Dr James Traeger, Mayvin’s Director of Research and Dr Rob Warwick, Reader in Management and Organisational Learning at the University of Chichester, have been named on the HR Most Influential Thinkers list 2019.
The acclaimed list of 30, compiled by HR magazine, celebrates practitioners and academics pushing the field of people management further. Dr James Traeger and Dr Rob Warwick are named on the rankings of the HR Most Influential Thinkers following a number of joint projects which challenge the traditional building blocks of organisation development, including across the UK Civil Service.
The two experts were specifically praised by the judges for their co-written book, Organisation Development: A Bold Explorer’s Guide. The book, published by Libri in 2018, is aimed at practitioners who want to develop their practice from the ground-up, and are looking for inspiration to ‘take their own experience seriously’. A spokesperson from HR magazine said that the book was “one of the most helpful, applicable, and widely read works on Organisation Development at the moment.”
Dr Rob Warwick, whose expertise is within strategic development of NHS services, said: “It is a privilege to be considered as one of the most influential thinkers in human resources. During these times of unprecedented change, we are having to rethink how we cope and make good decisions. It is an honour to be recognised as making contributions in this field.”
Mayvin's Dr James Traeger added: “I am honoured to be included in this category of most influential thinkers. The context of our work of late has been predominantly in building Organisation Development and Design capability in the UK Civil Service.
“At a time when they have been under unprecedented pressure whilst in the uncomfortable spotlight of public attention, these public servants have remained resilient and effective in the midst of all of this politically-lead uncertainty. I am glad that our work of practice-based learning, supporting their development edge, close to the grain of their work, has been instrumental in enabling them to do so.”
The two experts are continuing to work together to explore practice-based learning, which delves into ‘artful knowing’, and explores how taking an imaginative creative approach to work can help people to meet organisational challenges. James and Rob are associate editors of the Action Research journal and are editing a special edition on artfulness in the organisational playground
We've collected together James and Rob’s latest thinking on our blog where you can read James's most recent post on relational intelligence during an era of disruptive change. And we recommend the excellent Bold Explorer's Guide podcast series in which James and Rob explore Practice-based learning from a number of angles as people work out what next sensible steps to take in a confusing world.
You can also find out more about Dr James Traeger's experience on the Mayvin team pages of our website and more about Dr Rob Warwick and his academic expertise at the University of Chichester at www.chi.ac.uk/staff/dr-rob-warwick.