Designing Interventions

To evaluate the appropriateness of an intervention, OD consultants consider three

questions:
1. Does it fit with the current capabilities of the system (and consultant skills)?
2. Will it adequately address the problem? Some problems cannot be solved
with current resources or environmental conditions, but all problems can be
dealt with more effectivelyfaster, with less effort or resources and better
processes (less conflict or stress involved).
3. Does it increase the system capability for handling and managing future
changes?
Interventions can be designed to address individual levels of changeteam, group,
functional, or inter-group workingsor for total organizational and systems change.
The criteria that influence effectiveness or most likely to predict success are the
readiness of the organization, its capability, the cultural or context fit between
organization and intervention, and the skills and capability of the change agent or OD
consultant. This last factor can be expanded to include the overall leadership of the
change.
Contextual and Cultural Fit
Interventions must also fit the issue they intend to address. This is the contextual
appropriateness of the change. Activities that address the strategic issues or technology
and structure problems usually do not adequately address change in the human
processes and people management arena. Activities focusing on human processes or
human resource systems and management processes must be supported with attention
to strategy and the technostructural workings of the firm. In this manner, interventions
are categorized as being process focused, technology and structure focused,
strategically focused, or people and management skills focused.
The cultural fit is more difficult to categorize. Taking a highly autocratic culture with a
closed system of communication and decision-making and applying interventions that
are too participative will likely have tremendous problems. For a cooperative and
collaborative organization with highly participative culture, using interventions and
change processes that depend heavily on top-down planning and individual decision
making, while relying on inspirational leadership, can create radical change. However,
will it last? Not likely.
The Challenge of Leadership
The authors of The Leadership Challenge conducted studies related to people at all
levels getting extraordinary things done (Kouzes & Posner, 1995, p. 18). In early
studies, they found that vision, involvement, and persistence were three general areas
that needed attention. They expanded these core areas into five practices and ten

commitments.
The first practice is "Challenging the Process." Its commitments are (1) search out
challenging opportunities to change, grow, innovate, and improve and (2) experiment,
take risks, and learn from the accompanying mistakes. The second practice is
"Inspiring a Shared Vision." Its corresponding commitments are to envision an
uplifting and ennobling future and to enlist others in the common vision by appealing
to their values, interests, hopes, and dreams. "Enabling Others to Act" is the third
practice, with the commitments to foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals
and building trust and to strengthen people by giving power away, providing choice,
developing competence, assigning critical tasks, and offering visible support. Leaders
commit to the practice of "Modeling the Way" by setting the example by behaving in
ways that are consistent with shared values and by achieving small wins that promote
consistent progress and build commitment. The fifth and final practice of "Encouraging
the Heart" includes the commitments to recognize individual contributions to the
success of every project and to celebrate team accomplishments regularly.
Practices

Commitments
1. Search out challenging opportunities to change, grow, innovate,
Challenging the and improve.
Process
2. Experiment, take risks, and learn from the accompanying
mistakes.
3. Envision an uplifting and ennobling future.
Inspiring a
4. Enlist others in the common vision by appealing to their values,
Shared Vision
interests, hopes and dreams.
5. Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building
trust.
Enabling others
6. Strengthen people by giving power away, providing choice,
to Act
developing competence, assigning critical tasks, and offering visible
support.
7. Set the example by behaving in ways that are consistent with
Modeling the
shared values.
Way
8. Achieve small wins that promote consistent progress and build
commitment.
9. Recognize individual contributions to the success of every
Encouraging the
project.
Heart
10. Celebrate team accomplishments regularly.
Measurement and Feedback
To keep the intervention focused and moving to right goals, there must be ongoing
feedback, which can only happen if measures are created to provide feedback (and
provide it at all levels). There should also be an overall evaluation of the total change
process near or at the end of the consulting engagement. Given the iterative nature of
change, any intervention plan needs to include measures that facilitate feedback and

learning during the process and evaluate the overall process for future application or
learning to increase capacity and skill.
Reference:
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1995). The leadership challenge (p.18). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.