Month: April 2023

As Dr. Schein points out, consultants typically sell information, ideas, and recommendations. However, the process consultation approach is different in that it is all about client involvement and includes:

• Helping clients learn at their own pace
• Helping clients to have insights
• Helping clients to solve their own problems.

To do this you must be able to sell this helping relationship. How do you intend to sell this helping relationship to the client?

I have actually been doing some “selling” in my workplace with regards to the client relationship. As a student of OD, I have been sharing the frameworks I have been learning (PC and AI) and I have also been introducing models such as the Kirkpatrick Model, 4-D Phases, etc. As a coach and internal consultant in my organization, I am always selling my skills, especially the new ones I am learning. I have found my colleagues to be intrigued and willing to learn new things through me. I get incredibly excited when I can teach others what I am learning and it makes me feel quite good inside.

Yes, it is important to bring strong skills to your client, however, what works incredibly well for me is my reputation with relationship management. I have a proven track record of leading well, managing well, and working well with the people around me to get things done. To me, this is critical. To earn trust, build strong working relationships, where candor and honesty can drive the work forward, is a big selling point for any client relationship. Every so often, I will get recognition or praise for this behavior, and it makes me so, so happy. If I die tomorrow, I want the relationships to be remembered most. How I made that person feel, not the metric on the board.

Lastly, I would work on “selling” the partnership. I am working with someone because I care about their work, their organization, and their problems. I want to help coach, guide, and help them. With my wisdom, expertise, and partnership, I hope to influence them to WANT to own what we create together. Ownership is a privilege – I want to show them that through my partnership and ignite them to WANT to solve their own problems.

About a year or so ago, I facilitated a prioritization activity and conversation for a group of senior leaders. I created a special mural board and the session was virtual. Prioritization has been a hot topic, and still is, as most of my organization is not doing this task well and have MANY areas of prioritization which completely defeats the purpose. Things kicked off well and everyone was participating and using the board.

The conversation was flowing and the most senior manager, “the boss” of the group, was mostly observing. The team shared their frustrations openly that they each had too many things to prioritize and that their goal was to shrink to 2-3 big rocks to focus on. Everyone was supporting each other and we planned to visually pull those areas of prioritization out of the visual board, so it was nice and clean and easy to walk out of this session and re-focus.

Agreement was flowing beautifully amongst the group, support was felt, language was positive and there even seemed to be some relief as this session played out. I was feeling positive, excited and impactful to help this group. The boss, barely chimed in and nearing the end of the two hour session, when we had virtual post its in a bullseye visual, she said that this would not work. That some of the topics or deliverables that the team de-prioritized, had to remain priorities. The room was a bit stunned and silence occurred. I allowed the silence to remain for a bit then began to ask the boss some questions, redefining prioritization, and doing my best to connect this all back to our OKRs. It was here that I believe I witnessed group think. She wouldn’t budge and slowly, her team, began to give her approval and support, in my opinion, based on fear, and our entire goal of true prioritization failed.

At the very end, I felt so frustrated and had to openly share with the group that this was not a successful session. I encouraged the team to continue to have candid conversations around over prioritization, burnout, and  psychological safety. I bring this back up to the boss occasionally, challenging her to challenge her manager to better protect her team. I completely get that we have many competing priorities, but if we are not focusing on a few, and doing them well, then we are not prioritizing.

Briefly describe a time when you altered your behavior to “go with the flow.” Why did you do that and what was the outcome?

When the pandemic began to transition and end, the topic around return to the office was a common conversation for many in my workplace. Some were excited for the return, others were indifferent and there were also some that were very against returning to the office (RTO). During this transition, often at the beginning of meetings or 1:1s,those folks that were very anti-return to office, were quite vocal about this disagreement. Eventually, we were given staggered dates and began returning. The “rules” around RTO were not strict and those few with loud voices against RTO, just didn’t come in. Eventually, at the end of 2022, my company put a policy in place, and those folks had to start coming in or else they would be put on a performance warning.

I am a rule follower for the most part. When I was told to return to the office last April, I did. I will admit that I was frustrated that many did not come in, not even once for many months. I appreciated the leniency to return slowly, but I also liked being home and was not exited to lose time in my day again to commuting.

I remember one conversation in particular, early in 2023, once the policy was in place. I was in a group setting, and one of my colleagues began openly “trashing” this policy and our company. He went on and on in such an unprofessional and immature way and inside I was incredibly annoyed. Others chimed in, showing him empathy and it was here that I made the decision to “go with the flow” during this conversation rather than share my feelings.  I made this decision because I have been with this person in many meetings and he does this each and every time. It was not worth it, especially in a group setting, to challenge him. I didn’t feel good about changing my true behavioral response, because he needed some peer coaching, as depending on his audience, he could get himself into some serious trouble. Ironically, not long into the New Year, he got a new lateral role in another division where he “heard” that the RTO policy was more lenient. After his departure, multiple folks spoke up to their frustration with his comments and lack of coming into the office. It sounded like I was not alone.

I did eventually do some peer coaching with this person, but one on one. The leader in me could not let it go. I wanted to go deeper on why he felt so strongly about RTO. I knew something more was there. He revealed that he loves being home because his kids are little and not yet in school. He can play with them, have breakfast and lunch with them. Go for walks, the park, or go sledding on a snow day. These are all thing I appreciate, however, I asked him, “That sounds like parenting?? Are you working at all in there?” He responded, “Yea, a little bit.”

Sure, who wouldn’t want to make a salary for parenting!