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
Deliberately Developmental Organizations — Unlocking the potential of people, organizations, and systems.
This is an introduction to Deliberately Developmental Organizations and an outline of their foundational premises. I want to sketch a map of the territory so that we can explore the ideas, assumptions, and examples in more detail later. Globally and locally we are...
Why have an Aikido dojo at work?
If your business is centered in human development (like a DDO for example), it might be the perfect choice. The way we normally think about development, particularly at work, is fragmented. It’s usually about improving our actions, but there’s more to development than...
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