André Delbecq: Searcher for complementarities and the good

Abstract

I appreciate this opportunity to convey reflections on my more than four decades of personal and professional interactions with André. André was exceptional in many ways, some of them perhaps not obvious. I joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty in 1973 (where I remain active after 46 years). I met André during my job interview visit in 1972. He immediately impressed me as positive, nurturing, and thoughtful. He took me for a campus tour, culminating with a steep climb up Bascom Hill to our administrative building, Bascom Hall. This was immediately after the anti-war protests and riots at Wisconsin, which led to the bombing death of a researcher at Sterling Hall; the bombing was one of the incidents featured in the still-haunting 1979 documentary, “The War at Home.” Students were charging up the hill toward National Guard members, swarming in what seemed to me like mindless rage. I said, “Those students are attacking the soldiers!” André very calmly responded, “They’re doing that all the time” and we continued to walk on. The scene was vividly real, but somehow surreal, giving me an intriguing initial glimpse into a remarkable personality. My early knowledge of André’s theory and research (especially on the Nominal Group Technique – the NGT) deeply impressed me. There was then quite an interest in the relative merits of nominal (coacting) and interacting groups. With Andy Van de Ven and Dave Gustafson – both superb scholars – André proposed a structured process alternating coacting and interacting groups as appropriate. In my view, the NGT (now used and lauded worldwide) was elegant – recognizing that different group interaction modes were not necessarily alternatives but, properly shepherded, complements. This was a recurring theme for André, the search for complementarities in the face of apparent opposition; it demonstrated to me a richly integrative mindset. André was an early mentor for me, in ways a spiritual guide. I was honored that he invited me to serve as a co-author for a 1974 Health Services Research article on evaluation of health system alternatives, a topic that has continued to intrigue me. André provided counsel ever since and felt like a constant, supportive presence. He provided valuable suggestions – and a superb role model – for many of my professional and personal decisions. It’s hard for me to believe that he left Wisconsin forty years ago. André saw himself as an introvert. Someone casually meeting him may have viewed him as rather reserved and sedate, but he reached out to touch many people in profound