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Why has HR’s operating model barely changed in 25 years – while everything around it has?

In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we speak with Perry Timms about the uncomfortable truth at the heart of modern HR: we’ve spent decades optimising processes instead of redesigning how HR actually works.

As organisations evolve at pace – driven by digital transformation, new workforce expectations, agility, and shifting power dynamics – many HR functions are still operating with models built for a different era. Perry argues that incremental improvement is no longer enough. What’s required is a fundamental rethink of HR’s operating model, its role in organisation design, and its contribution to business value and societal impact.

We explore:
Why traditional HR structures struggle to support adaptive organisations
The limits of efficiency thinking in transformation work
Self-managed and freedom-centred work systems
The future of HR operating models
What “Better Business for a Better World” really means in practice

Wish you had a handy recap of the episode? So did we.

That’s why each week in our Next Step to Better newsletter, we’re sharing From Pod to Practice – a 2-page visual summary of each episode designed to help you take the learning from the podcast and into your work.

You’ll get:
■ Key insights from the episode
■ A reflection prompt
■ A suggested action

Sign up now to get From Pod to Practice delivered to your inbox each week: https://distinction.live/keep-in-touch/

About Us

We’re Dani and Garin – Organisation Development (OD) practitioners who help leaders and people professionals tackle the messiness of organisational life. We focus on building leadership capability, strengthening team effectiveness, and designing practical, systemic development programmes that help you deliver on your team and organisational goals. We also offer coaching to support individual growth and change.

Find out more at www.distinction.live

We'd love to connect with you on Linked In:
linkedin.com/in/danibacon478
https://www.linkedin.com/in/garinrouch

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message!

What if organisations can’t be engineered into better performance — only invited into change?

We’re joined by Gervase Bushe, one of the most influential contemporary thinkers in Organisation Development and a leading voice in dialogic OD.

For decades, many change efforts have assumed that if we design the right structure, define the right process and implement the right plan, performance will follow. Bushe’s work challenges that assumption. Drawing on his research into dialogic Organisation Development, Clear Leadership and complexity-informed change, he argues that transformation emerges through conversations, shared meaning and shifts in collective attention.

We explore what this means for organisational culture, leadership in complex environments, and the future of OD practice. For HR leaders, OD practitioners and senior executives navigating uncertainty, this conversation offers a grounded and practical lens on how meaningful change actually happens.

Wish you had a handy recap of the episode? So did we.

That’s why each week in our Next Step to Better newsletter, we’re sharing From Pod to Practice – a 2-page visual summary of each episode designed to help you take the learning from the podcast and into your work.

You’ll get:
■ Key insights from the episode
■ A reflection prompt
■ A suggested action

Sign up now to get From Pod to Practice delivered to your inbox each week: https://distinction.live/keep-in-touch/

About Us

We’re Dani and Garin – Organisation Development (OD) practitioners who help leaders and people professionals tackle the messiness of organisational life. We focus on building leadership capability, strengthening team effectiveness, and designing practical, systemic development programmes that help you deliver on your team and organisational goals. We also offer coaching to support individual growth and change.

Find out more at www.distinction.live

We'd love to connect with you on Linked In:
linkedin.com/in/danibacon478
https://www.linkedin.com/in/garinrouch

We'd love to hear from you so send us a message!

What does organisation development look like when AI, complexity and constant transformation become the norm rather than the exception?

In this episode of the OrgDev Podcast, we’re joined by Omar Morales, Head of Organisation Development at Microsoft, to explore how organisations design for adaptability, leadership resilience, and sustained performance in fast-moving environments. Drawing on nearly two decades of global experience across organisation development, HR strategy and transformation, Omar shares practical insight on operating model design, leadership team effectiveness, systems thinking, and building OD capability at scale.

If you’re working in organisation development, HR, leadership, or organisational transformation - particularly in the context of AI and evolving business models - this conversation offers grounded perspectives on how to translate strategy into action while keeping people, performance and organisational effectiveness connected.

Wish you had a handy recap of the episode? So did we.

That’s why each week in our Next Step to Better newsletter, we’re sharing From Pod to Practice – a 2-page visual summary of each episode designed to help you take the learning from the podcast and into your work.

You’ll get:
■ Key insights from the episode
■ A reflection prompt
■ A suggested action

Sign up now to get From Pod to Practice delivered to your inbox each week: https://distinction.live/keep-in-touch/

About Us

We’re Dani and Garin – Organisation Development (OD) practitioners who help leaders and people professionals tackle the messiness of organisational life. We focus on building leadership capability, strengthening team effectiveness, and designing practical, systemic development programmes that help you deliver on your team and organisational goals. We also offer coaching to support individual growth and change.

Find out more at www.distinction.live

We'd love to connect with you on Linked In:
linkedin.com/in/danibacon478
https://www.linkedin.com/in/garinrouch