The Role of Organizational
Development in an EAP
Setting
Risa D. Swell, LCSW, CEAP
Cooper University Hospital EAP
swell-risa@cooperhealth.edu
Objectives
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Identify similarities between EAP core
technology and organizational
development
Explore useful OD theories in an EAP
setting
Discuss a case example
Organizational
Development Definition
Collaborating with organizational leaders and
their groups to create systemic change and
root-cause problem-solving on behalf of
improving productivity and employee
satisfaction through improving the human
processes through which they get their work
done.
-Michael Broom, PhD
Edie Seashore, MA
EAP Core Technology #1
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Consultation with, training of, and
assistance to work organizational leadership
(managers, supervisors, and union
stewards) seeking to manage the troubled
employee, enhance the work environment,
and improve employee job performance;
and outreach/education of
employees/dependents about availability of
EA services.
Comparison
Collaborating with
organizational leaders and
their groups to create
systemic change and rootcause problem-solving on
behalf of improving
productivity and employee
satisfaction through
improving the human
processes through which
they get their work done.
Consultation with, training of,
and assistance to work
organizational leadership
(managers, supervisors,
and union stewards)
seeking to manage the
troubled employee,
enhance the work
environment, and improve
employee job performance;
and outreach/education of
employees/dependents
about availability of EA
services.
Transition from EAP to OD
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Problem identification/assessment of
individual clients
Management consultation and coaching re:
job performance
Assisting managers with conflict
resolution/mediation between employees
Collaborating with managers on team issues
including communication and morale
Transition from EAP to OD
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Team functioning
Leadership
Communication
Training/facilitation
Taskforce involvement
– Cooper Against Domestic Abuse
– Confrontational Awareness: Resources &
Education
– Patient-Family Centered Care
– Transition to the New Pavilion
EA Professional as OD
Consultant

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Expert
Pair of Hands
Partner
Peter Block, The Flawless Consulting
Fieldbook and Companion: A Guide to
Understanding Your Expertise
Sources of OD Support for
the EA Professional
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OD Coach
OD Practioners’ Program
Leading and Managing Generation 21
The Organization Workshop
OD Process in the EAP
Setting
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Initial request
Manager consultation
Identification of desired outcome
Contracting
Action plan
Intervention
Follow-up
Useful Frameworks

Organizational Conditions
– Barry Oshry, Seeing Systems: Unlocking the
Mysteries of Organizational Life

Five Dysfunctions of a Team
– Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a
Team
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Appreciative Inquiry
– Diana Whitney & Amanda Trosten-Bloom, The
Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide
to Positive Change
Organizational Conditions
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Tops
Middles
Bottoms
Customers
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Overload
Crunch
Disregard
Neglect
Solutions to the
Organizational Conditions
Be a Top who creates responsibility throughout
the organization.
Be a Middle who stays out of the middle, who
maintains your independence of thought and
action.
Be a Bottom who takes on responsibility not only
for your condition but for the whole thing.
Be a Customer who gets in the middle of delivery
processes and helps them work for you.
Five Dysfunctions of a
Team
INATTENTION
__T0 RESULTS____
AVOIDANCE OF
___ACCOUNTABILITY___
___LACK OF COMMITMENT___
______FEAR OF CONFLICT_______
_________ABSENCE OF TRUST_________
Appreciative Inquiry
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The study and exploration of what
gives life to human systems when they
function at their best.
Based on the assumptions that
questions and dialogue about
strengths, successes, values, hopes,
and dreams are themselves
transformational.
Case Example
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Initial request
Manager consultation
Identification of desired outcome
Contracting
Action plan
Intervention
Follow-up
Interview Questions
1.
Describe a time when you were part of a team
and felt motivated, engaged and accomplished.
What were you doing and what were others doing
at that time?
2.
List the current strengths of your team.
3.
What are your hopes for how you would like this
team to function in the future? Describe specific
behaviors that would be exhibited by you and by
your team members to make your hopes turn to
reality:
Small Group Report Out
1.
2.
3.
4.
What are the highlights from the
interviews?
What themes surfaced in the group?
What ideas were generated?
What are the next steps?
EAP and OD share…
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Clients – organization, leadership &
employees
Philosophy – success is derived from the
productivity of the employees & their work
teams
Outcomes – our greatest impact will only
occur with understanding of both the
organization and the human conditions