CHAPTER 2

TECHNIQUES ARE NOT ENOUGH

There are dimensions to the consulting role that transcend any specific methods we might employ and contribute to our effectiveness no matter what our technical expertise. A unique and beguiling aspect of doing consulting is that your own self is involved in the process to a much greater extent than if you were applying your expertise in some other way. Your reactions to a client, your feelings during discussions, your ability to solicit feedback from the client—all are important dimensions to consultation.

In acting as a consultant, you always operate at two levels. One level is the content—the cognitive part of a discussion between yourself and the client. The client presents a certain organizational problem. Perhaps it’s the need for training to improve workforce skills. Perhaps it’s how the organization makes decisions. Or there may be a problem of system design or financial controls. The content level is the analytical, rational, or explicit part of the discussion, where you are working on what can be called the technical or business situation. At the same time and at another level, both you and the client are generating and sensing your feelings about each other—whether you feel acceptance or resistance, whether you feel high or low ten....