In the Loop: The HDO Blog
Change, From the Inside Out: What My Capstone Taught Me About Putting People at the Center of Organizational Transformation
If you work in any organization for any period of time, you’ll experience change. A new leader. A reorganization. A system rollout. A return-to-office policy. A benefits change. Some changes land well and are implemented smoothly. Others feel chaotic, stressful, or...
Learning to Trust What I Was Already Sensing: How HDO Shaped My Work
Entering HDO: A Shift in How I Understood Change When I applied to the Human Dimensions of Organizations program, I did not believe I was leaving the world of organizations. At the time, my career had been rooted in working with companies, teams, and systems, and I...
From Capstone to Global Stage: How HDO Helped Me Turn Curiosity Into Thought Leadership
When I decided to apply to the Human Dimensions of Organizations (HDO) Master’s program at the University of Texas at Austin, I was not entirely sure what I was seeking. I had a gut feeling that work, as I had experienced it, could be better, but I lacked the...
How My HDO Degree Shows Up Every Day
How my HDO Degree Shapes my Work “When does your Human Dimensions of Organizations (HDO) degree apply to your work?” This is a question I sometimes get asked. My answer is simple: I use it every single day. My work lives at the intersection of strategy, culture, and...
The Cost of Looking at Art for Only 30 Seconds: Innovation
What if the secret to your next breakthrough idea isn’t in the data you’re collecting, but in the connections you’re missing? We’ve all been there: sprinting through a famous museum, eager to get to the next masterpiece. We snap a photo, give the painting a quick...
The Architecture of Authority: Lessons from HDO’s Summer Course
Introduction: A Summer of Change at HDO HDO took a new step this summer: We employed new instructors in all three of our summer courses. For several years Dr. Zach Elkins (Government) taught Structure of Organizations; Dr. Polly Strong (Anthropology and Native...
Embracing Constructive Conflict: Lessons from Behavioral Science by Heather Moreau
What comes to mind when you hear the word conflict? Maybe opposition, frustration, misunderstandings, stress—or even aggression. Most of us instinctively try to avoid it. But what if conflict, when handled constructively, is actually a key to innovation, growth, and...
How Play Shapes Organizational Culture and Structure
What role does play have in the workplace? According to researchers, and our own experience facilitating workshops that include experiential play, far more than most people expect. Play is not just recreation, it is a powerful tool that directly shapes how people...
Dr. Casey Boyle on Writing, Rhetoric, and Critical Thought
Writing has always shaped how humans think, analyze, and share information. From inscribed tortoise shells to the printing press, advancements in technology have changed not only how we store and transmit knowledge but also how we understand the world. At The...
Serving a Chef’s Creativity to the Business World
For nearly a decade, Corey Wilson’s career has been focused on people and project leadership at DPR Construction. His journey with the HDO program allowed him to explore outside his niche and gather valuable insights into tapping creativity for human-centered...