Speak Inarguably: Leadership Communication for Psychological Safety and Team Engagement
OD Partnership Series - with Triangle ODN
Christopher Arnold
This training will be conducted live via Zoom. The zoom meeting details will be sent out prior to the training.
Workplace conflict can arise even when everyone involved has the best of intentions. What's commonly considered "professional communication" encourages leaders to express arguable opinions as inarguable facts. When combined with positional power, this style of communication creates a psychologically unsafe environment. In response, colleagues feel the need to defend, explain, and raise their voices to feel heard -- increasing the chances of an unproductive conflict. Alternatively, colleagues can go silent and disengage from work. Both strategies -- silence and violence -- create an unhealthy work environment.
When leaders speak arguably, they get resistance. When leaders speak inarguably they get safety, engagement, and results.
About Your Facilitator
As the founder of Care Deeply Consulting, Christopher Arnold has curated a community of leadership coaches who want to see every leader be a force for positive change in the world. Together, they develop high-performance workplace cultures for people-first businesses by transforming all levels of management into highly-skilled leaders who drive employee engagement and greater business results.
As a leader in the conscious business movement, Christopher has served as President of the Board for the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center and as an organizer for B2B B Corps.
COST:
$15 Members when pre-paid & pre-registered
$25 Non members when pre-paid & pre-registered
$10 for students/seniors pre-registered
AGENDA:
11:45 am - 12:00 pm PST: Join Zoom Meeting
12:00 – 1:00 pm PST: Training
Please be aware that our trainings could be recorded or photographed.
Josh Alwitt
Think Kotter is passé? Think again.
If you've mentally shelved Kotter’s frameworks as relics of a past era, this session is for you. OD professionals know the hard truth: leading culture and mindset change is messy, emergent, and deeply human. In this interactive session, leadership coach and culture-change consultant Josh Alwitt invites us to experience John Kotter’s latest methodology—the “8 steps” have been updated with a framework grounded in neuroscience, polarity thinking, and systemic inclusion.
Josh has been using these powerful tools with clients across industries—and they’re not just intrigued, they’re transforming. He’ll share real-world stories and guide participants through hands-on breakouts to explore how to apply this framework in their own work.
Prepare for the session:
Reflect on a time when you led change that made you feel proud. What was the impact? What made it meaningful? You’ll be invited to share this story in small groups as a warm-up to applying updated Kotter tools.
Josh is an independent leadership coach who works with executives, their teams and organizations to help create connections that lead to meaningful outcomes. His focus is on purpose, alignment, accountability, and culture change.
He spent the first 20 years of his career in professional services, collaborating with clients at the intersection of technology and creativity. In 2007, Josh pivoted his focus towards behavioral psychology, organization development and adult learning and took on leadership of the Talent Development and Culture functions for Sapient Corporation. He has been an independent consultant and coach since 2019.
Explore Your Leadership Edge with the MOST Framework
This session is part of PNODN’s 2025 Mastering Organizational and Societal Transformation (MOST) Series, spotlighting members who exemplify key dimensions of the MOST assessment. Josh Alwitt brings a rich skillset in Leadership Development—Frameworks and Developmental Tools, helping leaders align purpose, build culture, and deepen accountability in the face of complex change.
Haven’t taken the MOST Assessment yet? Explore your OD leadership strengths here.
This series began with Dr. Bill Brendel’s exploration of how the MOST framework offers evidence-based insight into OD professionals’ impact zones. In May, we highlight PNODN members Josh Alwitt (May 6) and Dr. Wendy Fraser (May 15)—each modeling distinct strengths in leadership development and practical transformation. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, apply, and grow your own practice.
Josh holds a bachelor’s in engineering from Dartmouth College, an MSOD from Pepperdine, and is an ICF Professional Certified Coach.
4:45 - 5:00 pm Join Zoom Meeting
5:00 - 6:30 pm Training
Navigating Organizational Trust Challenges: Helping Leaders Foster Resilience
A PNODN MOST Series Event featuring Dr. Wendy Fraser
Dr. Wendy Fraser
Repairing Trust at the Organizational Level
Trust is the foundation of effective leadership, yet many organizations struggle with systemic trust challenges or unexpected violations that threaten morale, productivity, and connectivity. In this session, Dr. Wendy Fraser will guide us through:
Through interactive discussions and case applications, you’ll gain tools to help leaders and teams build resilience and navigate complex trust situations.
About Your Guest Presenter
Dr. Wendy Fraser mentors the collective wisdom in organizations, engaging the talents and hearts of people to build thriving human systems. She fosters and builds capacity by strengthening human relationships and systems so that groups and organizations flourish.
She brings fresh perspectives, humor, and practical expertise to help organizations achieve meaningful and sustainable results. Wendy primarily works with public sector, education, nonprofit, and Alaska Native organizations in the US and abroad.
She is the author of Trust Repair: It IS Possible and a sought-after speaker, consultant, mentor, and international humanitarian. With deep experience in organizational trust, leadership development, and human systems, she equips leaders with tools to make a difference in their organizations and communities.
Learn more about Dr. Wendy Fraser’s work at: WendyFraserConsulting.com
Building on PNODN’s journey with the Mastering Organizational and Societal Transformation (MOST) Assessment, this interactive session features PNODN member and facilitator Dr. Wendy Fraser, who excels in the MOST dimensions of helping leaders manage unexpected challenges and understanding how organizational strategy, systems, and culture contribute to the health and performance of organizations.
Have you taken the MOST Assessment yet? https://www.opensourceod.com/assessment
We launched this series after Dr. Bill Brendel’s insightful session, where he shared how the MOST assessment provides OD professionals with evidence-based insights into their strengths, interests, and career pathways. As we continue this exploration in 2025, we invite you to join us in applying these insights to real-world OD challenges as we feature PNODN members with exceptional skills in many of the MOST assessment dimensions.
5:15 - 5:30 pm Join Zoom Meeting
5:30 - 7:00 pm Training
Consider joining PNODN - members savings over the course of the year are substantial and we need your voice in the conversation!
This PNODN Community Gathering will be conducted live via Zoom. The zoom meeting details are included in your emailed confirmation and sent out the day prior.
At our core, PNODN is a community. We are brought together by our shared passion for helping people thrive and organizations achieve more by unleashing the human potential within them.
Whether you think of yourself as an OD person or not, if you share this passion, we think you’ll love connecting with the amazing people in this community.
Once each month we dedicate this gathering to the purpose of building community, helping you make connections that add value to your life in friendship, support and business collaboration.
This is not your typical networking event where you share your business cards and well-worn elevator pitch.
This is about making authentic connections with people in our local community with whom you share this passion for people and fascination with the human dynamics of organizations.
Each time we gather we’ll offer topics in line with our quarterly theme and guidance to make conversation easy. We’ll often use breakouts to give you a chance to talk with each other in small groups. And you’ll have the freedom to take the discussion in any direction that works for you and those gathered with you.
We will share and stick to a set of guidelines that support our shared commitment of creating a safe environment in which everyone is valued and respected. Nothing will ever be forced – you can abstain at any time.
The gathering is free of charge and everyone is welcome.
About Your Host
Justin Navetski, PNODN Director of Community, will be your host. Justin continues as part of a team convening PNODN members for the last several years.Justin brings well-being theory, OD first principles, and experiential learning to his work. Combining design work with use of self, he strives to build containers where people can bring themselves to the forefront.
No charge
5:30 Welcome and Topic Introduction
5:45 Conversation / Discussion Groups
6:15 Come together and/ or rotate to new rooms
6:45 (optional) Linger to talk informally if you choose
Online registration is encouraged so we can plan for the gathering accordingly. And walk ins are also welcome.
Consider joining PNODN - members savings over the course of the year are substantial!
It’s REAL! It’s HAPPENING!
In person on Beacon Hill, June 26th, 5-8pm
Once again PNODN is partnering with LIOS (Leadership Institute of Seattle) & ICF (International Coaching Federation of Washington) to put on our yearly shin-dig, hootenanny, party … Elevating the People Side of Work! This year, we’ll be gathering at the Work and Play Lounge on Beacon Hill. This beautiful restored Seattle classic has a great gathering space, outdoor space for us to stretch out, and plenty of PARKING!!
We will be doing the ever awesome SPEED NETWORKING so bring your business cards or QR codes, plus we’ll be setting up some time to brainstorm together and solve small puzzles instead of doing org presentations this year.
Food & drinks will be available - Tickets are limited and include snacks & one drink ticket (additional drinks available for purchase @ $6). We will take cash or Venmo. Come with friends, colleagues or family… this is a great way to introduce people to what we do.
$30 Members when pre-paid & pre-registered
$50 Non members when pre-paid & pre-registered
$50 At the door
5:00 - 6:00 pm Socialize, nibble & sip!
6:00- 6:30 pm Speed Networking Activity
6:30-8:00 pm Conversation and Collaboration Tables, Networking
8:00- Stay help break down if you're able.
"PNODN" is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
PO Box 46107, Seattle, WA 98146
