Leadership and the Frontline Workforce Lessons from the Targets of Change

Chapter One: View from the targets     

Chapter Two: Lewinian organization development (OD)             

Chapter Three: Alignment and the front lines (SATA)    

Chapter Four: Before and after - A Union VP meets Lewinian OD          

Chapter Five: A blue-collar OD guy – An electrician meets Lewinian OD           

Chapter Six: A blue-collar Jamaican    

Chapter Seven: The blue-collar wisdom of William Crosby      

Chapter Eight: A blue-collar OD guy – Cotton Mears    

Chapter Nine: Examples from my father’s lifetime of OD work

Chapter Ten: From conflict to collaboration – A true T-group story        

Chapter Eleven: Involving the front lines in a social service agency      

Chapter Twelve: Behavioralizing culture – goal clarity, role clarity, decision clarity and feedback           

Chapter Thirteen: Conflict utilization   

Chapter Fourteen: Implications for leadership

Appendix A: The Interpersonal Gap meets Toltec wisdom         

Appendix B: Behavior description quiz (DEI version)    

Appendix C: The PINCH Model (article by Mark Horswood)      

Appendix D: Managing conflict in community development     

Appendix E: Sponsor, Agent, Target, Advocate (SATA)  

Appendix F: KRID (Adapt/Adopt)            

Appendix G: Cotton Mears flipchart visual aids             

Bibliography     

Biography

Gilmore Crosby’s mission is to help create a better future for humanity. He believes the most reliable means for doing so is to apply and spread the wisdom and methods of Kurt Lewin. Crosby’s credo is asserted in the title of his book: Planned Change: Why Kurt Lewin's Social Science is Still Best Practice for Business Results, Change Management, and Human Progress. He is concerned that the OD profession is distracted by beliefs such as that the human condition has significantly changed (VUCA) and by the search for what is “new.” Crosby asserts that most of what passes as “new” is more hype than true substance. Instead, Crosby advocates that change agents from all walks of life would be wise to learn and apply Lewin’s universal theory of social science, including concepts such as group dynamics, group decision, the social construction of reality, re-education, field theory, change as three steps, and the democratic principles of leadership. When integrated, these concepts form a systemic approach that can be applied by hourly workers, community organizers, and PhDs alike.

Crosby’s career dates back to 1984, following in the footsteps of his father’s OD career, which traces back to 1953 and Lewin’s inner circle. While embracing the past, Crosby experiments in the present, conducting T-group learning in organizations, online T-groups, and various uses of new technology and social media. His most recent book, Diversity without Dogma, applies Lewinian social science to addressing racism and any form of prejudice.

Gil Crosby has done it again, this time bringing Kurt Lewin's theories and methods to life through the words and experiences of hourly workers. For anyone who thinks that Lewin is simply part of history and irrelevant today, think again. Crosby describes application after application, using his own work and that of his colleagues and of his father, to teach practical methods of Lewinian change.  Leaders, OD professionals, and any form of change agent would be wise to study this readable, entertaining, and even heartwarming book. Crosby proves again that he is a master interpreter of Kurt Lewin's theories and methods. 

-- W. Warner Burke, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Psychology & Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

This is an outstanding book that in the tradition of Studs Terkle gives full voice to the experiences and perspectives of workers who are at the front lines, and often the targets of organizational change. At the same time, it also provides a rich background to those experiences by explaining in everyday language important change theories and practices especially those of Kurt Lewin. This is a book change leaders, strategists, and consultants need to read to better understand how their goals and intentions might miss the mark if they do not listen to, involve, and understand the experiences of front-line workers in their own words.

-- Robert J. Marshak, PhD, Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Emeritus, School of Public Affairs, American University, Washington, DC USA

 

This is a must-read book for anyone interested in change, especially Lewinian change. It allows those affected by change to speak for themselves. It shows why their voices should be listened to and why their involvement is crucial to achieving successful change. Importantly, this book reminds us that Lewin’s work still offers vital lessons for the leadership and development of organizations.

-- Professor Bernard Burnes, Chair of Organisational Change, Stirling Management School, University of Stirling, Scotland

Gil Crosby tells us how to effectively engage the workforce for substantial positive results. The difference between engagement and non-engagement is as Mark Twain wrote, like the difference between a lightning bug and lightning. Involving the workers, getting their input, and allowing them to influence how they do their work, improves morale and dramatically improves results. This book wasn’t written from the “Ivory Tower.” Gil does, and always has, worked with the floor level, front-line workers, as well as managers. I know this from my years of working side by side with him. Therein lies the secret to his success and to his ability to put words to Cotton Mears’ life work. He has a genuine and unwavering respect for all workers. He identifies with everyone, whatever their role. There is an old Irish Proverb – “Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches.” Gil’s approach to leading and to change enlists “the wearer” in making the change that matters.

-- Mark Horswood, OD Consultant, Ret. USW Steward, Local #104

Crosby’s latest is more than just a theoretical exploration; it’s a practical guide for today’s leaders. Crosby blends historical context with contemporary insights, providing real-world examples that demonstrate the profound impact of using a democratic approach to change. From increasing engagement to boosting innovation and trust, Crosby shows that when leaders genuinely listen and involve their teams, they foster an environment where change can thrive.

For those committed to creating lasting change in their organizations, this book is an essential read. Gilmore Crosby not only honors Lewin’s legacy but expands it, offering actionable insights for leaders striving to build more inclusive, resilient, and adaptive organizations. These lessons from the perspective of the workforce serve as both a tribute to Lewin’s enduring contributions and a beacon of practical wisdom for leaders navigating today’s complex challenges.

-- Dr. Nancy Zentis, CEO, Institute of Organization Development

In this book, Gil collects great stories from his father, Chris, his own clients, and colleagues who came from the workforce and helped change many organizations over many decades. It reveals how and why working from the bottom up can be a powerful approach in many industrial/business operations. What is captured in this book is worth your consideration! It stimulates my own thinking about the many different approaches that have been used in change, leadership, and human interaction, and the data that says so many of our projects don’t meet expectations or reach desired outcomes. It’s a new era and a time when we must succeed in creating, developing, and transforming high-performing and highly humanistic organizations in the real VUCA world we now experience. Our future depends on it. What we get here, can help both leaders and workers in change.

-- David W. Jamieson, Ph. D, President, Jamieson Consulting Group, Inc, Professor Emeritus, OD and Change, University of St Thomas, Editor, Organization Development Review

Gilmore continues his grounded narrative of all things just and human at work, without losing a scheme that binds it all. Furthermore, a bottoms-up view of OD is rare and valuable. This labor relations standpoint personifies the transformative potential that Lewin's approach to social systems has. The individual, the group, and the collective organization align, this time though from the operating core where economic value is added and seldom justly rewarded. Gilmore is on a mission with this book! 

-- Joseph George Anjilvelil, Founder, Workplace Catalysts LLP, Bangalore, India, Author of BEING PEOPLE: Life- histories of Six HRD Professionals of India

 

Is the T-group primarily “touchy-feely” or a hard-nosed, pragmatic intervention to increase organizational effectiveness, productivity, and profitability? Read Leadership and the frontline workforce, and you'll discover it can be both. From verbatim interviews of frontline workers, you will meet individuals who are personally fulfilled, and enjoying their work and relationships... Because they're playing a significant role on a winning team.

I first wrote, “I wish I had read this book years ago. I would have been a much more effective, competent, and confident consultant.” Then it hit me “Duh!” I didn't read it years ago because it couldn't have been written. Gil has written it from the practice and wisdom learned from his father, whose entire professional career has been in using T-group as an organizational development OD tool.

To big-picture academics, this evaluation is an example of OD as an applied behavioral science. If you are a consultant or leader or manager or minion facing the need to change, you will immediately benefit from reading it.

The hope it offers? If you change the whole system many small, petty, toxic issues will disappear and be replaced with constructive change. What’s not to like?

-- Ron Short, PhD (1934-2024), Founding faculty of the Leadership Institute of Seattle (LIOS), Author of A Special Kind of Leadership

 

Many consultants today talk about ‘change management’, something Gil Crosby reminds us is not only impossible but dangerously misleading. In yet another imminently practical book, we are invited by Crosby into what happens when we follow the guidance of Kurt Lewin, the ‘father’ of applied behavioral science, and truly engage front-line (hourly) employees in every step of facilitating real-world change.  

-- Dr. John J. Scherer, Founding Director, Scherer Leadership Center Global OD Group, Transforming leaders and their organizations, awakening the human spirit at work around the world, Author: Facing the Tiger: Unleashing the human Spirit at work, Founding faculty, The Leadership Institute of Seattle (LIOS) 

At the risk of sounding biased, Gil continues to exceed himself with each new publication. His book on Lewin's theories and methods, Planned change, and his application of Lewin to DEI, Diversity without dogma, along with his other writings were enough for him to rest on his laurels. This latest book takes the reader to a new level of understanding the application of Lewin's change methods, brought to life through the voices of hourly workers who were actually there while culture change was implemented. If you want higher performance and morale that can be sustained, read this book. 

-- Robert P. Crosby, Founder, The Leadership Institute of Seattle (LIOS), Author of Culture change in organizations and Memoirs of a change agent