Gaining the CEO's buy-in

Ron Skea examines how Covid-19 and generative artificial intelligence (GAI) have affected traditional organisational development (OD), arguing that both are less discrete turning points than accelerations of longer-term transformations in organisational life. Adopting a postmodern and systems-thinking stance, he reframes OD not as a departmental “thing” but as the ongoing activity of the organisation itself – how leaders and people continuously respond to flux. Covid, he argues, did not invent remote or flexible working but forced leaders to confront outdated assumptions about how work must be organised. Mandatory lockdowns acted as a catalyst for reflection and innovation, revealing that many supposedly essential bureaucratic processes were cultural constructs rather than regulatory necessities. The resulting embrace of hybrid working and trust-based leadership represents one of the most enduring legacies of the crisis. Turning to GAI, Skea cautions that the technology’s impact depends entirely on its use. Treated narrowly as an efficiency tool, it risks embedding poor organisational habits and reinforcing single-loop learning. Used thoughtfully within a systemic OD framework, it can support reflexive leadership and more fluid organisational design – but it cannot replace human judgement or double-loop learning. His example of an opaque AI pricing model demonstrates the dangers of unexamined reliance on “black box” algorithms. Skea concludes that both Covid and GAI offer OD an opportunity to return to its holistic and humanistic roots, provided leaders see them as catalysts for systemic thinking rather than tools for short-term optimisation.