IFP Journal

Belated Insight

2006-05-11T07:14:00.000-04:00

Diana wrote asking if I could still accept interview summaries. I said sure, because I need more data for the deliverable.

However, it doesn't feel right asking people to keep working on this project now that my paper is complete.

Ding! This project was never about the CE.

It's Getting Very Near the End

2006-05-09T07:11:00.000-04:00

The paper was turned in around 10:00 p.m. Friday. I'm not proud of it.

Although the class is over, the project is not. I Sametimed with Leah this morning, and I was ashamed to have to tell her that we've completed about 8 interviews thus far.

I need to make good on this thing, or it will be a black spot on my professional reputation.

If anyone is reading my project blog and is looking for advice or "lessons learned" - don't choose a project in your workplace.

many worlds I’ve come

2006-05-04T20:38:00.000-04:00

Maybe my "inability" to finish this paper is a manifestation of reluctance to leave the program.

I don't want it to be over.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

2006-04-30T21:15:00.000-04:00

The hotel has high-speed wireless. I just got in and now it's time to write?

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

2006-04-30T08:01:00.000-04:00

I leave for Orlando in 2 hours. For backup, I've printed all of my notes, interviews, papers. I'll write tonight. I hope the hotel has high-speed wireless.

Eric's last email said that grades needed to be in by May 8. But at the GLBC event Monday night, I think he said they were due May 5. And this week is an MPOD2 week for Eric, so he has a lot of stuff going.

I wish this were done. It will be done.

And the Band Played On . . .

2006-04-29T22:03:00.000-04:00

I just uploaded Harlow's paper, so the individual field project paper is the very last item on the agenda. Please forgive me, Eric. I'm doing what I can - hell, I'm doing far more than I can at this point.

A Rose By Any Other Name

2006-04-26T06:44:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I defended my thesis.

Not really - not formally! But I spent several hours explaining my field project to my CIGO colleagues and answering their questions about the process and the project design.

Pam said, "You owned it!" I couldn't agree more.

There are a number of holes in my project - I know that this is because I work in such an unplanned and "emergent" way. (Emergent sounds much better than scattered and flaky, doesn't it?)

Roxane

2006-04-20T06:51:00.000-04:00

CE member-at-large Roxane volunteered to conduct two interviews yesterday. By the end of the day she told me she had them scheduled for today!

I'm awed that Roxane could move so fast on a project that she has so little knowledge about. It takes me weeks to process requests like this - I have to thoroughly analyze every aspect of it before I can take any action. She's turning on a dime!

I'm also amazed by people's willingness to help a relative stranger. Again.

So . . . what is this doing for the CE? What is the organization learning? How would I design a follow-on developmental effort, as Eric would say?

Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me

2006-04-19T08:21:00.000-04:00

I sent an email to Mary asking for assistance with conducting an interview. I asked her to interview Ben.

How the heck am I going to finish this paper and project?!

Wouldn't It Be Loverly?

2006-04-18T12:06:00.000-04:00

I didn't get the interview protocols out yesterday. I've managed to send two emails out today to Andrea (one of my first interviews) and Diana.

It would be so lovely to have some more data to analyze this weekend! Cross your fingers.

Another Bored Meeting

2006-04-17T12:18:00.000-04:00

There is a board meeting Thursday at 10:00 a.m. - I'll be giving a 5-minute update of my project at that time.

The Road to H-E-Double-Toothpicks

2006-04-15T17:29:00.000-04:00

In an attempt to draw my client into the project, I wrote and sent a project update to her this afternoon. I intend to do this weekly until the project is complete.

Mary Poppins, I'm Not

2006-04-15T13:28:00.000-04:00

This week I primarily spent gathering the names of potential interview candidates. I have a decent list now, and I have three people who have agreed to interview someone.

I also managed to conduct a third interview with Mary, a very articulate and passionate woman from ujima, the ENG for African-Americans.

In a late Friday discussion with Diana, a woman I've known since our time together on the board of the local ISPI chapter over 5 years ago, Diana was apologizing for taking so long to respond to my request for names. I in turn was apologizing for pushing so hard for names. My exact words were, "I have to get something on paper or I'm not going to graduate!" Within a few minutes of that revelation, she volunteered to conduct two interviews, saying, "Well, this is important!" My response was, "It's important to me. I don't know how important it is to anyone else." Diana replied, "It's important to this company that you graduate."

I've been mulling that over. I don't know that it is important to the company that I graduate. I don't think anyone at the company has any deep knowledge of how hard I'm working in this program, or what I'm learning. Is that a problem for me? Should I be more vocal about this program and how it is adding value to the company? I think it is a problem, and I think I need to be more vocal. I'll have to think about how to do that more effectively.

I also feel guilty/embarrassed about communicating my 'need' for interviews in such a backhanded way. I unconscioulsy fell into the old 'victim' pattern that has worked in the past to get me what I want, but I don't want to be that anymore. I really need to learn how to better assert my desires without being so damn passive-agressive. I've been making progress in this area, but apparently not enough.

But I digress. Back to the interviews.

Stupidly, I left the my carefully compiled contact list (Excel spreadsheet, two tabs) on my work computer and neglected to email it to myself at home! My original plan for this weekend was to assign interviewers to interviewees and send them the interview protocol and summary sheet with instructions on how to proceed. My hope was to get at least three more interviews generated by this team by the end of the week, and then compile the data next weekend.

I guess I can salvage some of this work. I can compose the instructions and email them to myself at work for distribution early Monday morning. People aren't going to be doing any interviewing before that time, anyway, so all is not lost. It just would have been nice to have this task completely finished this weekend.

In addition, I'm going to continue writing the final progress report given what I know now. So far I'm beating myself up at every turn. My failings as a researcher/ practitioner are many and now deeply documented and detailed!

Sketchy Outline

2006-04-09T16:35:00.000-04:00

I transcribed my interview notes today, and I've started on the final installment of my field project paper. Guidelines from the syllabus appear below:

1. The Story: Describe what actually happened in each phase of the project from where you left off in Part I. Who did what, when, where, how and why? Pay special attention to unforeseen events, changes in direction, and new decisions you and others made as the project progressed. You might use Chapter Two in Becoming an OD Practitioner as an example.

2. Reflect on how your understanding of and your relationship with your primary client(s) changed, if at all, over time - key insights, personal learning?

3. In retrospect, how well did the contract work? Did you change it over the course of the project? If so, why?

4. What were the high and low points of the project? What actually changed as a result of it? Why did things turn out as they did?

5. What would you have done differently if you could have? Why?

6. If you have yet to complete the OD cycle at the time you need to write-up your report, how would you do so if you could (or how do you intend to do so if the engagement is still active). Please be as specific, identifying who, where, what, what, when and why, foreseeing contingencies and your response to them, anticipating findings and their implications, etc.

7. What did you learn from this intervention with respect to consulting and the practice of organization development? Describe any of your insights that ran counter to what the literature had led you to believe?

8. What did your client learn from this intervention? To what extent did you achieve your goals for his/her development? If you have not covered this already, what would you have done differently if you had the chance to start over? What would you do now were you continue to help this person develop?

9. What did you learn about yourself from this intervention? How, if at all, do you think you have become a better practitioner as a result of this experience?

10. What do you plan to do next in your career as an OD practitioner and why?

w00t!

2006-04-07T19:27:00.000-04:00

One of my interview candidates called me back and asked me to interview her right away! Today!

Two down!

And guess what - there are indeed a couple of themes poking their little heads out of the primordial soup . . .

Conducted an Interview!

2006-04-07T15:43:00.000-04:00

I conducted the first interview today with the leader of NATIONS. I'm sure she gave me at least one good quote.

Now I'm curious to see what themes emerge once we get a few more interviews completed.

Accentuate the Positive

2006-04-05T07:03:00.000-04:00

Eric sent his comments on the paper yesterday. He's concerned, as am I, that no interviews have been set up as yet, let alone conducted.

Rosie turned down my invitation to talk yesterday. I left her a voicemail late yesterday afternoon after I received her 'Declined' response, but I haven't yet heard back from her.

I'm trying not to feel desperate at this point. Let's rewrite that - I'm trying to stay optimistic!

Thumbs Down

2006-04-04T09:43:00.000-04:00

Progress Report II

2006-03-28T15:34:00.000-05:00

I just shipped "Progress Report II" off to Eric. What a relief!

Just one more progress report for this baby and I'm home free.

Oh, Ho, Ho, It's Magic

2006-03-28T08:05:00.000-05:00

Sometime between 2 and 3 a.m. I had an idea for the evaluation of the project.

It occurred to me that if one believes in the social constructionist model, the measure of success is participation. That's it. Simply by participating in the project, the interviewers and interviewees are reaping the benefits of learning and changing. The principle of simultanaeity!

I wonder if Eric is a social constructionist.

And the Operator Says 30 Cents More . . .

2006-03-26T08:59:00.000-05:00

As I reread an earlier post, I realized that I could be making a huge mistake with Rosie by not approaching her first and bringing her up to speed. Leah said she would call her, which is preferable if you accept Harlow's client triangle model. However, Leah is so distracted by other things that I'm not sure if or when she will contact Rosie.

Conclusion: Better to contact Rosie first myself, before I send out more stuff directly to the rest of the board. I should also meet Rosie in person - better try to set up a face-to-face with her this week.

Questions to be Answered This Weekend

2006-03-25T12:22:00.000-05:00

4. Describe the goals of your intervention, both for your clients as individuals and for the organization? What do you hope to accomplish? How did you reach this conclusion (aspirations versus client readiness versus prevailing conditions, resources, etc.?

5. Describe the method(s)/process(es) you will use to intervene. What are the major steps you plan to take? Whom will you involve and when and how? What makes you think that this approach fits this organization's needs better than any other at this time? What evidence is there in what you have read to support this approach?

6. What are your hunches about what will learn and what kinds of results you think are achievable. For example, if you are doing an interview feedback program, what are your first guesses based on your initial conversations with your clients thus far, about the kinds of themes that will surface in the data. What major difficulties, if any, do you anticipate? How might you deal with them were they to arise?

7. What is the contract you have with your client regarding the intervention? Specifically, what role do you expect your client to play? What resources are you asking for? What can you offer in return? What risks are involved for you or your client and how will you manage them?

8. How will you evaluate your success? From whom will you obtain feedback? How will you measure your impact on the client system? How will you measure progress along the way? How will you know when it is time to change your strategy or abandon the effort altogether?

9. What are your personal learning goals for this project? How will you know if you have achieved them?

All By Myself

2006-03-24T07:12:00.000-05:00

Leah has been assigned to a long-term project in Asia - she's leaving for Hong Kong April 2. She has turned over responsibilities for the Cultural Exchange to Rosie, whom I have not met.

Leah gave me the green light to proceed with the project without her, so I'm going to do just that.

Now I need a plan. I arranged a tentative call with Cheryl last night to strategize, but we didn't connect (my bad). I hope she's available this weekend to consult!

Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money

2006-03-23T07:14:00.000-05:00

Late yesterday Leah accepted an invitation to meet today. I'm driving over to Polaris in about an hour.

I need to reread the syllabus again. Maybe all of this has some bearing on my paper . . .

Big Gulp

2006-03-22T07:19:00.000-05:00

Last week we clinicked (i'm verbing a noun here) around my project in Harlow's class. Essentially, my peers told me to get a face-to-face meeting with Leah immediately.

So, I wrote to Leah early yesterday asking for a face-to-face meeting Thursday at her convenience (her time, her location, etc.). She has not responded. She appears active on Sametime, so I think she's around.

I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about the prospects for this project completing. What will I do if she cans it?