Tojo Thatchenkery

Photo of Tojo Thatchenkery

Professor; Director, Organization Development and Knowledge Management Program

Contact Information

thatchen@gmu.edu
Phone: 703-993-3808
Fax: 703-993-8215
Mason Square, Van Metre Hall, Room 613
3351 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22201
MSN: 3B1

Biography

Tojo Thatchenkery (Ph.D. Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University) is Professor and director of the Organization Development and Knowledge Management program at the Schar School of Policy & Government, George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia. This professional graduate degree that he had founded more than 25 years ago has produced an impressive cadre of practitioners, consultants, entrepreneurs, and scholars who are leaders in organization change and transformation. He is also a member of the NTL Institute of Applied Behavioral Science and the Taos Institute. His research has been funded by agencies such as the United States National Science Foundation, NSA, and the U.S. Postal Service. 

Thatchenkery is featured as one of the leading change thinkers in the Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers and has written over a dozen books and one hundred articles, including one in the Harvard Business Review.  As one of the leading researchers in the field of appreciative inquiry he has written three of the original books on the subject. He developed the construct of Appreciative Intelligence®, and has used it for leadership development of hundreds of senior managers around the world (as featured in the co-authored book with Carol Metzker - Appreciative Intelligence: Seeing the Mighty Oak in the Acorn). He has also developed a methodology called ASK, Appreciative Sharing of Knowledge, an application of AI to knowledge management and has helped several organizations to enhance their knowledge sharing capabilities. In another book (Making the Invisible Visible) Thatchenkery introduced the concept of quiet leadership as a key driver for innovation in organizations. 

Thatchenkery has extensive consulting experience in sustainability practices, change management, leadership development, organization design and strategy, and knowledge management. Past and current clients include the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, USDA, EPA, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Treasury, USPS OIG, IBM, Fannie Mae, Booz Allen, PNC Bank, Alcatel Lucent, General Mills, 3M, British Petroleum, Magnetrol, Nokian Tyres, Akbank (Turkey), and the Tata Consulting Services (India). 

Thatchenkery is on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences and the Journal of Organizational Change Management and is the past Program Chair of the Research Methods Division of the Academy of Management. He has over 30 years of experience in teaching at various Public Policy, MBA, Organization Development, and executive development programs in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. He founded the Organizational Learning Laboratory at the George W. Johnson Learning Center and served as its director from 1995 to 2000. During this time the facility was featured as one of the leading laboratories for organizational learning and knowledge management by the Academy of Management and the Project Management Journal and served clients such as Fannie Mae. 

Curriculum Vitae

Areas of Research

  • Appreciative Intelligence
  • Appreciative Inquiry and Innovation
  • Change Management and Organization Development
  • Circular economy
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Knowledge Management
  • Leadership
  • Nonprofit Management
  • Organization behavior
  • Public Administration
  • Public Management
  • South Asia