My husband Bryan Ungard was on a quest: to help organizations become places that are alive and flourishing. As Chief Purpose Officer for the Decurion Corporation, Bryan supported the transformation of the company into a Deliberate Developmental Organization (DDO)—a term made popular by Dr. Robert Kegan in the book An Everyone Culture, which features Decurion developmental work among others. In the last six years of his life, never ceasing to explore new horizons, Bryan embraced a living systems approach to regenerative business development—an approach grounded in the work of Carol Sanford. Through his work, gently yet provocatively, Bryan influenced a global network of organizational development practitioners and business leaders to challenge old managerial views grounded in an obsolete mechanistic paradigm. This website honors Bryan’s work and brings together his writings, public talks, and related articles from others in the hope that his message will continue to inspire a way of working and living that is life-giving and whole.
Beatrice Ungard
How do we create alive and flourishing organizations?
~ Teal Minute with Bryan Ungard
Organizational transformations are like a plane taking off: each takeoff is an act of faith and commitment.
It is an act of faith that the laws of physics still work — that the air flowing over the wings will lift us; that the plane is airworthy; that the flight crew is competent and on-the-ball; that all the details have been attended to that will allow this plane to once...
Operationalizing Love: Building loving organizations
Work is love made visible — Kahlil Gibran Nothing becomes real unless you practice it — Thich Nhat Hahn I’m told that the American psychiatrist Scott Peck said “love is a behavior, not a feeling.” I’ll leave it to the philosophers and poets to argue whether this is...
How does a Deliberately Developmental Organization (DDO) manage performance?
Building an organization that is committed to the growth and development of its people raises the questions of how to manage performance, particularly when that performance does not meet expectations. What about outcomes, incentives, compensation, and consequences?...
Bryan co-authored with Decurion’s CEO Christopher Forman The Practice of Self-Management—a handbook that offers tested lessons, meditations, and daily-life practices to anyone who seeks to become a more centered, present, and authentic individual, both at work and in life in general.
Bryan taught the Practice of Self-Management online course both within and outside of Decurion. The handbook is designed for individual or group practice. Bryan’s recorded meditations used in the handbook are available on the PSM website. A few people in Bryan’s network teach the course. If you are interested in taking this course live with others, please send an inquiry to Beatrice Ungard.
Words from a past course participant:
“Many of us did not know what to expect from our 12-week Practice of Self-Management. It turned out not being your typical leadership development course. Our leaders walked away growing both personally and professionally. Bryan made a significant impact on the lives of our leadership team.”
~ Dixie Abramian, CEO, Firefighters First Credit Union, 2021 PSM Course participant