Responsiveness in the evolving landscape of work: an edgewalker’s tale

This doctoral thesis critically examines the evolution of the writer’s professional practice in organisation development and consulting, focusing on the evolving landscape of work. Using a transdisciplinary methodology, the thesis integrates autoethnography, intuitive inquiry, and hermeneutics to analyse the interplay between personal experience, professional agency, and theoretical frameworks. The thesis explores responsiveness to socio-technological disruption and change, organised around three public works spanning pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods. These works include a healthcare system change consulting skills programme, a book on designing transformative virtual spaces, and a second book on emerging work paradigms through the writer’s own concept of Omni-Working.

The critique is structured around three core themes: transformative spaces, use of self, and systemic approaches. Transformative spaces are conceptualised as physical/virtual, relational and psychologically safe environments that foster emergent change through dialogic-informed approaches. The concept of ‘Use of Self’ is explored through the dimensions of presence, potency, and relational responsiveness. Systemic approaches integrate hard and soft systems methodologies, drawing on complexity theories and social constructionist perspectives to interpret organisational dynamics.

The insights reveal the importance of professional identity work in liminal spaces, proposing edgewalking as a method for engaging with uncertainty and ambiguity in organisational contexts. The concept of responsive wayfaring contributes to understanding how practitioners navigate complexity while guiding others to co-create adaptive pathways. The critique makes four principal contributions to knowledge: (1) an expanded understanding of transformative spaces as gateways to transformation, (2) a reframing of use of self, extending its relevance into leadership discourse through the interplay of inner and outer work and relational intelligence, (3) a systemic approach to organisational responsiveness that integrates systems and systemic thinking to navigate complexity, and (4) frameworks bridging organisation development with the future of work to design meaningful human-centred workplaces. These contributions enhance both academic discourse and OD practice, offering fresh perspectives on leadership and transformation in the context of organisational change within the evolving landscape of work.