Process Consultation Revisited: Building The He...

A new member of the renowned PH OD Series! The latest addition to the author's well-loved set of process consultation books, this new volume builds on the content of the two that precede it while expanding to explore the critical area of the helping relationship. Process Consultation Revisited focuses on the interaction between a consultant and client, and explains how to achieve a healthy helping relationship. Whether the advisor is an OD consultant, therapist, social worker, manager, parent, or friend, the dynamics between advisor and advisee can be difficult to understand and manage. Schein creates a general theory and methodology of helping that will enable a diverse group of readers to navigate the helping process successfully.

Process consultation (PC) is based on the foundation that consultation focuses on a helping relationship. There is a mutual nature in which the consultant works with and not for the client (Schein, 1999). This model encourages the client and consultant to act as equals. This approach is contrasted with that of the expert or doctor roles in that the consultant is not expected to arrive on the scene with answers to every problem, nor a prescription to fix whatever problem the organization has identified. The PC approach assumes that problem-identification is part of the process, and that the client may not know wherein the problem lies.

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For many, the consultant is a symbol of change and change is often viewed as unwelcome and unneeded. According to Rumelt (1995), resistance is any conduct that tries to keep the status quo or equivalent to inertia and the persistence to avoid change. Resistance does not need to be seen as a negative aspect of the consultation process as resistance can lead to better solutions for solving problems. By looking at the reasons for resistance, a consultant can get a better idea of the true story of the organization. Almost every change requires the cooperation, collaboration, and co-ownership of others (Patrick, 2003). Much can be gained by looking at where the resistance is coming from and what can be done to dispel any false assumptions.

Edgar H. Schein was educated at the University of Chicago; at Stanford University, where he received a master's degree in psychology; and at Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. in social psychology. His consultation work focuses on organizational culture, organization development, process consultation, and career dynamics. Among his past and current clients are major corporations both in the United States and overseas, such as Digital Equipment Corporation, Ciba-Geigy, Apple, Citibank, General Foods, Procter & Gamble, ICI, Saab Combitech, Steinbergs, Alcoa, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Exxon, Shell, AMOCO, British Petroleum, Con Edison, the Economic Development Board of Singapore, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (on the subject of 'safety culture').

During his career, Edgar Schein investigates organizational culture, process consultation, research process, career dynamics, and organization learning and change. He has been a prolific researcher, writer, teacher, and consultant.

ES: It's an extension of writing I had done on process consultation. I learned from my experience as a consultant that if you're going to be helpful to an organization, you really have to understand the dynamics of the helping process. With my process consultation books, Process Consultation Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, and Process Consultation Revisited, I focused on what the consultant does. In the helping book, I broadened it to the dynamics of offering or receiving help in any relationship.

Both of those roles are dangerous because the client may not have asked for the right thing. That brings us to the process consultation role. I have to assume that we may not have accurately communicated yet, so I'd better ask a couple more questions. I have a wonderful example of this. A woman stopped outside my house and asked, "How do I get to Massachusetts Avenue?" Rather than telling her, which would have been long and awkward and difficult, I said, "Where are you trying to get?" She said, "Downtown Boston." I noticed that she was on the road to Boston and said, "Well, you're already on the road. You don't need to go to Massachusetts Avenue. You just stay on the road you're on."

Although process consultation is a unique style and approach to facilitation, the reader would benefit from first grasping the typical nature and tasks of facilitation, in general. See All About Facilitation

As part of the CFAI accreditation process, Toronto Fire Services is undertaking a city-wide risk assessment exercise. Part of this exercise includes examining building stock attributes, demographics, vulnerable occupancies and historical fire event data. In preparation for the risk assessment, a 2016 building construction date layer has been created. This has provided a unique opportunity to examine residential development patterns since the Toronto Building Construction Date map was first created in 2003. Instead of distinct colour bands spreading out from the core, the map now shows scattered infill throughout much of the City of Toronto.

We have all observed patterns of behavior in our colleagues, students, and faculty members such as common ways of speaking or dressing, patterns of anger, and similar responses to stress or excitement. As faculty developers, we have identified several response patterns from instructors as they reflect on negative feedback about their teaching. As such, we began to take note of how instructors, both male and female, react to the consultation process and negative feedback. Some instructors meet the feedback with flatness or indifference, while others adopt an emotional progression from devastation and anger to acceptance and action. Although instructors of both genders demonstrated some commonalities, they also demonstrated some very distinct differences in how they perceive and react to student feedback and the consultation process in general.

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