Built to Thrive

Speaker

Dr. William (Bill) Brendel is an alumnus of both the Adult Learning & Leadership and Social and Organizational Psychology programs. He serves as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Institute for Applied Behavioral & Organizational Sciences at Sacred Heart University. Bill is also a global consultant with more than 25 years of experience helping leaders and practitioners guide human-centered learning and change.

To help students establish meaningful, practical, and economical career paths, Bill created the MOST Assessment (Mastering Organizational and Societal Transformation), the first validated Organization Development competency inventory, now freely available to the field. He is also the creator of OpenSourceOD, a web platform designed to democratize change leadership skills for anyone who seeks to steward positive change.

Further Information About This Talk

Long gone are the days when change arrived in steady waves. With AI and machine learning systems improving at a pace we can barely track, each leap in capability lands before the last one settles.

In this context, it is natural for employees to feel uneasy, and even discouraged, as they imagine a future where their hard-earned skills may lose value. For many, the future looms rather than inspires. The energy required to make sense of that future is substantial, and people often cope by narrowing their focus and simply carrying on.

The Good News

These same technologies open the door to a new human value proposition at work—thriving. When machines handle routine tasks, the most meaningful contributions left to people involve creativity, connection, and growth—phenomena that AI cannot reproduce in human terms. These become the roots of thriving: the everyday interactions that help people and organizations flourish. Grounded in adult learning and leadership theory, this 90 minute session introduces an evidence-based approach that supports this shift in both measurable and immeasurable ways.

The Hard Part

Developing organizations that recognize the strategic value of thriving requires close attention to Psychological Safety and Growth Mindset. Psychological safety means people feel free to share bold ideas without fear. Growth mindset means people believe they can learn and improve because mistakes are treated as data, not as failure.

When these two forces come together, people share ideas more openly, treat setbacks as learning, and build strong bonds that help them adapt to rapid change.

Building organizations that thrive in this way not only requires a change in perspective but also system-wide characteristics, including:

• Design
• Strategy
• Learning
• Leadership
• Teams

Open Organization Development

In this session you will learn about Open Organization Development, a method that invites teams, departments, and organizations to transform these characteristics by assessing, imagining, and testing system-wide changes.

• The Open Assessment, which you are invited to complete prior to the session (and receive a customized report), measures how these characteristics either strengthen or weaken psychological safety and growth mindset.<
• Action Learning teams address these findings in a  collaborative and experimental fashion, which honors the voice of all employees.
• The changes that “stick” open new opportunities for thriving. This space can lead to  human-centered discoveries that are statistically correlated and anecdotally linked with increased engagement, retention, and performance.

During Our Session

After a very brief introduction to this approach, alongside students and alumni of the ALL program, you will:

• Reflect on your own habits of mind and heart—what opens or closes your rich inner life and ability to thrive?
• Sketch new organizational supports for thriving through a hands-on design challenge.
• Identify two practical supports you can bring back to your organization.

Who will Benefit the Most

• Faculty and students studying organizational learning systems.
• Practitioners in adult learning, talent development, or HR who want to strengthen system-wide conditions for meaningful work.
• Leaders seeking stronger engagement, healthier teams, and measurable results.

"Learn. Connect. Lead." — Rethinking Learning for Complexity

What does it take to lead in a world that won't stop changing?

Join us for an engaging series of conversations with learning innovators, and thought leaders who are answering that question every day. The Speaker series, hosted by the Adult Learning and Leadership Program at Teachers College, Columbia University, connects you with bold thinkers tackling some of the topical and challenging ideas that matter most — How do people learn in the flow of work? How do they effectively cross boundaries and find ideas at the edges of interaction with clients? How can we work with, and also reshape, the learning culture? How do AI and new technologies enhance and transform work and learning?

Whether you're leading a team, navigating organizational change, or sharpening your edge for what's next, this series meets you where you are — and challenges you to go further. Connect with a powerful community of TC alumni and fellow professionals who share your drive to lead with purpose, curiosity, and impact.

Reserve your spot for the next session and join a community that never stops learning. This isn't your typical lecture series. It's a dynamic and safe space for curious minds, seasoned professionals, and emerging leaders who are ready to think differently, challenge assumptions, and grow together. Every session is an opportunity to gain fresh insights, expand your network, and walk away inspired to lead with greater clarity and purpose.

Don't just follow the conversation — be part of it.