A Look in the Mirror: Current Research Findings on the Values and Practice of OD

While anyone can implement a certain set of interventions, one of the key aspects that makes organization development (OD) unique is its core values. It is critical then to take the pulse of and understand the values and perceptions of practitioners in the field of OD periodically in order to understand how things have changed or stayed the same over time. Recently, we undertook such a survey research study as a follow-up to one that had been conducted back in the early 1990s. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the key highlights of that research. While additional findings can be found elsewhere, the intent here is to focus on the highlights and reflect on what these findings tell us about the current and future state of the values inherent in the OD community today. More specifically, how have we evolved in the last 20 years and where are we heading in the future as a profession?