McGregor:

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I was a McGregor student. I've just finished the Individualized Master of Arts program, so I designed my own degree. I studied Organization Development and Change.

I wanted to study Organization Development and Change because it’s what I do for a living. I live in Japan, and I work with corporations doing Organization Development work. That means I help companies and their people find ways to improve their performance. This can mean developing training programs, helping two companies merge, working on leadership development, coaching, and so on. Because I'm working and living in a foreign country, a lot of my work involves getting cultures to work well together, for example American culture and Japanese culture.

Simply, I help organizations perform better and help the people in the organizations perform better as well. Right now I’m doing that work as a consultant.

I’ve been working in Japan for about 10 years. I went to Japan for a couple of years because I wanted to check it out. I was very interested in all things Japanese. I've done martial arts for just about 25 years and I am using aikido in my work as a consultant. I was also interested in Japanese spirituality and religion including Buddhism and Shinto. So, I went there for a couple of years, learning about the culture and studying the language in depth. One thing led to another and two years became 10 years.

I was working for a Japanese company as a full time employee. I was what the Japanese might call “urusai.” I was not afraid to state my opinion about the state of the company and what could be done better. And because I did that on a fairly regular basis eventually the company came to me and said, “We have some issues that you are well aware of and we would like you to address those and help us evolve as a company.”

So, that was my first consulting project. I had a rather large and diverse agenda presented to me by the company where they were looking to improve performance, improve customer retention and sales, market themselves differently, and get better cooperation and collaboration from the Japanese and non-Japanese employees. So I did that for a couple of years and really, really enjoyed the work. It was challenging. The project was semi-successful. We had some really exciting, groundbreaking moments, as well as some initiatives that just weren’t sustainable. After a couple of years, as the project was winding down, I wrapped things up and decided it was time to start my career in organization development.

As part of my studies at McGregor, I focused my consulting practice on helping people work well and manage the growing complexity and busyness of their work. I help people to develop the capacity to handle working across two or three times zones, or to work on virtual teams and to communicate effectively with co-workers, customers and business partners from different cultural backgrounds. It’s very demanding on people psychologically and physically.

A lot of my work is developing programs and processes that allow people to grow and develop in a way that they can handle the globalized working environment that’s developed over the last 10 years or so. ^Top

Why did you choose McGregor?

Well, I had no formal training or education in the field I was working in, really. I realized very quickly that I was stepping into an area that I knew very, very little about when I was working as an internal consultant for this Japanese company.

So I started looking for books and things that would help me. I discovered a book called “The Fifth Discipline,” by Peter Senge, and that became my bible. Once I got out of the company, I had time to do a little more research. I realized there was a whole field dedicated to what I had been doing and it was called organization development.

And I realized that if I was going to be successful in that field – and it was work I really enjoyed and found challenging and rewarding – then I needed to get a bit education in the field. So, I decided that I wanted to get my master’s degree.

There are no organization development programs in Japan that I know of. And so I started to look online to see what was available. I didn't want to get a canned degree. I was looking for something that would allow me to put into practice what I believed needed to be put into practice. After surveying a lot of online programs and learning about the various offerings, I found elements of programs that were interesting to me.

But there were also things that I really wanted to focus on that were not traditional subject matter. A friend of mine says I was interested in three S's. And those S's are Story telling, Sustainability and Somatics. My interest in story telling basically revolves around something called appreciative inquiry, which is the process of taking a positive approach to change as opposed to a deficit-based approach. So instead of trying to solve a problem, you look at where a person’s or a company’s strengths are, and you help them develop those strengths. And you get them to do that by telling stories about their successes and times when things went right. I was very interested in that.

I'm very interested in working Sustainability into my practice because I think that is an absolute must given the current dynamics shaping the world.

And finally, Somatics. Somatics is learning about the body and through the body rather than learning through more traditional cognitive-based approaches. The study of aikido can be considered a somatic learning experience in some cases. I use aikido principles and practices in my work now. I really wanted to include that as well.

So, I looked for a program that would allow me to focus on all of these things. And the one that seemed the most promising to me was McGregor.

For one, it was affiliated with Antioch, which has a reputation for being a bit far out – experimental and innovative in its approach to learning and development. And two, it was a program that I could partially design myself and work in the elements that I really, really wanted to study. ^Top

How did you develop your program?

The advice of the people at McGregor was to find a program – or programs – that you like and respect. Then, develop a curriculum that is similar or that reflects or exceeds the academic rigor of the program you're interested in.

There were two or three different programs that I took bits and pieces from. With the help of instructors that I found later on, I developed the other pieces I wanted to include.

I started with an academic adviser at McGregor, who gave me grounding in master’s level research and learning. And then the next big step was to start to locate instructors and degree committee members. Your advisor is able to give you some support, but really this is the first big challenge you face at McGregor. And it's essential because you're building a network that will assist you later on, even after you finish your degree.

Initially, it was kind of like cold calling. You pick up the phone or email somebody that you are interested in or that represents a subject matter that you're interested in, and try and convince them that they should work with you. That’s basically how it started for me, and initially it was somewhat painful.

But as you begin to build that network, it becomes much easier. People find out about what you're doing and why you’re interested in learning from them. In my case, all of my instructors worked in the U.S. because that is where I chose to build my network.

At the end of the program, you either write a thesis or you put together a capstone project to finish off your learning. I put together a project that focused on building the capacity in individuals within organizations to live and work sustainably. This is typically called Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR. I want to contribute more depth to CSR to help make sustainability thinking and practices sustainable themselves. CSR is already happening, but a lot of it is extrinsically focused, meaning that you have rules or regulations or corporate policies you need to follow. Compliance is a big word these days. Compliance. It doesn’t really sound like something you want to do does it? I am creating a development process where people don't feel like they have to be told what to do. They can come to terms with knowing what they want to do and being invested in it. People can be internally motivated to live and work sustainably. This is what I want to help find – this internal motivation. ^Top

How did McGregor help you professionally?

Well, personally and professionally it's been of great use. What I've been studying is of immediate interest to me and is of immediate use to me. I've been able to apply my studies and find actual solutions to situations and issues.

So, professionally it's been invaluable. Literally, I've learned something one day and within a couple of days was able to turn around and put it to use. It was incredibly useful. ^Top

How has McGregor impacted you personally?

Personally, it's been a wonderfully enriching experience. It’s really allowing me to come to terms with what I want to be, where I want to be, and what I want to do. ^Top

Did you have an ‘Aha Moment’ at McGregor?

I would say my biggest “aha” moment occurred in spring of this year. I had just come off of a large program with a large client, and I was ending a partnership with a group of people I'd done some work with. And I had this open space in front of me, and it presented me an opportunity to reflect. And when I reflected, I realized that what I really, really wanted to do was refocus my practice. I wanted to help people come to terms with the growing complexity of their work and help them build capacity within the organization or within themselves to cope with this.

So, that was my big “aha” moment. I realized that this is what I wanted to focus my life’s work on – this organization and individual capacity building. ^Top

What advice would you give to a new student?

The ILPS program is not an easy degree. You really have to want to be creative and innovative in your approach to studies and learning. And it's very, very challenging.

If you are willing to really commit and approach your education from a non-traditional perspective, the rewards are also much greater than in a traditional program. Literally, you are creating your own learning environment and creating your own degree program. That itself is an incredible process.

I would describe McGregor’s program as half master’s and half doctoral. Like a doctoral program, you have to make it yourself. You have to define your areas of study yourself and you have to find the people you want to study with. When people ask me what I'm doing, I say, “Imagine you're doing a master’s, but you're expected to perform at the Ph.D. level in terms of your commitment to learning.”

From my experience at McGregor, you don't really know what you're getting into until you get started. And once you're in it – especially when you're designing your own program – it can seem quite daunting. But it’s also quite exhilarating because each new course that you start is with somebody that you really want to work with. It's like getting the best teachers at any university you go to. In this program everyone you work with is someone you want to work with. And that makes the learning a lot of fun and much more meaningful. That’s been a great experience for me.

But, I don't think it's for everyone, to be honest. You really have to have a vision or a sense of where you want to go. If you do, it will sustain you and drive you through the process. ^Top