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Published in 1969 as part of a six volume series by Addison-Wesley on Organization Development, this book by Edgar H. Schein deals with the process of the consultation itself. Schein credits his introduction to consultation through his exposure to Douglas McGregor who developed the Management Theory X, Theory Y. This book presents ideas from social psychology useful in consultation in addition to the exact things that Schein does when he consults.
In this book Schein describes three models of consultation:
- Purchase Model: purchase of expert information of an expert service
- Doctor-Patient Model: consultant or team of consultants are brought in to look over the organization and find out what is wrong
- Process Consultation Model: involves the client in self-diagnosis and helping him/her to find a remedy that fits the situation and unique set of needs
What process consultation requires is that the process consultant be expert in how to diagnose and how to establish effective helping relationships with clients. Sounds like a coach to me. I can see why organization development practitioners view coaching as an OD intervention.
In 1988 the second edition was published. In 1999 this book was completely revised with Schein focusing on process consultation as a general model of the helping process. Schein’s ten principles that are the essence of process consultation can equally apply to coaching:
- Always try to be helpful
- Always stay in touch with the current reality
- Access your ignorance
- Everything you do is an intervention
- It is the client who owns the problem and the solution
- Go with the flow
- Timing is crucial
- Be constructively opportunistic with confrontive interventions
- Everything is a source of data; errors are inevitable–learn from them
- When in doubt share the problem
What are your thoughts on the influence of process consultation of the coaching field?
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Excellent post Vikki. Schein´s philosophy of low key inquiry and helping clients to solve their own problems (PC) it´s related with his initial exposure to psychology, specially the concepts of Carl Rogers. Another source of PC is the training philosophy he learned in NTL (National Training Laboratories), where he noticed how groups responded much better to facilitative remarks than to directions, recommendations and interpretations. His consulting style grew directly out of his group training style and reinforced by his consulting experiences with organizations. Clients clearly seemed to like it better if he helped them to think things out rather than to make direct recommendations to them.
The concept of process consultation as a mode of inquiry grew out of Schein¬¥s insight that to be helpful one had to learn enough about the client system (individual, group or organization) to understand where it needs help, what are the options of help available, and that in order to achieve this it is required a period of very low key inquiry oriented diagnostic interventions designed to have a minimal impact on the processes being inquired about (eg, you don¬¥t ask: “Have you thought this can mean X or Y?” , this is confrontational inquiry and you can use this mode after a period of pure or low key inquiry).
Process consultation it is more a philosophy that acknowledges that the change agent (coach, consultant, facilitator) is not an expert on anything (content), but how to be helpful (process), and starts with total ignorance of what is actually going on in the client system. One of the skills, then, to do process consultation is to “access one’s ignorance,” to let go of the expert or doctor role, and engage in joint exploration with the client system as much as possible.
It was delightful to me to witness PC in action in Schein¬¥s own persona, last year at a summer course at Cape Cod. Some attendants asked questions to Schein, rather to give straight answers, he inquired in attendant¬¥s questions, often arriving to a total re-definition of the initial question. At some other questions, he simply replied: “I don¬¥t really know, but my hunch is…”. Very clearly, you could notice how he “walked the talk”…
What I like of Schein¬¥s writings and lectures is that always it is a first person story, in a very humble and reflective way, highlighting experiences, mistakes, learnings and patterns…
BTW, after 40 years of the first PC book, Schein just published his last book, “Helping: How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help”, where he explains to the general public the dynamics of helping relationships, why help is often not helpful, and shows what any helper must do to insure that help is actually provided.
http://www.amazon.com/Helping-Offer-Give-Receive-Help/dp/157675863X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240322956&sr=1-1
If you are at / near Cambridge, MA, may be you want to attend an evening with Ed Schein to discuss his new book:
http://www.learninggroup.org/lg_future_meetings_schedule.htm#a29
Regards
Hi Abiel,
How fantastic to be able to witness Schein in person, he truly sounds like a coach. Also the links you provided to his last book are useful, as coaching is also a type of helping profession.
Vikki G. Brock, Ph.D., MCC
Director, History and Archive Division
The Coaching Commons