Sharon Varney

Dr Sharon Varney is Director of the Henley Forum for Organisational Learning and Knowledge Strategies. She is a specialist in developing organisations and people.

Sharon developed her leadership and change expertise working internationally as a senior manager in large, complex organisations. She was group head of learning and communications in a global oil and gas business. Previously she was Vice President for international learning and development at a US bank. Her consulting work focuses on leadership and organisational development, and spans across the private, public and not for profit sectors.

Sharon’s research takes a complexity science perspective on organisational change and its leadership. Her doctoral research at the University of Reading explored the complex dynamics of organisational change and the role of change leaders within it. It was chosen, by the editorial team of Leadership and Organisation Development Journal, as a Highly Commended Award winner of the 2013 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards in the Leadership and Organisation Development category.

As a scholar-practitioner working in the organisational change and development field, Sharon is committed to bridging the worlds of academia and practice. Her practice is informed by research and her research is informed by, and ultimately in service of, advancing practice. Over the past ten years, Sharon has conducted a range of research projects on Organisation Development topics such as partnering for change, organisational trust, organisation design and development, and learning and employee engagement. She is a regular conference speaker on Organisation Development topics.

Research interests include: organisational complexity and its implications for leaders; organisational change and development; organisational learning; dynamic capabilities; sensemaking in complexity and change.

Director of the Henley Forum for Organisational Learning and Knowledge Strategies

MA Leadership: Leadership of Complexity and Change

MBA: Leadership and Change

Academic Conferences:

10th Annual Congress of the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders, February 2017, Paris, France - Aspire – Nurturing tomorrow’s clinical leaders, S Dodgson, M Holland, S Varney, K Khair

Academy of Management Conference, August 2014, Philadelphia – Domains of emergent change: Making sense of emerging patterns in the midst of change, S Varney & B Vogel

Journal of Management Studies Conference, 25-26 March 2014, Cambridge - Making sense of complexity: Noticing, interpreting and responding to patterns in emerging domains of change, S Varney & B Vogel

European Conference on Complex Systems, 2-7 September 2012, Brussels – Challenges for change leaders: Making sense of emerging patterns during organisational change – S Varney, J Burgoyne, B Vogel

Selected Practitioner Articles:

Varney, S (2016), ‘Partnering for change’, Strategic Briefings, July 2016, Croner-i

M Astley, D Bartlett, P Burden, L Holbeche, C Rodgers, S Varney, R Warwick. (2016), ‘Organisational Agility: Implications for progressive leadership’, London Metropolitan University, Progressive Leadership White Paper Series, February 2016 (ISSN 2396-8591)

Varney, S (2015), ‘Organisational change: finding your way as you journey into the unknown’, HR in a disordered world: IES Perspectives on HR 2015, The Institute for Employment Studies, Brighton

Varney, S (2014), ‘Don’t unplug the seismograph’, TheHRDirector, Issue 116

Garrow, V & Varney, S (2011), ‘Developing organisations: evolution and revolution’, e-Organisations & People, Volume 18, Number 4, Winter 2011 – Guest Editor of a special edition on OD for the Association for Management Education and Development

Varney, S (2011), ‘Restructuring and transitioning in a complex world’, IES Annual Review of HR Year Ahead 2011, The Institute for Employment Studies, Brighton

Garrow, V & Varney, S (2009), ‘What does OD do?’ People Management, 4 June 2009

Varney, S (2008), ‘Leadership learning: key to organizational transformation’, Strategic HR Review, Vol 7, No 4, pp5-10

Varney, S (2008), ‘Learning: key to organisational transformation in a complex world’, Developing HR Strategy, Croner, Issue 19, March 2008, pp20-24

Books:

Varney, Sharon (2015), Business Express - Promote a positive change culture: Creating an environment where change can thrive, Pearson, Harlow 

Varney, Sharon (2015), Business Express - Inspire your team to change: Getting your team to think and act differently, Pearson, Harlow 

Varney, Sharon (2015), Business Express - Promote a positive change culture: Creating an environment where change can thrive, Pearson, Harlow 

Varney, Sharon (2015), Business Express - Inspire your team to change: Getting your team to think and act differently, Pearson, Harlow