OpenSourceOD
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Overview
Video Run Time: 4:50
Facilitation Time: 1hr 25m
This OD Immersive places participants in the shoes of Frances Baldwin, an OD Network Lifetime Achievement Award winner, on her first-ever day as an OD consultant for the Palo Alto city government. Set against the high-stakes backdrop of a city-wide strike, participants will navigate tense interactions with union leaders, city management, and frontline workers.
As Frances encounters both resistance and opportunity within the polarized environment of the strike, participants will develop practical skills in resilience, decision-making, and dialogue—essential tools for handling ambiguity and conflict in OD work. This immersive journey provides a real-world context to practice intuitive consulting while balancing stakeholder interests and navigating organizational challenges.
Through this immersive experience, participants will engage deeply with the intuitive side of consulting, learning how to tap into their inner guidance while managing complex social and organizational dynamics. Participants will explore how to sense into the present moment, trust their intuition, and run the calculus of risk and benefit as they are confronted with high-pressure scenarios.
Intuitive Consulting is the practice of sensing patterns, dynamics, and unspoken elements that influence organizational behavior, allowing consultants to tap into deeper insights beyond surface-level data. Intuition enables consultants to navigate complex, ambiguous situations with agility, identifying underlying issues and opportunities that may not be immediately obvious through logic alone. Intuitive awareness makes it possible to foster environments where innovative solutions emerge naturally, guiding organizations toward more adaptive and authentic strategies for growth.
Facilitation
Part 1
Frances Baldwin (played by participants) arrives at City Hall for her first day of consulting with the Palo Alto city government, only to discover that a picket line of striking workers blocks her way. Confused and caught off guard, Frances must navigate this unexpected situation and decide how to proceed. This part introduces participants to the complexities of stepping into an unknown and emotionally charged environment.
Starter Question: “What assumptions do you make when you enter a situation filled with tension? How do these assumptions shape your initial response?”
Follow-up Questions:
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“Think about a time when you were unprepared for a major change or challenge. What was your first instinct, and how did you adapt?”
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“How does uncertainty or a lack of information impact your decision-making process? What role does intuition play when you are unsure of the path forward?”
Part 2
Frances encounters a worker on strike who refuses to let her cross the picket line. The worker’s frustration is palpable, and Frances must decide how to handle the encounter without escalating tensions. This part explores how participants manage confrontation and resistance in an emotionally charged environment.
Starter Question: “How do you approach someone who feels unheard and marginalized? What role does empathy play in such encounters?”
Follow-up Questions:
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“In situations of conflict, how do you balance asserting your role with respecting the emotions and frustrations of others?”
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“What strategies might you use to de-escalate tension and foster dialogue, even when faced with hostility?”
Part 3
Frances meets with Jason, the Union Leader, who is skeptical of her role and questions her loyalty, given her association with city management. Frances must work to establish trust and credibility while navigating the union’s grievances. This part focuses on the challenges of building trust in polarized environments.
Starter Question: “What happens when you are viewed with suspicion or mistrust? How do you respond in order to build credibility and trust?”
Follow-up Questions:
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“Reflect on a time when your motives or role were questioned. How did you navigate the situation, and what strategies helped you gain trust?”
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“How do you engage in dialogue with those who hold a strong opposing viewpoint, especially when their perception of you is tied to an existing power dynamic?”
Part 4
Frances encounters a city manager who expresses frustration that she spoke to the union. The city manager pressures Frances to align with management and monitor the union more closely. Frances is caught between conflicting expectations, and participants must navigate the tension between aligning with management and maintaining neutrality.
Starter Question: “When different stakeholders place competing demands on you, how do you maintain your integrity and stay grounded in your purpose?”
Follow-up Questions:
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“How do you balance transparency and loyalty when you find yourself pulled between opposing sides in a conflict?”
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“What internal compass do you rely on when making decisions that may not please everyone involved, especially in situations with power imbalances?”
Part 5
Frances meets with the City Administrator, who is more supportive and open to collaboration. The administrator, a fellow OD professional, offers to partner with Frances in addressing the strike. This part provides participants with the opportunity to reflect on collaboration and leadership in times of crisis.
Starter Question: “When faced with a challenging situation, what do you value most in a partner or collaborator? How do you build an effective working relationship?”
Follow-up Questions:
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“Think of a time when someone offered support or partnership in a difficult situation. How did this change the dynamic, and how did you use that collaboration to move forward?”
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“What characteristics make someone a strong collaborator during a time of uncertainty or crisis?”
Purpose
In this immersive participants will face complexities of Frances Baldwin’s first day of OD consulting with the Palo Alto city government during a tense strike. This simulation is designed to hone participants’ ability to navigate uncertainty, engage with polarized groups, and make effective decisions under pressure. Participants will learn to trust their intuition while managing conflict, mediating between opposing parties, and maintaining balance in an environment fraught with tension.
This simulation equips participants with the practical and reflective tools necessary to thrive in uncertain, high-stakes environments, sharpening their ability to apply intuitive consulting strategies in the field of OD. Participants will leave with a stronger ability to sense into the moment and apply intuitive techniques in real-time decision-making, even in complex environments like labor disputes. Participants will learn about:
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Developing Intuitive Decision-Making: Participants will learn to trust their inner judgment and recognize the subtle cues that guide decision-making in challenging and ambiguous situations. They will explore how to sense into the present moment and rely on intuition when immediate solutions are unclear.
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Balancing Stakeholder Interests: Through real-time interactions with union leaders, city managers, and striking workers, participants will develop skills in running the calculus of risk versus benefit and adaptively responding to stakeholder needs, while maintaining integrity and confidence in their decision-making process.
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Resilience in Conflict: Participants will face scenarios that test their resilience and adaptability, cultivating their ability to remain calm and present in high-stress situations. By the end of the simulation, they will be better equipped to handle the emotional and relational challenges that arise in complex OD cases.
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Real-Time Reflection: Participants will cultivate the practice of reflecting on their actions and decisions in real time, integrating these insights into their consulting approach.
Debrief
Following the simulation it is crucial to help participants connect their intuitive experiences to the theoretical frameworks of decision-making, resilience, and leadership presence. This reflective debrief aims to integrate their experiences with key concepts of intuitive consulting, enabling participants to apply these insights in real-world OD scenarios.
Intuition & Decision-Making
Sensing into the Present Moment:
Throughout the simulation, participants were placed in fast-moving situations where immediate decisions were necessary, despite incomplete information. Whether navigating the picket line or addressing the union leader’s skepticism, the need to tap into their intuition was essential. These moments emphasize the importance of sensing into the present—an ability to trust instinctive reactions while gathering subtle cues from the environment.
Balancing Risk and Benefit:
Frances’s encounters with conflicting parties, such as the union leader and city management, underscored the complex calculus of weighing risks and benefits in decision-making. This experience highlights how intuitive decision-making is not purely reactive but involves a reflective assessment of potential outcomes, trust in one’s internal judgment, and the confidence to make bold decisions when facing ambiguity.
Resilience & Emotional Regulation
Maintaining Composure in Conflict:
Participants faced emotionally charged confrontations, from being blocked at the picket line to navigating the city manager’s demands. These experiences test the limits of emotional regulation in high-pressure scenarios. Resilience in the face of hostility and uncertainty is a critical skill, allowing consultants to stay grounded, maintain composure, and respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively.
Adapting to Changing Dynamics:
As the simulation unfolded, Frances encountered shifting dynamics between stakeholders. From the union leader’s distrust to the city administrator’s collaborative approach, participants were constantly required to adapt. This part of the experience illustrates the necessity of resilience in OD work—consultants must remain flexible and open to evolving circumstances without losing focus on the overarching goals.
Leadership & Use-of-Self
Leveraging Self-Awareness:
Throughout Frances’s interactions, participants explored the use-of-self in OD, reflecting on their emotional responses and personal strengths in the face of conflict. In difficult moments, like facing suspicion from both the union and city management, participants were called upon to engage self-awareness, balancing the pressures of external expectations with their internal compass.
Building Trust Amid Polarization:
Participants found themselves in a situation where they needed to build credibility with both the union and city management. This required not only tactical negotiation but also the deeper application of use-of-self, where personal integrity and emotional intelligence come to the forefront. Understanding one’s values and strengths, and using these in communication, is key to building trust in polarized environments.
Mindfulness & Reflective Practice
Tuning into Non-Verbal Cues:
The simulation highlighted subtle yet critical moments when non-verbal communication played a pivotal role. From the body language of the worker at the picket line to the union leader’s guarded posture, participants were tasked with sensing into the moment—recognizing non-verbal cues and using these observations to guide their decisions and responses.
Reflecting in Real Time:
One of the core lessons of the simulation is the power of real-time reflection. Participants had to make quick decisions and then immediately reflect on their actions, connecting intuitive reactions to outcomes. This process underscores the importance of mindfulness in leadership—remaining present, engaged, and reflective while navigating high-pressure environments.
Resources
Email Invite
Set expectations for your participants with this email invitation.
Syllabus Snippet
Introduce the theoretical and practical benefits of this experiential learning tool. Copy, paste, and edit the following description into your course syllabus or workshop description.
Key Readings
Give discerning participants the chance to dive deep into the literature with this article on the case of planned change in Palo Alto.
Sipel, G. A., Brown, J. C., Kaufman, M. F., & Kaufman, M. F. (1980). The Management of Planned Change in Local Government: The Case of Palo Alto. Southern Review of Public Administration, 166-189.
Certified Facilitators
Frances Baldwin
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Sasha Farley
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"I like OD Immersives because having the ability to use real life examples to test your thinking and decision making in a safe environment is invaluable in all our work. Through the experience we can reflect on our own biases and blind spots and improve the way we think and work with others."
~ Sasha Farley
"OD Immersives provide a new experiential form of learning about OD practices, thinking, and actions, which can help people understand the wholeness inside of them and around them in the situations being experienced."
~ Frances Baldwin