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DC Area OD Practitioners CoP — Reading the System Through the Three Brains: A Diagnostic Lens for OD Consultants

  • 05 Nov 2026
  • 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Zoom

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Reading the System Through the Three Brains: A Diagnostic Lens for OD Consultants

Most of us know the head/heart/gut framework as a tool for personal decision-making — but it's just as useful, and less commonly applied, as a diagnostic lens for reading client systems. In this session, I'll show how teams and organizations get "stuck" in one brain: over-analyzing without buy-in (head-locked), managing morale while avoiding hard data (heart-locked), or reacting without reflection (gut-locked) — and how naming that stuck state points directly to the kind of intervention that will actually land. We'll walk through what each pattern looks like in real engagement dynamics, and I'll share a short diagnostic question set you can use in your very next client conversation to identify which brain is dominating and design toward integration. I'll ground the framework in a live case example drawn from my somatic/embodied facilitation work, so this isn't just conceptual — it's something you can put to use immediately.

What you'll take away:

  • A practical diagnostic tool for identifying which "brain" a client system is stuck in, and how to design interventions accordingly.

      Presenter — Marc Stoecker

      Marc is an ICF-accredited coach (ACC), certified Co-Active coach, and Positive Intelligence® practitioner with over 20 years of experience in learning and development and adult education. He is the founder of Prism of Purpose Coaching & Training, where he designs and facilitates soft-skill and technical-skill experiences that help individuals and teams build resilience, clarity, and purpose during times of change.

      Marc’s work blends evidence-based coaching, experiential learning, and embodied practices to create spaces where people can think clearly, reconnect with their worth, and take meaningful action. He supports professionals across corporate, nonprofit, government, and association settings throughout the United States.

      Who We Are

      Chesapeake Bay Organization Development Network (CBODN) is the premier DC Metro area network for organization development (OD) practitioners. Founded in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, our name pays homage to those elders who made vital contributions to the field of OD.

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