My Writings

These are the papers I’ve written through the years. Not surprisingly, they reflect my learning journey.

Since 2014, I’ve been posting short pieces about my work in journalism on Medium. Visit me there. A few of my favorites:

Emergent Design for Generative Change: Dialogic Theory at Work
Published Spring 2023 in the Organization Development Review, Vol. 55, No. 1, this article reflects the evolution in my theory and practice since writing Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity. It picks up on the framing of “generative change” to describe the approach to the work. And it integrates generative discourse and complexity into theory and simplifies practice.

The Developmental Nature of Effectiveness Principles
Michael Quinn Patton published Principle Focused Evaluation in 2017. Yve Susskind and I contributed chapter nineteen, which chronicles our evaluation of the Journalism That Matters Experience Engagement conference.

Complexity, Self-Organization, and Emergence
Gervase Bushe and Robert Marshak published Dialogic Organization Development in 2015. I contributed chapter six.

A Call to Engage: Realizing the Potential of Dialogic Organization Development
Gervase Bushe and Robert Marshak did an issue of the OD Practitioner (Vol. 45, No. 1) in 2013 on Dialogic Organization Development. My contribution highlights, not surprisingly, speaks to emergence. The entire issue is here.

Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity
A four-page summary of my book featured in the Dec./Jan. 2010-11 issue of Pegasus Communication‘s The Systems Thinker, Volume 21, Number 10.

Convening a System to Re-imagine News and Community
A brief summary of the January 7-10, 2010 Journalism that Matters confab in Seattle.

Journalism that Matters: An Emerging Cultural Narrative
Published in the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of Kosmos Journal, this article captures what we have been learning through the Journalism that Matters Initiative. Consider subscribing to Kosmos Journal – it is filled with interesting ideas and beautiful images.

Three Change Strategies
Prepared for Seattle University’s Organization Systems Renewal Conference in June, 2008, here are highlights from my keynote talk.

Evolutionary Dynamics and Social Systems
Co-authored with Tom Atlee through support from a Kellogg Foundation grant, this paper was published by the Integral Leadership Review (Vol. VIII, No. 2, March 2008). It explores evolutionary dynamics that can be used to change social systems.

Evolution, Process, and Conversation: A Foundation for Conscious Evolutionary Agentry
Written for a newsletter called Evolutionary Life: Voices of an Emerging Movement for Conscious Evolution, this article puts conversation as an evolutionary force into perspective.

Co-Evolving Our Story Field: Exploring Conditions for Living a New Story
Published in the February 2008 issue of the Appreciative Inquiry Practitioner, here’s a story about a conference exploring how we influence the “story field” – the cultural narrative in which we all love.

From Chaos to Coherence: The Emergence of Inspired Organizations and Enlightened Communities
This is a chapter from the  second edition of The Change Handbook. It is my learning about what happens using emergent processes – those practices that invite people to shape clear intentions through powerful inquiries and step into the unknown together…

Here it is nicely formatted as a .pdf, published in The Systems Thinker, November, 2007 (Vol. 18, No. 9).

Appreciative Inquiry Workshop in Ramallah
This is the story of a workshop I hosted in the summer of 2004 with thirty Palestinians, most teachers. Written from a practitioner perspective for others who might be going to work in an unfamiliar culture.

Good Work for Street Kids
Actually, about 2,100 people participated for two days. This story is told from the point of view of an Open Space practitioner in service to others who might be contemplating a large OS event.

Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space
As guest editor of the November 2004 issue of the Appreciative Inquiry Practitioner, I’m happy to offer my opening article and the rough cuts of all of the stories.

The Dynamics of Emergence
This is it! I’m really excited about the implications of knowing what happens when one faces disturbances, whether conflicts or dreams.

Making A Difference
My publisher, Berrett-Koehler, put together an edited volume called Positively M.A.D. (Making A Difference). I wrote two short stories for them, one about PoP (Practice of Peace), another about Mom. (There is something rather striking about writing Mom and PoP stories, although I haven’t figured out what.)

Living a Good Death
My mother died in March, 2004. She made a difference.

Heeding the Call
What drew me to host the International Practice of Peace conference held at the Whidbey Institute, Whidbey Island, Washington in November, 2003? Inspiration led me to it.

A Love Story
Published in Best Friends Magazine in 2001, this is a story of saying good bye to Sophia, my dog of seventeen years. I offer it as a gift to those of you who have lost a companion animal.

A Change Agent’s Quest
This is the story of my search of ways of creating what I’m coming to think of as natural organizations. It is my personal favorite.
Originally published as: Holman, Peggy, (1999, May/June).  Unlocking the Mystery of Effective Large-Scale Change”, At Work, Vol. 8, No. 3, p. 7-11.

The Networked Organization
What does it look like when an organization operates based upon principles of service and participation? This is my answer.
Draft of Holman, Peggy, (1997, November/December), “The Networked Organization”, At Work, p. 8-11,20.

The Purpose of Purpose
What is the power of purpose?
Click the link to read my thoughts.Notes from a talk given November 14, 2001 at the Pacific Northwest ODN meeting.

Forming the Open Space Institute
 What does an Open Space organization look like? Here is my early speculation.
Draft of Holman, Peggy, (1997, March/April), “Sustaining Open Space”, At Work, p. 31-32.

Creating a Healthy Hilltop
(co-authored with Allan Pauslon and Laure Nichols)
Here’s a story about applying Appreciative Inquiry in a community setting.
Chapter in Hammond, Sue Annis and Cathy Royal (eds.), Lessons from the Field: Applying Appreciative Inquiry, Practical Press, Inc.; Plano, TX, 1998.

Learning Societies: A Picture of What’s PossibleInvited to dream a little by some educators, here’s a picture drawn from the influences of Solomon Asch (social psychologist of the 1940’s & ’50’s), Riane Eisler (author of The Chalice and the Blade), and Harrison Owen (creator of Open Space Technology and a great dancer in order and chaos).
Published in Vimukt Shiksha, a Bulletin of Shikshantar–The People’s Institute for Rethinking Education and Development, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, March 2001

Democratic Decision Making that Works
Here are the basics of dialogue presented in a practical fashion.
Draft of Holman, Peggy, (1997, July/August). “Democratic Decision making that Works”, At Work, Vol. 6, No. 4, p. 7-11.

New Perspectives on Sustaining Organizational Success
Here’s a short version of what I learned by looking across the 18 change methods in The Change Handbook.
Draft of Holman, Peggy, (1999, November). “New Perspectives on Organizational Success”, Leverage, No. 35.

New Perspectives on Change
Here’s another version of what I learned by looking across the 18 change methods in The Change Handbook.
Draft of Holman, Peggy, (2000, July), Culture Change, Executive Excellence, Vo. 17, No. 7, p. 16.

The Changing Nature of Change
(co-authored with Tom Devane)
Here’s the “everything but the kitchen sink” version of what Tom and I learned from doing The Change Handbook.
Prepared for the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) conference
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 27 – 30, 2000

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