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Sunday, May 06, 2018

“Humble Consulting: How To Provide Real Help Faster”; Edgar Schein: My notes and thoughts from the book

WHY THIS BOOK?

This was not one of the 9 selected books for my 2018 reading plan but I was able to slot it into the month of April – a rest month in the reading plan..

I decided to read this book and to start a Book Club in the Workplace by Facebook WOL Circles community following this exchange of tweets with Silke Westphal and her invitation and recommendation:

Schein was a name that I recalled from doing a unit on Organisational Development during my MBA at Strathclyde Graduate Business School (Glasgow, Scotland, UK) in the mid-1990s.

My overall thoughts on the book can be seen in my comments on the last section of the book at the end of this post.

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PREFACE

(notes from Simon: I have started reading this 1st book of our WOL Circles Workplace by Facebook book club. The Preface set the scene with lots of references to the literature that led up to and informed this book. As an epic rabbit trail-er, I have hunted out additional content relating to the books mentioned and linked to them in my notes.)

Author coming to this after 50 years of research, teaching and consultancy

Started with process consultation: include the customer in diagnosis and prognosis

This has broader application for all helping relationships

The customer needs to tell the problem/issue openly in  a trust environment

Issue of telling after diagnosis for recommendation

Wider issue of staff being unsafe in upward reporting of issues

The power of exchanges in first contacts with the client

Immediate next moves often led to immediate benefits in the eyes of the consultant and client

Pre-requisite: an open/ trusting relationship with the client and humility in the consultant

The book describes the:-

  • new kinds of problems we are facing
  • new consultant/client relationship required
  • new kinds of attitudes/behaviours consultants need to learn to be really helpful

Represents am evolution in my thinking

Historical Context

Draws on elements of prior models of:-

  • complexity
  • interdependence
  • diversity
  • instability

Concept of relationships and levels of relationships and what is involved in negotiating them

Levels and negotiating the levels are rarely covered

Scharmer’s Theory U covers this, differentiating the levels of conversations needed to reach the deepest levels within ourselves and in our relationships to find true sources of innovation

[ Simon: Scharmer resources:

“Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges”: Executive Summary, Images from 2nd Edition (pdf), Google Books Preview

"The Essentials of Theory U: Core Principles and Applications"; Google Books Preview ]

1st/best articulated in highly reliable organisations speaking of loose coupling, sense making, embracing errors, resilience (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2007)

[Simon: "Managing the Unexpected: Resilient Performance in an Age of Uncertainty"; Karl E. Weick, Kathleen M. Sutcliffe: Google Books preview; from which:

"The book is about organisations, expectations and mindfulness. Our basic message is that expectations can get you into trouble unless you create a mindful infrastructure that continually does all of the following:-

  • Tracks small failures
  • Resists oversimplification
  • Remains sensitive to operations
  • Maintains capability for resilience
  • Takes advantage of shifting locations of expertise”

Also worth looking at “Audit 5.3: Assessing where mindfulness is most required”  ]

analysis of interaction and “situational properties” is an essential model to understand how relationships are formed, maintained, repaired when damaged (Goffman, 1959, 1963

[Simon: “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”; Erving Goffman (Wikipedia)

“Behaviour in Public Places”; Erving Goffman (Google Books preview) ]

systemic models of organisational learning (Senge, 1990) and family therapy (Madanes, 1981)

[Simon: “The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization”; Peter Senge (Google Books preview, Wikipedia)

“Strategic Family Therapy”; Cloé Madanes (video) ]

“mindfulness” (Langer, 1997): crucial for understanding the new required skills

[Simon: “The Power of Mindful Learning”; Ellen Langer: Google Books preview)
(from the Google Books info page:

“Radical in its implications, this original and important work may change forever the views we hold about the nature of learning. In The Power of Mindful Learning, Ellen Langer uses her innovative theory of mindfulness, introduced in her influential earlier book, to dramatically enhance the way we learn. In business, sports, laboratories, or at home, our learning is hobbled by certain antiquated and pervasive misconceptions. In this pithy, liberating, and delightful book she gives us a fresh, new view of learning in the broadest sense. Such familiar notions as delayed gratification, ”the basics”, or even ”right answers”, are all incapacitating myths which Langer explodes one by one. She replaces them with her concept of mindful or conditional learning which she demonstrates, with fascinating examples from her research, to be extraordinarily effective. Mindful learning takes place with an awareness of context and of the ever-changing nature of information. Learning without this awareness, as Langer shows convincingly, has severely limited uses and often sets on up for failure.With stunning applications to skills as diverse as paying attention, CPR, investment analysis, psychotherapy, or playing a musical instrument, The Power of Mindful Learning is for all who are curious and intellectually adventurous.”]

change programmes based on lean methods (Deming/Juran, evolved to Toyota Production System) are relevant if well-executed & involve staff doing the work (Plsek, 2014)

[ Simon: “Accelerating Health Care Transformation with Lean and Innovation: The Virginia Mason Experience”; Paul E. Plsek: Google Books entry ]

open socio-technical systems approaches to problem identification & solution from Tavistock Institute more helpful than standardised methods of measurement, analysis and problem solving

most relevant of all – Bushe & Marshak (2015)’s dialogic organisational development vs diagnostic OD, highlighting what leadership theorists eg Heifetz (1994) also emphasise re today’s complex problems not technical ones solvable by specific tools

[ Simon: “Dialogic Organisation Development: The Theory and Practice of Transformational Change”; Gervase Bushe & Robert Marshak: Google Books preview; video ]

best we can do is workable responses I call “adaptive moves”

involves new convo types that are more dialogic & open-ended

use of “moves” important as implies action without necessarily having a plan or solution in mind

[ Simon: cf wayfinding vs navigation from A to B in Designing Your Life ]

from former work, key is “spirit of inquiry” and accepting we do not always know where our learning process will take us (Schein & Bennis, 1965)

[ Simon: “Personal and Organizational Change Through Group Methods: The Laboratory Approach”; Edgar Schein & Warren Bennis: book review]

building a relationship that enables the client to “learn how to learn” becomes now more than ever one of the crucial goals of HC

this spirit best exemplified in concept of “dialogue” (Bill Isaacs, 1999) & “Yes to the Mess” (Barrett, 2012): shows how improv skills per jazz combo provide some of most important clues to what leaders/helpers will have to be able to do in the future.

[ Simon: “Dialogue: The Art Of Thinking Together”; William Isaacs: Google Books preview,  video, Creative Fire video)

“Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons from Jazz”; Frank J. Barrett: Google Books preview, video, HBR video ]

The book is structured as follows:

1: I am the consultant and I don’t know what to do

Summary: Outlines the basic problem of complex/messy problems of today/future require a new model of helping, coaching and consultation.

Notes:

being expert with solutions only works for simple, bounded problems

in past I diagnosed/delivered recommendations that I believed were implementable

learned how to be a process consultant – help a group do more effectively what it needed to do for its basic function and mission

this process fails when the problem is complex, culturally multi-faceted and constantly changing

Case 1: Culture Change in Beta Power Company

received call for my services

prompted to personalisation – “adaptive moves” – begin to build more personal relationship to find out the real issue

sometimes the best help we can give is in early interactions that I would then bill

ask for examples of the client’s issue – do not assume what they are

ask them what they do in those situations – passivity tacitly condones cultural behaviours – you get what you settle for

[ Simon: “condone” means “accept (behaviour that is considered morally wrong or offensive; approve or sanction (something), especially with reluctance. ]

do joint actions list of what they could do

see chapter on how executives can change culture (Schein, 2010)

[ Simon: “Organisational Culture and Leadership”; Edgar Schein & Peter Schein: Google Books preview ]

now in a good place to play doctor and recommend

in this example, there was no diagnosis, analysis, prescription

give in to your curiosity first and do not ask your standard questions

[ Simon: a favourite audio on curiosity and fascination that I view as related characteristics is this interview, see this page for the promotional material (search for “HEAR FROM JULIE” and play  ]

all I did was invited CEO/COO to my house and asked for an example

driven by curiosity and a commitment to being helpful

focus on their behaviour revealed what client wanted to accomplish:
they wanted to change the culture not know about it

immediate steps were taken to help

help can happen fast

mess only emerges as initial moves are made revealing deeper layers of issues/ concerns

ironic that nuclear safety is highly-regulated, creating paradoxical reality then enforcement of legal, technical, bureaucratic standards that often obstruct building open/ trusting relationships required as integral to “safety culture”

growing complexity of co-ordinating between silos, functions, cultural units

examples show complexity/ ambiguity of understanding what to do when asked for help

best/fastest help will be to enable client to understand that very complexity – recognise that small adaptive moves will have to replace big diagnoses & interventions

why problems are messier now:-

  • collaboration fields now more complex (deliberate distribution by specialisation)
  • collaborating groups more occupationally & culturally diverse making goal congruence harder
  • not enough perceived time – & we often prototype the wrong processes
  • problem is not stable – may have no technical solution  workable & unstable environment – unknown impacts of change that also change the problem, need new sense-making approaches
  • concept of client changing – person engaging you is not the only client, representative of wider client groups

The need for a new model

because of new complex problems, new kinds of client systems, new sense of client urgency leads us to HC as new model that will tell you:

  • what attitude to strike with clients
  • how to respond to their very first inquiry
  • help you accept that you might not know what to do

HC is a totally different way of relating to your clients

HC presumes you:-

  • are committed to being helpful
  • bring a great deal of honest curiosity
  • have the right caring attitude
  • willingness to find out what is really on client’s mind

[ Simon: Personally, I have operated like this over my 33 year to-date IT career. Is this really new to those of us who deliver any form of consulting services? This has wider application than just to those with the word “consultant” in their job/role title. I am aware that there have been and always will be “consultants” who do not operate in this way. I always seek to understand the real problem/ opportunity that I am asked to address. I always try to get beyond a person saying they want this specific system change including specific fields on specific screens to fully understand the actual business requirement before proposing a design. ]

means that you will approach 1st contact with potential client intending to build open/ trusting relationship

also via more personal relationship you will discover client’s real issue and whether you can help in traditional expert/ doctor role

paradoxically relationship building process means you will act in way that client may find helpful immediately

small adaptive moves not big diagnoses/ interventions

relationship-building process means getting beyond formality of professional distance

personalisation means you asking personal question or revealing something personal, making yourself vulnerable

[ Simon: strong resonance with me here with WOL connections and contributions as well as the power of sharing your “50 Facts About Me” in small one-offs or the whole thing depending on situation; also the power of sharing non-work-related things about you and making connections more deeply more quickly by doing so ]

[ Simon: reminder of a fave book (from a Christian worldview): “Dropping Your Guard: The Value of Open Relationships”; Charles Swindoll : Google Books preview ]

commitment, curiosity & caring will guide what you ask or reveal in a particular context

[ Simon: I believe that being vulnerable is one of the most important things that a leader can do to lead people well by leading by example in this area.


2: What is new in Humble Consulting 

Summary: Outlines the components of HC.

Notes:

this content not only applies to consulting but also to helping generally including coaching, counselling and OD work

HC requires new kind of relationship with client:-

  • formal professional relationship now insufficient
  • need to overcome professional distance
  • need Level 2 relationship which is more personal, trusting & open

[ Simon: I went on a hunt for content relating to professional distance and this was the first Google search result: article ]

this personalisation process needs to start from initial client contact to show that consultant can be trusted and be open with

[ Simon: any one else note the refreshing alternate use of male/female choice of words for the relationship roles in this book? I still see this very rarely and is worth commenting on, sadly, still !!  ]

HC requires new kind of behaviour in very first contact:-

I am not there to scout/ diagnose/ develop contract with client; I am there to help in whatever way I can

If I hear something that I do not agree with or cannot/will not do, I need to find a way of saying that in a way which is still helpful

Ask questions to probe and fully understand

HC requires a new attitude of humility, a commitment to helping and curiosity:-

humility due to complexity of problems and in the relationship of jointly working things out together not solving it unilaterally

focus on the client, not on selling myself, my skills, my insight

be genuinely/ spontaneously curious

3 x Cs:-

  • commitment to helping
  • caring for the client
  • curiosity, above all!

HC requires new listening and responding skills:-

new empathy while listening; listen for and be curious about:-

  • the actual situation/problem/opportunity the client is describing
  • what is really bothering the client as they explain the situation

HC is a new and different “Personal Role” for the consultant:-

now is to enable client to figure out & make sense of what is really worrying them

consultant becomes partner/ helper from initial contact onwards

HC encourages wider range of consultant behaviour based on consultant being open, authentic, innovative in the relationship

adaptive moves usually shorter and more counterintuitive than traditional interventions

this is more like theatre improv and jazz band than formal off-the-shelf responses

convo changing from discussion/debate to more of a dialogue round the campfire

[ Simon: two of my worlds – work and church – with the reference to campfires!. One of my roles outside of work is as the leader of an All Age Worship planning team that delivers an event every 6 weeks at church for all ages to learn the Christian faith together regardless of age, worldview, faith persuasion etc. We are currently using Rend Collective’s devotional “Campfire Stories” for a themed series. We have had some amazing convos around a virtual campfire. ]

https://youtu.be/iz7wtTO7roQ

I love Rend Collective’s heart, spirit and attitude … and their joy … and their love of community … and their =songs! We are striving to do that ourselves on a big housing estate in Bradford (a city in the north of England in the UK). This video is a great intro to their work:

https://youtu.be/Vk2MpaTEzXw ]

HC will be most effective if the new convos become dialogues:-

this is an entirely different convo from trad approaches: a dialogic joint exploration based on both parties accepting reality that neither party knows where convo is going or what kinds of adaptive moves will get thought of

getting the right people in the room and having dialogic exploration of the complex mess may be the best model of the future of effective helping

[ Simon: re my day job, I crave being more involved in “significant” initial contact comms with prospective/current clients! ]

{ Simon: I went exploring for more info on dialogic convos and found this video of the author: https://youtu.be/cJcUcWlR7Hg ]

How the new elements fit together

HC as new model does not tell me what to do rather provides me a way to think about what is happening to clients & what attitudes/habits I need to develop to be really helpful to them

10 Working Propositions:-

  1. Being really helpful requires locating the real problem i.e. what is worrying the client
  2. Locating this requires open/trusting comms between client/helper
  3. Facilitating those comms requires Level 2 personal working relationships going beyond formal Level 1 relationships
  4. Building Level 2 relationship requires personalising the relationship
  5. Personalising the relationship requires humble inquiry by asking more personal questions and/or revealing more personal thoughts/feelings
  6. Building that kind of relationship requires the consultant to communicate that intention in initial client contact
  7. Making sense of what is bothering the client, helper and client must engage in a joint dialogic process
  8. Determining whether there are multiple issues bothering the client requires careful review by both parties
  9. Deciding resulting actions to take needs joint decision on priorities and actions
  10. Where problem is clear/simple, consultant should go into expert/doctor role or refer client to such a party BUT where problem is complex/messy, client/helper should engage in dialogue to identify feasible adaptive move knowing this may not solve the problem but will yield additional info for next adaptive move

role of consultant in understanding consequences of adaptive moves and to brief client for agreement or otherwise

What does it mean to really help?

help is doing something for/with the client that they cannot do on their own

assessment of helpfulness is by client

in the HC world this needs to be perpetually evaluated by client/me

first real help is my enabling them to see the true complexity/messiness of the problem situation & help them abandon quick fixes & knee-jerk reactions

beyond that real help is to evolve the right adaptive moves

[ Simon: continuing to think that the situations quoted where consultants are engaged/involved are all negative re problems/worry etc but there are also streams of work to do with positive opportunities that may require input from consultancy-type people ]

How can HC possibly be faster?

from the start only trying to identify  the next adaptive move not an entire solution to an entire problem

that next move is often the real help

HC will be the next leadership skill

as the world of work becomes more complex, all leaders/managers will, from time to time, have to become helpers to their bosses, subordinates and peers

specifically, they too will have to discover that professional distance can be very destructive to teamwork and have to learn how to develop more-personal relationships, especially with subordinates to get the info they need to improve the quality/safety of the work to be done

noting the power of creating more personal helping relationships by everyone (!) dealing with complex, messy problems

[ Simon: all this talk of complex. messy problems is reminding me of “wicked problems”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem ]

[ Simon: … and nicely ending on a note that consultancy skills of any kind including the humble consultancy kind (or may be even especially the humble kind!) are needed by everyone! ]


3: The need for a trusting and open Level 2 relationship 

Summary: Explains Level 2 relationship.

Notes:

What is a relationship? What do we mean by trust and openness?

need to clearly understand what the words relationship, trust and openness mean

most people never really think about this and lots of assumptions are made

dictionary definitions can be vague too: connection, mutual dependence, linkage

to understand HC need to understand what these terms mean when one person is trying to help another person on a complex problem that will turn out to be really helpful

relationship: set of mutual expectations about each other’s future behaviour based on past interactions with one another

this includes our ability to predict the behaviour of the other person – so compare shallow relationship with very deep one

in a good working relationship we need to be able to predict how much we can count on each other to make/keep out commitments & how open/reliable we will be in our comms

“good relationship”: a certain level of comfort with the other person, based on us knowing how the other will react & both working on a goal that we have both agreed on – this is often what we call trust

relationship needs to be reciprocal so unrequited love is not one bit a casual friendship can be

for relationship to work there must be some alignment in mutual expectations – depth of that relationship tested as the parties interact – that is the process of building a relationship

casual to deep, minimal predictability & no emotional involvement to very intense emotional involvement

building a relationship is a joint responsibility

depth is a mutual decision based on comfort level of each party through interactions – eg when things go too far or failing when one person is not willing to go any further or does something unexpected/ unacceptable

if defining how to be really helpful to each other, becomes useful to consider what level of trust & openness will be required in the relationship

Culturally-Defined Levels of Relationship, Trust and Openness

Levels Definition:

Minus One: negative hostile relationship, exploitation – e.g prisoners, POWs, elderly, emotionally ill, crime victims – “inhuman” work situation

Level One: acknowledgement, civility, transactional and professional role relations – e.g. strangers on streets, fellow travellers on trains etc, doctors, lawyers (including professional distance)

Level Two: recognition as a unique person – e.g. people we know as individuals, co-workers, clients – comment: implies deeper level of trust/ openness: making commitments and honouring them, not undermining/ harming the other, not lying or witholding info

Level Three: close friendships, love and intimacy – e.g. relationships with strong positive emotions – comment: implies more openness & not only no harm but also active support when needed – usually viewed as undesirable in work or helping situations

Professional Distance and the Asymmetry of Professional Relationships

professionals have special status due to qualifications, education, skills etc

they have the privilege of being able to be as personal as their helping role requires but that is not 2-way

impersonality strongly reinforced by extensive societal rules about privacy including rules about inappropriate relationships with people you are helping

these relationships break down when dealing with complex problems as defined in this book]

When Level One Help is or is not Helpful

only work when problem correctly diagnosed and range of solutions available

problem may not be communicated properly

helper may be diverted on to their own area or interest

helper may see income!

two important questions:-

  • does this request elicit a feeling of caring about the person?
  • does this arouse your curiosity, either about the person or about the issue presented?

wrong diagnoses and prescriptions that do harm do occur

Level One pseudo-help that does not provide real help for complex problems

Level Two Personal Relationships

client moves from being a “case” (stranger who must be kept professionally distant) to being a unique person with whom we can have a more personal relationship

essence of HC is helper begins to build that relationship from 1st contact by starting personalising i.e both client and consultant begin to treat each other as persons rather than roles

so the helper does NOT engage in Level One scouting/ diagnosing/ analysing but immediately shows curiosity about and interest in client and their situation because the goal is to find out as quickly as possible what is on  client’s mind

increases chances of identifying workable problem (opportunity) and avoiding useless/ harmful set of diagnostic processes/ interventions

consultant creates a conversation in which real issues will get communicated re what is bothering them, what they really want to accomplish, what kinds of things might be possible to do

the humble consultant does not open the door to anything personal but rather tries to create a climate where the client might become trusting enough to reveal what is really bothering them and what kind of help they really need

Level Two is a broad category and includes e.g. some personal relationship with Level One transactional helpers due to finding out about a shared interest

key though for Level 2 in HC is a mutual goal of helping and being really helped

[Simon:  This reminds me strongly of numerous Working Out Loud relationships of mine that have started due to non-work shared interests. This is one of the main reasons why I am so open about my personal interests in work and online settings. In fact, I would say that the WOL Circle practice actively encourages you to be helpful in your interactions with people. ]

Trust and Openness in Level Two

in a Level Two relationship, the helper is authentic, expresses doubts about a particular proposal that the client is willing to pay for, if they had doubts

Task- and Goal-Related Personalisation

Approaches to Level 2:

  • ask for more info, ask why client feels they need to do X, why did they call me
  • reveal something personal about themselves related to the mutual goal and in so doing such questions/ revelations invite/ subtly force client into a more personal conversation – beware asking blind date-type questions!

Where client accepts invitation & responds personally, relationship in testing phase where each side decides whether to go more/less personal

BUT the convo remains task-related

Content versus Process

personalise around the presenting problem or the manner in which client presenting it & the process the client is proposing

ultimate joint decision on what process to use only valid when a Level Two relationship has been established to elicit from both of us what we really think

we usually accept the reality that getting intimate with a client is not desirable BUT as helpers need to learn that Level Three is going too far & Level One is not enough

Level Three: Intimacy and Emotional Attachment, Friendship and Love

“intimate” or “close” friendships that go beyond casual connections that can occur in Level Two

this level more emotionally charged, implies all trust/ openness of Level Two but also assumes active support of each other as needed and actively display emotional/ loving behaviour toward each other

avoid Level Three in orgs: can cause fraternisation, nepotism, favouritism which are viewed as impediment to getting work done & “corrupt”

in these relationships, we deepen our relationship through successive cycles of revealing more and more of our private feelings, reactions, observations & assess the relationship by their reciprocation of more revelations of his/ her own, we ask more personal intimate questions & depending on response we learn what level of intimacy feels comfortable

Summary of the Levels

the principle is that HC requires a Level Two relationship

Case Illustrations

use questions to drive client thinking, let them fully identify the issue, use your knowledge/ experience/ observations in the questions that you ask, let the client come to the conclusion & actions

“Personal and Organisational Change through Group Methods”'; Schein and Bennis (1965) - review

“Process Consultation”; Schein (1969) – video of the author

[ Simon: note to Silke – good to see the reference to consultants telling the time by using the client’s watches, see my earlier Workplace post in response to one of yours … ]

Actions for the Reader

ask yourself, with others, the following questions:-

  1. when you ask others for help or some service, how do you decide whether or not you can trust them, whether or not they are telling you the truth? give concrete examples
  2. how would you go about trying to figure out, or what kind of conversation you might consider having that would make you feel you could trust them?
  3. as you answer the first two, do you sense the difference between Level One formality and Level Two personalisation?

[ Simon: these issues of trust were covered in Julian Stodd’s Foundations of the Social Age MOOC in Q1 2017, see my notes/ responses to the “Trust” unit ]

[ Simon: other resources that I regularly share with others that came to mind while reading this chapter include:

4: Humble Consulting begins with the 1st Conversation

Summary: Explains how a Level 2 relationship has to be built from the first contact with the client by adopting a certain attitude that hinges on maximising curiosity.

Notes:

understanding the importance of the initial response applies to all form of helping, coaching and professional counselling

has the potential to freeze relationship in Level One or begin to personalise it to Level Two

most helping situations that go wrong do so due to errors of commission or omission in the very beginning

the right initial response can begin to build the relationship but paradoxically can also be immediately helpful

all your energy should go into creating that open, trusting relationship from first contact

How is this to be done? The HC Attitude: What the helper must being to the party

The HC attitude:-

  • Commitment: you have to be emotionally ready to want to help
  • Curiosity: you have to want to know “who is this person?” & “what is the situation?”
  • Caring: you have to get personal as quickly as possible
    • helpful NOT to look at the info you have been sent, focus on what the client tells me personally now

How to Listen

Three choices – all qualify as intense/ interested listening but have different consequences for relationship building:-

  • self-oriented listening:
    • anything related to me, my skills/ experience, my agenda
  • content-empathetic listening:
    • to the problem etc the person is trying to convey & the problem elements that should be considered
    • NOT content seduction  where your mind goes to what you would do in that situation
    • ignore tone of voice etc
  • person-empathetic listening
    • how the person is experiencing/ feeling about the situation
    • focused on tone of voice & other cues

your 1st responses will be based on how you listen

personalise around the content or the person

either may be helpful but you will not know until the convo starts

Choices of How to Respond

initial responses have several purposes:-

  • make client comfy re having had to ask for help
  • get you info
  • be as sympathetic/ empathetic as you can be so that even 1st interactions viewed by client as helpful

Authenticity – humble inquiry or reaction?

be as open/ honest and authentically yourself as is consistent with the situation

revealing personal info good when it indicates that you have heard the client

Types of questions – what to ask and how to ask it

differentiate between the different kinds of questions you can ask according to their intentions/ consequences

Schein, 1999, 2009, 2013

need to make client comfy & get basic info from knowing nothing about the situation

best start is humble inquiry: open-ended questions that you do not know the answer to

move on to focused questions as you start to understand the situation – diagnostic inquiry

Diagnostic inquiry

these questions influence the client’s story, force the client off their track of telling it, alter the process by which the client reveals themselves

labelled this as they help both parties understand the situation and the client better

turns the interaction into a conversation

diagnostic question types:-

  • conceptual: why?
  • emotional: how did that make you feel?
  • behavioural: what did you do?

can ask these questions in three time perspectives: past, now, future: e.g. what did you do? can you do? will you do?

Circular questions and process focus

circular questions: you ask client to speculate on how others in their system might be thinking/ feeling, behaving

useful when starting an intervention involving a client’s subordinates to confirm what they have been told, should be told etc

process issues – how things are proposed to be done – are often where client needs help most

these questions change course of conversation but do not introduce new content

Suggestive inquiry

these are suggestive questions

in past called them “confrontative” – now realise not a helpful label and suggestive is more helpful

these force new content into the story

beware giving premature advice that may undermine your credibility

works well when Level Two relationship has been arrived at

Process-oriented inquiry

three forms:-

  • redirecting how client is formulating their analysis of the problem
  • redirecting what the client wants you to do in the helping process
  • focusing on the interaction with the client in the here and now
    • likely to be less frequent
    • makes both parties aware that there are in a relationship-building process and that the process is itself subject to analysis and review

Personal revelation

(1) HC process requires authenticity

when you have strong reaction to something the client says should you voice it

  • are you reacting from a position of curiosity and/or empathy?
  • are you reacting from self-orientation?

(2) you have to continue to play within cultural rules of what is/is not appropriate to share

How to begin personalising immediately in a group situation

at least three different levels of relationships in group meetings

  • cf Robert’s Rules of Order for work groups – designed by founders and chairs to stay at Level One
    • members expected to play by rules & stay in their various roles
    • personalisation a waste of time and inappropriate
  • whether a group needs to go beyond this level depends on degree to which task requires co-ordinated actions by the group
    • the higher the interdependency the greater the need for Level Two trust & openness
  • under some conditions teams aspire to reach even Level Three e.g. special forces where intimate knowledge of one another’s reactions is necessary

[ Simon: see Wikipedia entry for Robert’s Rules of Order ]

[ Simon: for more on teams and special forces, see my notes from a day of leadership training in December 2017 with a long-serving former SAS officer, great insights. Also see the course presenter’s book “The Warrior, the Strategist and You: How to Find Your Purpose and Realise Your Potential”. ]

Warrior and Strategist

some work groups are teams in name only because work of each team member is independent of the others

what makes a team is task and/ or emotional interdependence

if task not analysed and interdependencies are not identified, no way of knowing what an appropriate level of relationship is

how we begin is crucial


5: Personalisation: Enhancing the Level 2 Relationship

Summary: Explores the concept of personalisation as key to the new HC model.

Notes:

personalisation key to moving from strangers to:-

  • becoming acquainted
  • getting friendly
  • being team mates
  • getting connected
  • developing the higher level of trust/ openness that is a Level Two relationship

the process of abandoning to some degree the facade that we have learned to wear in public in our official roles

get off the stage and let people see your backstage

personalisation: telling another part of our story of who we really are, where we have come from, where we are going; letting others see how we do things off duty, relaxing, away from work roles

can become dangerous, can make ourselves too vulnerable to being taken advantage of or being humiliated or being “found out”

especially dangerous when happens across formal hierarchy as may challenge Level One norms

to maintain distance:-

  • avoid informal situations like meals
  • always appear in “uniform” displaying our status/ role

Level One can feel safe/ comfy because everything is predictable

getting to know someone at a more personal level:-

  • a process of learning
  • does not happen automatically
  • happens in stages
  • series of tests

Why personalise the helping relationship?

often need to find ways to personalise the situation to open up communication to find out what is really worrying the client and what to do about it

Example: process reviews are essential to organisational learning, but groups/ teams need help in how to do them constructively; process tools can become important facilitators of personalisation cf eating together or playing games together

[ Simon: I have led small study groups at churches for a number of years. I always have an icebreaker activity. I ask a question that each person present will be able to answer, is not about the Christian faith, takes a bit of thought to answer, relates to the main subject of the meeting which I do not signpost at the start of the meeting. I do this even in groups where we have been together for a number of years. It is amazing what you find out about each other even those that you have known for decades. There are also the other benefits of getting each person to say something before the main content/ process of the meeting in question. I recommend it. It has now got to the point with some where if I do not do one they will ask why! ]

the rules of when and how to get personal can be decidedly different in different national cultures

reference to Lewin change model

[ Simon: did a quick Google to get to this summary. ]

as ethnographers have learned, one needs insider informants to really understand culture

[Simon: I have an ongoing interest in digital ethnography but have yet to prioritise studying this subject. This is a fave video in this area with Michael Wesch. ]

times when I felt that what was best for the organisation was not what was best for the person I was coaching – this conflict often arises when doing executive coaching

the cases in the chapter show that reaching Level Two relationship through personalisation is not always necessary but the more complex the problem is and the more it involves interdependencies, the more important Level Two interaction becomes

you need to get to Level Two relationship to identify how to help and you may discover that the client needs a specific kind of doctor/ expert and that you cannot help

in a complex organisational situation you often find you are working with multiple clients. some of whom require humble consulting and others only expert help

exercise: with some colleagues answer “if we are trying to help someone, e.g. when coaching them ”, what are some ways we can convey the desire to be more personal without overstepping into intimacy?” (be specific and give examples)


6: The Humble Consulting focus on process

Summary: Demonstrates that consulting is is invariably more helpful on the processes between client and consultant exploring how to make adaptive moves.

Notes:

best advice to keep alive a Level Two relationship is avoid content seduction

what do you bring to the relationship beyond commitment, curiosity & caring? you may have more experience of, and sense about, interpersonal, group & organisational processes

your most value-added is helping client consider possible results of different kinds of adaptive moves

client can be stuck at knowing the goal they want to achieve but not know how to get there or even start

help can come in brief, innocent interventions that help clients tackle problems from a new angle

this is shifting the problem-solving process

ask questions that force concrete behavioural examples; this influences the client’s thinking process and forces the client to imagine what future behaviour would look like if the desired change happens

the real problem has to be identified

coach the organisation staff to own the diagnostic process and the implementation of the proposed interventions

you could perform humble consultant, process doctor & group coach roles; easier to switch through these roles without relationship ambiguities when you have a LKevel Two relationship

culture diagnosis works best when done by insiders related to a concrete problem they are trying to solve

Summary and Conclusions

HC most likely to be helpful in restructuring the client’s thought process in one/more of following ways by helping the client:-

  • reformulate the problem
  • rethink what the client’s own role should be
  • rethink what the consultant should do

role coaching the client can help the client develop/ implement further adaptive moves

Exercise:-

  1. with another consultant, review recent client work for what kind of process help you provided (be specific, give lots of examples)
  2. with a friend or spouse, discuss a recent decision that you made purely from a process point of view; how did you make the decision? were there alternative ways to do it? how do you feel about how you did it?

[ Simon: I often am included in meetings where the process is already agreed and I am not the lead. In these situations, I seek to use my questions in careful ways to tease out my understanding of what the explicit and implicit purpose of the meeting is (as far as it has been communicated or my understanding of it. ]

[ Simon: The stating of the objectives of a client meeting and the formulation of the approach to meet those objectives is often poorly done. Often, info is not supplied to either party prior to the meeting or is not communicated to all attending parties. To me this is meeting management 101. ]

[ Simon: One of my core roles is that of “project manager”. This means I tend to revert to type and want to structure everything in terms of why we are doing what we re doing, driving out deliverables that will be produced by whom and when. This certainly helps all parties agree what it is we are trying to do. I see HC as being an approach that we need to adopt throughout the project life cycle especially early on in the process. ]

[ Simon: I am wondering now how often I revert to my standard process of formulating a problem or an opportunity with a client and to what extent I need to reconsider and rethink any of my standard approaches to work. I am definitely open to new ways of doing things but I sense that i am good at staying in my comfort zone of tried and tested approaches that I have experience of. ]


7: The new kinds of adaptive moves

Summary: Explores adaptive moves in detail and the innovations that are required to make them helpful.

Notes:

adaptive moves vs “major” diagnostic interventions/ solutions to solve the problem or build some specific capability

in most consulting models, interventions should be based on diagnosis

problem now is that the world and problems are messier

therefore diagnosis process will be at best waste time and at worst do damage

problems most likely in culture diagnosis

culture at its deepest levels is shared group phenomenon that can be described but not quantitatively measured

measuring anything should only come when there is a Level Two relationship

adaptive moves should simultaneously reveal diagnostic info and be an initial intervention

often 1st move conversational and then jointly develop next adaptive move

adaptive: reminds us there is no single problem to be identified

move: reminds us there is no master plan solution

moves: every move will change the situation; diagnosis and intervention 2 sides of coin; both occur with every move

[ Simon: “got” this Sting song, “Every Breath You Take”. ]

does not preclude big interventions if the problem has been truly jointly identified & unanticipated consequences considered

[mention of] group sense making of situations (“Sense Making in Organisations”, Weick, 1995; “Managing the Unexpected: Resilient Performance in an Age of Uncertainty”, Weick and Sutcliffe, 2007)

[Simon: reminded of “detachment” and taking an objective view in the midst of “chaos” via Jocko Willink (former Navy Seal) podcasts:
”Detaching For Clear Thinking” - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin: video
”Should You Always Be Detached? - Jocko Willink and Echo Charles: video ]

per last chapter, main changes are to develop new processes for how to define/work on a problem

safety often traded off against other values: “Navigating Safety: Necessary Compromises and Trade-Offs - Theory and Practice”, Amalberti, 2013

… how to be better helpers …

the most important adaptive moves are often the early ones that help the client define what they are worried about, what they really want, what the problem is to be addressed

dialogic conversations are especially relevant to open-ended/ complex situations because dialogue format premised on thinking together to find common ground to figure out what to do and not make quick diagnosis/ decision

our psychological need to make sense of things leads to oversimplifying, understanding root cause, wanting progress via identifying/ working on the problem and knowing what to do but clarity may only come when we acknowledge that we do not know what to do

I have learned not to worry about not knowing what to do; the collective conversation will help us know

Summary and Conclusions

given increasing complexity of organisations and the increasing speed of the world, the best metaphor for adaptive moves is improvisation theatre

plans, structures, rules, routines can make us comfortable but in the end they may not be helpful

[ Simon: this is a real challenge to me as a Type A project manager. I need to watch myself! ]

BUT getting personal , building relationships and joint improvisation seem to work better for fast, real help

Exercise: with 2+ colleagues, consider what it might mean at work/ home to introduce new kinds of conversation or try a different kind of personal relationship with one another or boss or partners

Considerations:-

  • don’t look for answers
  • allow yourselves to creatively explore new small changes in your own life around messy/ worrisome concerns
  • let go of formulas/ tools
  • capture your own spirit of inquiry
  • enhance your own curiosity
  • purpose of dialogue is to explore an issue not reach a conclusion
  • at the end of the dialogue you may still not know what to do but you will have a deeper understanding of the complexity of the problems you have talked about


Concluding Comments: Some final thoughts on how to be really helpful 

Summary: Lists conclusions and challenges for the future.

Notes:

it is the combination of the propositions in this book that ultimately defines HC

[ Simon: great summary of the book in this section ]

So where do we go from here? The broader implications

this new model of consulting is a broader model of the helping process in general

applies to parents, service deliverers, doctors, lawyers, other professionals but most of all leaders/ managers at all levels will find that they must from time to time adopt HC role to execute their business processes

a challenge to leaders/ managers as they are supposed to know what to do

very few leaders/ managers realise that they will encounter situations where they will not know what to do

[ Simon: the content of this book is all eminently sensible, nothing earth-shattering in the book, good to read things worded in the way that they are in this book, a good read, good case study examples, as per earlier comment I suspect I could be more creative in my own planning of first contacts (noting that in a large percentage of first contact situations I am not the first person in my organisation to make first contact BUT I could treat my own first contact in the way that Schein outlines, I believe I do always seek to understand the real problem (or opportunity) that the client has and am also able to challenge the client’s approach where I thought we could do better, I do need to consider that each time I make any contact with the client it could be a blank sheet of paper and I do not always need to use approaches that I always use even where they have been successful and start seeing opportunities for delivering even better service by doing different things, I also (again!) need to make the point that I need to reflect more each time I have had a client interaction for assessment and learning points. ]

[ Simon: a particular shoutout for Chapter 3 about relationships in the book, I loved this content – defining relationship, trust and openness. These relationship building approaches are how I have been seeking to connect with people for Working Out Loud circle goals, for joining me to read any of my 2018 reading plan books, for recruiting for WOL circles and for joining Workplace. Interesting seeing how deep and how quickly some of those relationships develop and how some “die” through lack of interest from the other party. Love the use of the word “comfortable” in that chapter. ]

[ Simon: Working Out Loud circle exercises have certainly helped me make all kinds of connections based on my use of work and non-work interests for initial contact with complete strangers and that has increased my confidence in developing Level Two relationships with colleagues and clients. Ditto with Designing Your Life work including Life Design conversations. ]

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