Our interview this time is with Dr. Ollie Malone, author of 101 Leadership Actions for Creating and Maintaining Virtual Teams, 101 Leadership Ideas for Effective Presentations, and 101 Leadership Actions for Performance Management (HRD Press).
Dr. Malone has spent over 30 years working in major corporations as an executive, developer of executives, consultant, author and speaker. He holds a bachelor's degree in Communication, a master's degree in hearing and speech, a master of business administration degree, a Ph.D. in adult learning and development, and a D.Min. in transformational leadership.
How has the recent economic situation affected the way people structure their personal and professional lives?
Many leaders are looking for ways to improve the overall quality of life for employees in their organizations—especially when they are less able to do so through financial means.
One approach that many of these companies are using is one that allows employees to work from home one day a week, multiple days a week, or allows them to work from home 100% of the time. But, in most cases, these companies don’t know how to manage employees they cannot see.
The historical assumption was that if employees are there in their cubicles or offices, they were working. Somehow, we didn’t consider that they could be playing solitaire, managing a sideline real estate business, or lining up interviews for their next opportunity. What the current increase in employees working in a non-residential capacity is pointing out is the fact that we didn’t know how to manage their work EVER, and the current situation only brings that reality into sharper focus.
How do you think people have changed the way they approach organizational development?
Since OD (organization development) tends to be the first cousin of training and development, it has often suffered the same fate as T&D: when times get hard, programs, services, and staff gets cut. This penny-wise-and-pound-foolish approach has been institutionalized in most organizations without giving a moment’s consideration to whether this approach makes sense and brings benefit to the long-term strategy of the organization.
What new challenges are professionals facing right now?
For many of my friends and former co-workers, the primary challenge appears to be one of survival. Some have retreated into academia, some have returned to full-time, “inside” jobs, some have retired, and some have moved into areas that are quite different than their training and career preparation.
Moving forward, what do you think is the biggest challenge that organizations will face?
Communicating the value of organizational development in the midst of all of the organizational issues that are demanding attention and resolution is one of the most formidable challenges. If the issue is organizational survival, does it really matter if you have an engaging succession plan?
At some point the organization is going to have to at least ask the question. For too many, issues of longer-term interest are being sacrificed at the feet of “immediate results.”
Thank you for your time, Dr. Malone. When he is not working on the next book or running his firm, Olive Tree Associates, Dr. Malone enjoys spending time with his wife of 34 years.
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