Renewing Members

If you are renewing and were on the old “calendar year” cycle, we consider renewals through the end of January will last until December 31, 2003.

 

New Members and renewals after January 2003  - Memberships paid during a month will expire on the last day of the 12^th month of that rotating year.

 

Dues paid in…	Your Membership	Ends the Last day of…
January 2003	Good through	December 2003
February 2003	Good through	January 2004
March 2003	Good through	February 2004
April 2003	Good through	March 2004
May 2003	Good through	April 2004
June 2003	Good through	May 2004
July 2003	Good through	June 2004
August 2003	Good through	July 2004
September 2003	Good through	August 2004
October 2003	Good through	September 2004
November 2003	Good through	October 2004
December 2003	Good through	November 2004
January 2004	Good through	December 2004

 

This schedule should enable us to provide a full year of services regardless of when you become a member.

                                                           

 

 

Seeking Membership Chair and Committee Members

What better way to really find the value in your organization and add an important component to your resume, than to become involved?  The board is looking for individuals interested in growing and serving our membership.  You are invited to contact Board President, Kim Eberbach by phone (215) 836-4326 or email keberbach@onemain.com to learn more about this opportunity.