Please write a response to the discussion below with meaningful and relevant responses that add value to the discussion.
DISCUSSION BY Tracey Heyder-Kitching
Block (2011) describes the consulting process in eight distinct steps; contact, contract, data collection and analysis, data feedback and diagnosis, way forward decision(s), design the intervention, implementation, and finally the evaluate and learn phase. In this author’s opinion, the implementation phase would be the most difficult to successfully implement. Implementation of the recommendations and strategies requires leadership and team members to change their “ways” which can be difficult for people to do. Just like leaders need to find ways that motivate individuals, the consultant has a similar task at hand to not only deliver a message but to also explain the importance of the recommendations and ways to make the changes. If the consultant could provide more than one option for the implementation of the changes in hopes that if the leadership or team feels that there is a choice, it will create “buy in” which can improve the likelihood of the actual implementation of the recommendations. Torabizadeh, Ghodsbin, Javanmardibard, Shirazi, Amirkhani, & Bijani (2018) recognized that implementing changes requires acknowledgement of possible executive obstacles along with detailed infrastructure and communication of training and evaluation methods. Effective communication of the recommendations will help improve the likelihood of the change process.