An everyone culture : Becoming a deliberately developmental organization

What if a company did everything in its power to create a culture in which everyone, not just select ‟high potentials” could overcome their own internal barriers to change & use errors & vulnerabilities as prime opportunities for personal & company growth?

Robert Kegan & Lisa Lahey (& their collaborators) have found & studied such companies — Deliberately Developmental Organizations. A DDO is organized around the simple but radical conviction that organizations will best prosper when they are more deeply aligned with people’s strongest motive, which is to grow. This means going beyond consigning ‟people development” to high-potential programs, executive coaching, or once-a-year off-sites. It means fashioning an organizational culture in which support of people’s development is woven into the daily fabric of working life & the company’s regular operations, daily routines, & conversations.

An Everyone Culture dives deep into the worlds of three leading companies that embody this breakthrough approach. It reveals the design principles, concrete practices, & underlying science at the heart of DDOs — from their disciplined approach to giving feedback, to how they use meetings, to the distinctive way that managers & leaders define their roles. The authors then show readers how to build this developmental culture in their own organizations.

This book demonstrates a whole new way of being at work. It suggests that the culture you create is your strategy— & that the key to success is developing everyone.