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In The Eye Of The Beholder
Interview with Annette K. Sturdevant,
President & CEO, Organization Development Systems,
Inc.
By Loretta Randolph
The most successful leader of all
is one who sees another picture not yet actualized.
He sees the things which belong in his present picture
but which are not yet there…Above all, he should
make his co-workers see that it is not his purpose which
is to be achieved, but a common purpose, born of the
desires and the activities of the group.
-- Mary Parker Follett
. . . . .
This is a reflection of a conversation
with Dr. Annette Sturdevant, President and CEO of Organization
Development Systems, (O.D. Systems), Inc. Dr. Sturdevant
founded this firm 20 years ago at age 29. It is an Alexandria,
Virginia-based organization development and training
firm, with nine full time consultants and twenty-five
consortium consultants. Over the past 20 years, O. D.
Systems has worked with more than eighty client agencies,
primarily in the federal sector and largely in the military
and intelligence communities. Because Annette Sturdevant
and the company she founded are so closely integrated,
much of our conversation moved from individual to organizational
contexts.
Many of Dr. Sturdevant's views are group-focused.
She believes that bringing out the best in organizations
and humans is best accomplished when done in a group.
Dr. Sturdevant feels, "If you want to bring out
the best in people, create opportunities for them to
perform at their peak in a group, as there is an exponential
effect in groups that you never find with individuals.
And then get out of the way. A person's true capability
often doesn't come out because people get in the way."
Many of Dr. Sturdevant's early ideas about
bringing out the best in people came from being a member
of a family of nine, which she likened to an improvisational
symphony. Her parents inculcated certain values in them,
had the children coalesce as a team, and essentially
got out of the way. The reason for so much being accomplished
is that they did a lot of improvisation. Mistakes were
not failings, and that was the best way to get by. This
is a theme that would continue throughout her leadership
career.
Dr. Sturdevant told a story of bringing
the precepts and concepts of Affirmative Action to the
U. S. Army in Germany in the mid-eighties, which is
a moving story of the power of positive vision. She
and a colleague went to dinner to celebrate the success
of their work. As they were celebrating, two young German
women at the table next to them asked what they were
celebrating. When it was explained to them, the German
women asked how they got to do what they do. Annette
Sturdevant and her colleague replied that they obtained
degrees - each having a doctorate, because in her field
credentials were important. The German women replied
that they had come from families where that wasn't possible
because they were too poor. Dr. Sturdevant looked at
the German women and told them that they too had come
from families where it wasn't possible because they
were too poor, but they did it. This was very insightful
for Dr. Sturdevant as she reflected on holding positive
visions. While not having money was a challenge in many
ways, she continued to do what she wanted to do and
succeeded.
Annette Sturdevant loves to create options
for productivity through people, not to hand options
to others, but to help others create them for themselves.
That is the motto of the company: Creating options for
productivity through people. Much of O. D. Systems'
work has been in equal employment opportunity in technology
areas. This has allowed Annette Sturdevant to work with
groups of women in traditionally male groups. She has
felt most appreciated when working with groups of women
who had no concept of how terrific they were or how
great they could be. She feels blessed to have had the
opportunity to work with women who wanted to do something
or be something. She believes that her life is not about
teaching others or telling them how easy success is,
but showing them models and examples of achievement,
and encouraging them to do the same. She told these
women that if they were willing to do what needs to
be done and to get rid of some of the fear that was
standing between them and what they wanted, together
they could overcome barriers and "knock down a
few walls." Dr. Sturdevant sees her role as somebody
who is an active participant, picking up the rocks literally
and moving them, and showing people how they could build
something and achieve a sense of accomplishment. People
have appreciated Dr. Sturdevant by being the best that
they can be…not being like her, but being their
own personal best.
An important tenet of Annette Sturdevant's
view of appreciative relationships centers on authenticity
and responsibility. The environment she created is one
that is organizationally, physically, and philosophically
designed to allow members to do and be their best. It
is a feedback rich environment in all senses of the
term. A fundamental part of setting up this feedback
rich environment is making sure that at any given time,
colleagues are ready to dialog, discuss, support, and
help one another. In some respects, it's just letting
it happen-in other respects it doesn't happen and it's
not going to happen unless you are very, very conscious
that this is something that you want to do. Sturdevant
has created an environment that facilitates a continual
spiral upward. The feedback rich environment that she
creates with people is constant-constant improvement
for both parties. It's learning and it's never one-sided.
Dr. Sturdevant feels that you have to continually be
aware of feedback. As she explains, "A continuously
enriched environment, or feedback rich environment,
is one in which you are constantly reinforcing learning
and learning opportunities that allow people to learn
no matter who they are or how particularly good they
are. Never underestimate nor take lightly the importance
of giving and receiving feedback no matter what the
situation, because you can learn and grow and do better
from that."
Truly appreciative environments are only
really appreciative when they're authentic, and to be
authentic there has to be honesty. It's not about letting
people do whatever they want at anytime. Being appreciative
means being honest with yourself and being honest with
the other person. It's not about making everything pretty
and perfect-it's about being authentic. Sometimes, that
is not fun. Annette Sturdevant says that feedback is
not always her "cup of tea," but that the
feedback rich environment is going to continue in her
organization. Dr. Sturdevant's stories speak to the
high value she and the organization she has created
place on authenticity. Her company was purposefully
set up to accommodate and be flexible around incorporating
the hopes and dreams that members have.
For some, that type of environment is
a tough one in which to work. Authenticity takes work
and responsibility, and can be a double-edged sword.
When you give people the opportunity to do what they
are interested in, you cannot control what they may
hear. At O. D. Systems, when someone is given an opportunity
to do something, it is hoped that what comes out is
going to be really exciting, and outside of the box
in a way that's recognizably creative and good. In this
organization, it's not accepting people as they are,
it is wanting to help people be what they are capable
of being. A cornerstone of this authentic environment
is the standard and quality of the organization's work.
Positive images coupled with positive
action are what drive Annette Sturdevant. "I am
not a Pollyanna, but if there is a parade that I could
lead, one that I would love to get in front of, it's
a parade for positive energy about life and goodness."
Statements like this confirm that positive thinking
has been the constant guiding light in Annette Sturdevant's
professional and personal life. She believes that if
you don't have a positive outlook, you're doomed. Throughout
her career, part of helping provide options for productivity
through people to evolve, is having that positive energy
and that positive outlook about life. Positive energy
is so much a part of her life and the life of her organization,
that she finds it very difficult to hear people saying
something negative. Bringing out the best is paying
attention to everyone singing from the same song sheet,
when it comes to being affirming.
Dr. Sturdevant believes the spirit of
inquiry lives in her and her organization. She feels
that opportunities for positive and compelling images
of the future are everywhere. You just have to recognize
them as opportunities. As she puts it, "They happen
when you least expect them and don't happen when you
don't expect them." Her experience has pleasantly
shown her that leaders emerge from parts of the organization
that you least expect. Annette Sturdevant embodies the
attributes of the transformational leader and, since
the early 1990's, she has created a group of transformational
leaders by building a program manager system. Decisions
are made collaboratively, professional development is
supported, and growth is encouraged.
Hope and inspiration and touch are cornerstones
of Annette Sturdevant the leader, She attributes much
of this to the importance of prayer which she views
as a positive energy - that often gives her and the
company's associates a compelling image of what could
be. She spoke of the work of the organization and reflected,.
"There is so much magic in what organization development
consultants do, and we get a lot of respect for the
magic we perform." She feels that it is magical
because it gives people a sense that they did it themselves.
O. D. Systems considers itself a family.
Just as a family, associates are concerned for the total
well being of their colleagues. Celebration and joy
are important parts of living, of giving thanks and
remembrance, and an important part of O. D. Systems'
corporate life. It is through this honoring and celebration
that members of the organization are encouraged to continue
to do and be their best. This is reflected in a holiday
tradition where after a group holiday meal, associates
return to the offices for dessert. A pot of tea is made
and each individual talks about what they are most proud
of during the past year and what they hope to accomplish
in the coming year. Dr. Sturdevant stated, "I don't
want people to think that this is Annette's company
and these are Annette's traditions. I really want to
believe that there are things that will go on no matter
what." She then discussed in loving terms, the
history and achievements of each member of the organization
and what they have meant to her and the corporation.
One thing that Annette Sturdevant has
been clear about from the beginning is her gift of touch.
A major factor in her life is touching people. Whether
members of the O.D. Systems organization or client organizations,
she knew she could touch people's lives and make them
better; she could help them realize dreams and she really
wanted to do that. As she explained, "Taking something
that is really difficult and turning it around and making
it work; figuring out how to breathe life into what
seemed like a dead relationship and infusing what seemed
like a cold and mediocre relationship with love-that
is really important."
Dr. Sturdevant views her life and the
life of O. D. Systems as a crazy patch quilt. In the
company, associates have the opportunity to do whatever
and be whatever they want to be and do-as long as it
is ethical, moral, legal, and makes the cash register
ring. The different, seemingly unrelated pieces, all
fit together to create one unified whole. It's that
way purposefully to accommodate and be flexible around
the kind of hopes and dreams that people have. Annette
Sturdevant's leadership has been the underside of the
quilt. She has created a very strong foundation for
all of the patches of the quilt to fit together and
be stabilized. Those who understand what goes into making
a crazy patch quilt can appreciate how complex they
are to create. O. D. Systems is purposefully ubiquitous-it
doesn't have a period, it has a whole lot of commas,
it's got a lot of question marks and it just keeps going
in an amoebic way.
When asked how she wants to be remembered,
Annette Sturdevant replied. "People don't realize
the extent to which they've made an impact, or have
provided opportunities. It is like walking over to one
of my disorganized piles of things and then picking
up something-maybe a bag that seemed empty. You pick
it up and something rattles-something rattles and you
are curious. And so, you tap the bag and the object
that was making noise comes out and what you find is
very surprising. Unanticipated discoveries can leave
us surprised at the direction in which they take us,
and surprised at the hope we can find."
EPILOGUE
This interview was conducted with Dr.
Sturdevant shortly after a difficult hospitalization.
During our discussion Dr. Sturdevant was reflective
about her life, her career and her illness as related
to the interview topics.
I have watched Dr. Sturdevant use humor, but I have
also watched her be a very active participant in her
own process. She has held her positive image of wellness
hand in hand with positive action. She is not a bystander
in this process whether that's finding out all of the
information she can on what's happening to her body
or reading everything she can do to keep her spiritual
and mental health going. She has these two wheels spinning
together that gives her momentum to keep her going,
and surrounds all of that with realism and humor.
One of the key learnings that I obtained
from my discussion with Annette Sturdevant was about
aging. I have come to discover that as you age you go
through a transition that you no longer want to do things
in the same way as you had when you were younger. You
have been a success- continued to grow and excel for
twenty years and then suddenly something shifts. In
Annette Sturdevant's case it happened to be cancer that
caused a shift, in other people's lives it is other
reasons. How do you suddenly shift gears and do things
differently? Dr. Sturdevant has not lost her gift or
her talents; she is practicing them differently.
As our discussion came to a close, Dr.
Sturdenvant reflected, "I look at my own life now
and I am not disappointed with where I am. I don't have
a great disappointment that certain things have not
worked out because so many other things did. I want
to always-always keep on giving-in a positive way."
Dr. Sturdevant died on April 14, 2001.
. . . . .
ANNETTE
K. STURDEVANT | Annette K. Sturdevant
was President & CIO of O.D. Systems. She had received
Expert Consultant ratings from numerous Federal agencies
and carried the rank equivalent of Colonel in her work
with Department of Defense agencies. Dr. Sturdevant
was on the graduate faculties of Johns Hopkins University
and American University, and held a Ph.D. in administration
and policy.
LORETTA H. RANDOLPH
| Loretta H. Randolph joined O.D. Systems, Inc. as Director
of Health Services Management and Communication after
a career in academic health care. She has consulted
in more than ten countries and holds a graduate faculty
position at the George Washington University School
of Public Health & Health Services.
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