You know, the whole 'social business' crowd keeps going on about engagement as if it's just another component, an element of the recipe. I do think that the odd time there's some decent alignment and that a fair amount of engagement is realised (as Dan P. would tell us .. and indeed they went about Organization development by connecting the 'social learning' and collaboration inititatives to the values and behaviours associated with the Telus Leadership Philosophy, which I think was smart).

But by and large, I submit that one of the key reasons that many or most organizations still struggle with engagement is that they use, almost by rote, the methodologies of job evaluation, competency models and performance management that still 'reek' of industrial era compliance. Employess have no or virtually no input into those systes, and are given their pay grades, their objectives, the guidelines for getting things done. They have very little or no real ownership of the work that they do.

It's a pity, really. The way forward is not murky, it's pretty clear. It's just a fair bit different than what 'everyone' believes is the proper way.

I believe OD principles and practices offer a pretty clear and effective framework for what leading and managing in the networked era needs to be and do.

Marv Weisbord's book Productive Workplaces is one of the most inspiring (and clearly written books on org effectiveness I have ever read. And I've even had the wonderful opportunity to talk with him at length, twice, about 15 years ago.