Tojo Thatchenkery: Concept Champion, Engaged Educator, and Passionate Practitioner

The chapter reviews the scholarly and practical contributions of Tojo Thatchenkery as a concept champion, engaged educator, and passionate practitioner to the discipline of organizational change management. After briefly reviewing some of the dominant influences that have shaped Thatchenkery’s work, the chapter focuses on his contribution (a) as a scholar-practitioner elucidating the construct of Appreciative Intelligence®, (b) as a thought leader and a champion of the social constructionist and hermeneutic perspective on organizations, (c) as a scholar-practitioner generating original, bold, and creative extensions of the appreciative inquiry approach to knowledge management, sustainable value, and economic development, (d) as a champion of multiculturalism and diversity, (e) as an exceptionally creative pedagogic innovator who has fused action learning, sensitivity training, and experiential learning into a graduate program that equips a new generation of organizational development professionals, and finally (f) as an effective and creative consultant with an extensive array of high-powered clients who have benefitted from innovative organizational interventions interweaving elements such as Appreciative Intelligence®, social constructionism, sustainable value, and invisible leadership. The chapter concludes with an exploration of Thatchenkery’s key insights and legacy to the field of organizational change.