[Old Design] Publications

Your Unique Cultural Lens: A guide to cultural competence

Your Unique Cultural Lens: A Guide To Cultural Competence by Enrique J. Zaldivar

Your Unique Cultural Lens is a guide to help you develop your own cultural competence – your ability to effectively interact, communicate and influence across cultures at home or overseas. It advocates that the most efficient way to do so is by increasing your self-awareness and supports your efforts through the Unique Cultural Lens (UCL) Exercise.

Your UCL is your own set of perception filters (biases) accumulated over a lifetime. It reflects the rich ancestral, cultural, educational and experiential heritage you emerged from and informs who you are now. Together, these filters define your authentic self, influence how you perceive and interact with the world, and affect the decisions you make – whether you are consciously aware or not of them.

By increasing your own self-awareness, Your Unique Cultural Lens argues you will more effectively be able to create the conditions for better, more inclusive and more productive working environments. Read more . . .

The Global OD Practitioner

The Global OD Practitioner, by Suzanne M. Zaldivar (published in OD Practitioner, 2016)

Doing OD in our culture-clashing world challenges our sense of ourselves and potentially undermines our values, our worldviews, and our confidence in what works. How do we hone our practice and hold ourselves accountable as global practitioners? How do we bridge vastly different value systems and navigate through the fog of incomplete information coupled with perennial misunderstanding, which are common in cross-cultural work? Read more…

Authenticity and Accountability: Key to an Appreciative Stance to Adaptable Leadership

Authenticity & Accountability, by Enrique J. Zaldivar  (published in AI PRACTITIONER, February 2014)

FEATURE CHOICE ARTICLE

What questions do we need to ask of ourselves and others to stimulate the generative conversations which will lead us towards uncovering what could be in the realm of becoming effective at operating inclusively and productively in today’s extremely challenging and globally diverse world?  © Enrique J. Zaldivar  Read more…

Change in Afghanistan: Contrasting Values and What is Essential about OD

Change in Afghanistan, by Suzanne M. Zaldivar  (published in OD JOURNAL, 2010)

Working on change projects in Afghanistan evidenced how embodying the essence of OD is key to positive impact in complex environments. This article explores how the sometimes hidden power of cultural context, in Afghanistan and in the practice of OD, impacted the change consulting process. This exploration is particularly relevant to the profession of OD, increasingly applied in contexts beyond its founders’ culture, and to those seeking change in environments different from their own. OD is in a unique position to succeed in complex, cross-cultural environments due to two of its key elements: use of self and action research. Embodying them enables crucial skills, indispensable when consulting within challenging environments. © Organization Development Journal   Read more…

International Development through OD — My Experience in Afghanistan

International Development through OD, by Suzanne M. Zaldivar  (published in OD PRACTITIONER, January 2008)

WININER OF BEST ARTICLE, 2008.

I recently took part in a USAID capacity building project in the public sector of Afghanistan. The highlight of my stay there was a meeting with a governor and former warlord who spoke with appreciation about organization development. The biggest challenges were security and mindnumbing bureaucracy. I felt humbled by the opportunity to participate, in even a small way, in the healing of this war-ridden country. Ultimately, my contribution to the project was completely different than I anticipated. The learning was exponential. Read more…

Whose Drummer?

Whose Drummer?, by Suzanne M. Zaldivar  (published in Washington Woman Magazine, March 2002)

As women, we were taught to observe, anticipate, and relate strongly to the needs of those around us. It is a skill which serves us well ? at its best, we can be compassionate, thoughtful and giving. At its worst, we are lost to ourselves. Marching for so long to the beat of another’s drum, we no longer hear the rhythm of our own hearts. Read more…