Search Results for: Wasserman

Ilene Wasserman, Ph. D

Ilene Wasserman, founder and president of ICW Consulting has over 30 years of experience in Organizational Consulting, Strategic Planning, Change Management, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching. As Vice-President of a major consulting firm and founder and President of ICW Consulting, Ilene helps leaders and teams throughout organizations leverage multiple dimensions of domestic and global diversity by enhancing communication and collaboration. Ilene’s approach is appreciative, based on the principles that we transform organizational cultures through engaging the whole system.

Ilene has served a consulting coach with senior executives and board of directors of Fortune 100 companies, socially responsible businesses, health care institutions and institutes of higher education. Consultations have also included designing retreats for leadership teams and developing internal work teams. She has also led large strategic change initiatives. In addition to consulting and coaching Ilene has taught courses in leadership, organizational consulting, leading diversity, organizational communication, emotional intelligence and cultural competence, and group dynamics at the graduate level.

Ilene received her PhD from the Fielding Graduate University in Human and Organizational Development. She also holds Masters degrees both in Counseling Psychology and Social Work from Washington University and a B.S. from Cornell University in Human Development. In addition to her formal education, Ilene is trained in Future Search, Gestalt, and Appreciative Inquiry. has conducted foundational and advanced workshops in Appreciative Inquiry.

Ilene is a Senior Fellow of the Wharton Leadership Institute, a Fellow of both the Taos Institute and serves on the Board of the Lewin Center, serves on the Boards of the CMM Institute and is a Member of NTL. Ilene is active in her community, serving as Chair of the Lower Merion Township Human Relations Commission.

Perspectives on Executive Coaching

Ilene Wasserman

Executive Coaching barely existed as a term when I entered this field decades ago. Now it’s taking a central role in the worlds of diversity, inclusion, and equity, at the workplace. I was privileged to be part of this conversation with three other dynamic and fascinating women who engage in executive coaching.

I learned so much from hearing about their varied paths into this work, the diversity of settings to which they bring their practice, and each person’s unique perspective on the importance of coaching. Themes of gender, generational change, and code switching emerged as paramount. Karen Delk did an excellent job facilitating this discussion. I would love to hear what stood out to you in the conversation, and what connections you see to your own work life.

From Founders to Upstarts: Cultivating Intergenerational Collaboration in Organizational Consulting

Note: This is the first post in a multipart series. Over the next few months, the ICW blog will be examining the question “How do we go on together?” At this moment of both heightening polarization and energizing hope, how can we deepen our engagement with different perspectives? How can we embrace the complexity both of our field of Leadership, Organizational Development, and Change as it changes; and of the wider world? In this first post, we explore what it means to bridge generations in a field that both holds deep roots and is still working to define itself. We will use the term “organizational development consulting” to encapsulate organization development (OD); facilitation; organizational transformation; and consulting about or facilitating processes of enhancement and change.

Ilene Wasserman | Erin Taylor

In the course of twenty four hours last week, I had the privilege of taking part in two energizing meetings representing what I at first might have defined as two ends of the OD experience spectrum. Both gatherings, and particularly the combination of the two, left me with much to chew on in regards to the future of our field. They also left me excited to see where we will go next as we bridge generations and weave new connections.

First I Zoomed in to a mostly in-person gathering titled “A Gathering of the Upstarts”. Seven young people, mostly new to calling themselves “consultants” said they wanted to gather to hear about my work in the Organizational Development (OD) field. It quickly became clear to me that we all had gifts to share. The facilitator used an emergent facilitation style inspired by Adrienne Marie Brown, and as folks shared their experiences, needs, and offerings, so much blossomed out of the group.

It quickly became clear to me that we all had gifts to share.

Nora helped participants see that they each had their own “box of wisdom” to bring to the world. Lawrence, the facilitator, offered a grounding exercise and an invitation to do more grounding together in the future. AK shared his story of building multiple businesses of his own. Danya offered powerful questions to center the conversation, asking how people define their work and what they dream of doing. Deidra both jokingly and sincerely offered her enthusiasm and humor, as well as her experience helping organizations operationalize their values. Matt shared his love of acting as a sounding board and facilitator. Erin brought in spiritual technology and connection to place. People chose varied and descriptive language to explain what it is that they do and what they hope to expand into. Story based strategizing, relating work to world narratives, spiritual direction, time management coaching, helping people build habits routines, and more.

Though their vocabulary was not always the same as that of my peer-colleagues, so much of what they were describing is OD work. They were using approaches or tools developed over decades, some of which these younger people have gleaned from elders and some of which they are reinventing. They also expressed a desire to learn about the roots of these tools, the lineages and relationships, their ancestors in this work. I strongly believe that knowing such origin stories helps us to recognize the intention behind and relevance of each tool and by knowing the intention, we deepen and enhance how we use them. The Upstarts seemed to share that value.

Early the next morning I joined another Zoom call, this one titled, “How do We Move Forward from the Founders [of the Organizational Development Field]?” Not everyone on the call had been in the field of OD for decades, but many had. An active sub question was clearly “where are the upstarts?” and while we’re at it, who are they? And what are they doing? And what are we doing? How do we define our work more clearly so that we can talk about our field both to our potential clients and to people who may want to join– people who may already be doing this work but are using different vocabulary, or perhaps do not even realize that this field exists. In fact, one participant even cited Adrienne Marie Brown’s work as an inspiring example of someone who is talking about doing OD without quite calling it that.

I strongly believe that knowing such origin stories helps us to recognize the intention behind and relevance of each tool and by knowing the intention, we deepen and enhance how we use them. The Upstarts seemed to share that value.

Here again, folks were energized and excited both about looking forwards and looking back to our roots. To the intellectual lineages that brought this field into being, and the many sub-communities that have emerged over the past few decades. There was talk of apprenticeships, of creating more points of entry. And there was talk of defining our core values, of certification, and making it clear both to ourselves and to others what exactly OD is (and perhaps what it isn’t).

So where do we go from here? How do we bridge the world of the Upstarts with the world of the Founders (and their disciples)? How do we invite new people, new ideas, and emergence while also honoring some core set of principles and values, some definition of what it means to operate in this world? I may not know exactly what that looks like yet, but I do know that we already have many of the tools we need. We know that meaning happens in relationships, so let’s cultivate some relationships. We know that it happens with deep listening and connection, so let’s grow some connections. We know that it happens through face to face encounters and working together, so let’s start collaborating across generations on real projects. And let’s define these generations less by age in life and more by age in the work. Upstarts do not have to be young, simply ready to try something new.

And as we do this, let us all remember that we want to learn from where we’ve been, notice it’s value for today, and continue to expand it in light of change and innovation in the future.

It’s Not Just Starbucks: Where Do We Go from Here?

Ilene Wasserman

The most recent Starbucks incident has received a lot of attention. Many of the questions I am hearing are: Who is to blame? Who should do what to remedy the situation? Is the training Starbucks is investing in on implicit bias the solution? Is the apology from the police commissioner enough?

And then… next week or even tomorrow there will be another story about another audacious episode that takes our attention and off we go. Only in this case the interruption takes our attention away from people whose lives have come into the limelight, illuminating what is, for some, an aspect of their daily experience.

Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson are two business men who are also dark skinned. They entered a Starbucks to meet someone for a business meeting. One asked to use the restroom and was told that the restrooms were for paying customers. He returned to his table and was approached by the manager who asked whether they wanted to order drinks. They declined. According to 911 records, the police were called approximately 2 minutes after the two men entered the store. According to Mr. Robinson, they were then put in double lock handcuffs, were not read their rights, and were not told why they were being arrested. Mr. Nelson said, he wondered if he would make it home alive. “Anytime I’m encountered by cops, I can honestly say it’s a thought that runs through my mind. You never know what’s going on.”

In every moment, we make sense of what is happening by telling ourselves a story. The stories we tell ourselves are influenced by the experiences we have had and not had; what we hear and don’t hear; and the forces of the stories that are being told around us, be they from people we know, the communities we live in or the media we attend to. And we do so – in a matter of minutes.

The recent incidence at Starbucks is ripe for opportunities to learn together – as long as we take the time to have the conversations and learn:

To NOTICE the assumptions we are making

To step back and OBSERVE the situation

To REFLECT and deepen our understanding, and,

To ENGAGE and learn

To NOTICE again with a new perspective,

In our recent book, Communicating Possibilities: A Brief Introduction to the Coordinated Management of Meaning, we use the acronym NOREN (Notice, Observe, Reflect, Engage, Notice) as a guide to take complex moments that we might encounter daily, and engage with them as learning opportunities.

One of the models guides us in asking ourselves about the nature of the stories we are telling. What are the untold stories? The unheard stories? The untellable stories? The stories we don’t take the time to explore, so that we can challenge our split-second responses — and consider before reacting? What are the assumptions we all made each step of the way – with each unfolding news reporting and commentary? What are the forces in our culture and our society that are operating here?

I have been privy to stories from parents who fear for their brown and black children – who teach them from a young age that they are vulnerable to a seemingly random moment when an encounter might be misinterpreted and go poorly. What have been private conversations among family members have become every day news. What has been the experience of some has become news to all.

Starbucks will be closing its stores on May 29^th for implicit bias training. I have been asked by clients, colleagues and students and others what I think about this response. My response is this is a start but by no means enough.

Just imagine what would be possible if we were to make more time with each other.