PLAGIARISM FREE

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W ARNER BURKE (1994) asserted that, “OD as a field has a bright future … The point is that OD, or what- ever it may be labelled in the distant future, is here

to stay.” Such a positive assertion of OD requires its torchbearers—

we, OD practitioners—to affirm our passion for OD, our com- mitment to developing our consulting repertoire, and our desire to continually develop our competencies. I believe among the many competencies required of us, the use of self as an instru- ment is at the heart of our uniqueness and effectiveness.

This paper aims to demonstrate the importance for OD consultants of establishing effective relationships with clients and the use of self as an instrument, or instrumentality, in the work. The article builds upon the definitions of instru- mentality developed by Warner Burke and Edwin Nevis in exploring key practices in owning and refining the use of self in our work.

The premise underlying my approach is that OD consult- ing necessitates a high degree of self-knowledge and personal development that must engage OD practitioners throughout their professional lives.

DIVERSE ROLES OF OD CONSULTANTS

Although there are widely ranging definitions of OD, there is a surprisingly high level of agreement among practitioner- theorists that the purpose of OD activities is to enhance organ- isational effectiveness. Consider the following characterisations of OD. � Planned interventions to increase organisation effectiveness

and health (Beckhard, 1969).

The Self as an Instrument–

A Cornerstone for the Future of OD

By Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge

“If we aspire to both the labels and the roles of helper, counsellor, adviser and supporter, using ourselves as key instruments, we must undertake a process of life-long discovery and of owning and refining our instrumentality.”

C O N F E R E N C E C O N N E C T I O N

Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge is a pre- senter at the 2001 OD Network Annual Conference in Vancouver, B.C. at the following sessions: SS104 Integrating Our Tradi-

tions, Transitions and Dreams to Enhance Our Instrumentality Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 10 & 11 8:30am – 4:00pm

� A process directed at organisation improvement (Margulies, 1998).

� Building and maintaining the health of the organisation as a total system (Schein, 1988).

� Organisation revitalisation achieved through synthesising indi- vidual, group and organisational goals so as to provide effec- tive service to the client and community while furthering quality of product and worklife (Lippitt and Lippitt, 1975).

Within this context, the primary role of OD consultants is to establish helping relationships with and among individuals and groups within organisa- tions. The form these relationships take depends on the nature of the task at hand and may incorporate technical advice in business processes, specialist services relating to organisational design and functioning, process consul- tation or variations thereof. Lippitt and Lippitt (1975) described these roles on a continuum defined by the degree of directiveness assumed by the OD con- sultant. An overview of how authors in the field describe the diverse consult- ant roles appears in Figure 1 (page 13).

This review of the literature illus- trates the degree to which the effec- tiveness of the consultant necessarily depends upon the quality of his or her relationships with clients. McLagan (1989:7) stated this succinctly:

Organisation development’s primary emphasis is on relationships and processes between and among indi- viduals and groups. Its primary inter- vention is influence on the relationship of individuals and groups to reflect the impact on the organisation as a system. Having established the centrality of relationship building to

the work of OD consultants, the next question is, “what are the key competencies and attributes essential for effectiveness?”

SELF AS AN INSTRUMENT

Figure 2 (page 15) summarises competencies required for effective OD consultation, as gleaned from a review of the lit- erature.

Burke’s concept of instrumentality (1982) went beyond a collection of interpersonal skills, attributes and technical knowl- edge to encompass the use of self as an instrument in conduct- ing interventions. This notion of instrumentality is akin to the emphasis of heightened self-awareness in a gestalt approach to organisation consulting. Nevis defined the qualities of “pres-

ence” as the effective integration of knowledge and behaviour in Organisational Consulting: A Gestalt Approach as follows:

Presence is the living embodiment of knowledge: the theo- ries and practices believed to be essential to bring about change in people are manifested, symbolised, or implied in the presence of the consultant. (p. 69) The concepts of instrumentality in effective OD practice

and presence in gestalt practice see the use of self as our prime asset in achieving the helping relation- ship. It is not an option but the corner- stone of our work. The OD consul- tant’s ability to fill a wide range of roles depends upon this use of self.

So how do we develop our instru- mentality?

The answer lies in two concepts: owning and refining our instrumental- ity. Each of these ideas and their related practices are based upon a req- uisite perception of our self as a key asset requiring both proper manage- ment and investment. Owning our instrumentality relates to the develop- ment of our self-knowledge and expertise as consultants in the field. Refining our instrumentality implies regular maintenance work on self.

In practice, owning the self means devoting time and energy to learning about who we are, and how issues of family history, gender, race and sexual- ity affect self-perception. It means also identifying and exploring the values by which we live our lives, as well as developing our intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual capacities. Own- ing instrumentality can also be under-

stood in terms of Cooperrider’s (2000) concept of identifying the “positive core” within and using it to achieve one’s dreams. “Putting first things first” (Covey, 1995) in order to achieve bal- ance between work and life can also be considered part of own- ing one’s instrumentality.

In practice refining our instrumentality means dedicating time to the on-going maintenance of both self-knowledge and technical expertise. Employing a shadow consultant, a mentor or even a therapeutic relationship to continually heighten our self-awareness. For others, it may mean using self-knowledge to build a package of self-care in order to ensure that instrumen- tality is sustainable and lasting.

The following is a partial list of activities relating to owning, refining and integrating our self-knowledge. They are offered here—in four categories—as a springboard for readers in consid- ering your own self-work in four categories.

1 2 O D P R A C T I T I O N E R

The Self as an Instrument—A Cornerstone for the Future of OD

In practice, owning the self means devoting time and energy to learning about

who we are, and how issues of family history, gender, race and sexuality affect self-perception. It means

also identifying and exploring the values by which we live our lives,

as well as developing our intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual

capacities.

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Authors

Burke, 1982

Schroeder, 1974

Lippitt & Lippitt, 1975

Schein, 1988

Tichy, 1974

Beer, 1980

Ferguson, 1968

Nevis, 1987

Fi g u re 1 : RO L E O F O D C O N S U LTA N TS

Roles of OD Consultants

One who provides help, counsel, advice and support.

One who serves as a sounding board, an adviser, a confidant for the consultant who is working directly with the client. (Shadow consultant with other consultants as clients)

Outline eight roles along a continuum with Directive and Non-Directive at either end of the con- tinuum. The eight roles are advocate, technical specialist, trainer or educator, collaborator in prob- lem solving, alternative identifier, fact finder, process specialist, reflector. These roles are not mutu- ally exclusive. The OD Consultant may play different roles simultaneously depending on tasks / assignments.

Key role defined as process consultation, i.e., a set of activities that help the client to perceive, understand and act upon process events in the client’s environment in order to improve the situa- tion identified by the client.

Outlines four change agent key roles:

� OP (Outside Pressure) — advocating certain changes, planning strategies for advocacy;

� AFT (Analysis for the Top) — conducting a study for a client organisation and providing a report for top management;

� PCT (People Change Technology) — providing a service for individuals within the organisation;

� OD (Organisation Development) — serving as external consultant to develop systems.

Lists two consultant roles: 1) as Generalist with an organisational administrative perspective, and (2) as a Specialist “in the process of organisational diagnosis and intervention.”

Lists 18 roles of OD Consultants ranging from capturing data to promote a proper psychological climate to assisting in the management of conflict, serving as plumber or obstetrician in-between, etc.

Outlines five basic roles / activities of a Gestalt-oriented consultant:

1. To attend to the client system, observe, and selectively share observations of what you see, hear, etc.

2. To attend to your own experience (feelings, sensations, thoughts) and selectively share these, establishing your presence in doing so.

3. To focus on energy in the client system and the emergence of or lack of issues (common fig- ures) for which there is energy: to act to support mobilisation of energy (joining) so that some- thing happens.

4. To facilitate clear, meaningful, heightened contacts between members of the client system (including contact with you).

5. To help the group achieve heightened awareness of its process in completing units of work, and to learn how to complete units of work so as to achieve closure around problem areas and unfinished business.

1. Develop Life Long Learning Habits � Continually develop and enhance competencies in order to

move flexibly among the various roles required of the OD consultant.

� Develop relationships with peers and professionals with whom to check perspectives, talk through challenges and strategies, and align values and practices.

� Actively seek feedback from clients and colleagues.

� Build a knowledge base in the field even when this seems neither urgent nor critical.

� Take responsible risks that stretch your professional comfort zone and proficiency.

2. Work Through Issues of Power � Acknowledge personal issues around

power and control and attune your- self to recognise their emotional trig- gers.

� Develop strategies to manage your own and others’ power dynamics.

� Develop effective habits for estab- lishing and maintaining appropriate boundaries with colleagues and clients.

� Clarify personal values and what is important in life. Practice “putting first things first.”

3. Build Emotional and Intuitive Self-Awareness � Integrate your personal and family history and turn it into a

source of strength. � Get to know your fears, blind spots and comfort zones. Use

your emotional comfort (or discomfort) as data in making

choices about the work you do and how you intervene in client systems.

� Develop habits for managing anxiety about the accuracy of perceptions and efficacy of interventions.

� Acknowledge the potential power of intuition in managing decisions and risks, even in the face of clear opposition. � Face your lack of effectiveness with

certain projects and clients. Have the courage to stop working for clients who offer good money but at a per- sonal price.

4. Commit to Self-Care � Organise your calendar to include

time for reflection and integration, and a recharging of your intellectual and emotional energy.

� Book regular time off to cater to body, mind, and soul.

� Have an effective self-care package, knowing that—like a machine- we cannot keep delivering a long-haul service without maintenance work.

� Use meditation or other practices to develop and maintain inner aware- ness and knowledge.

Over the past ten years, as I have supervised and mentored OD consult- ants and witnessed the working of instrumentality, I have concluded that they fall into three groups:

1. Consultants whose effectiveness is inconsistent. 2. Effective consultants who experience burn out because their

high performance is costly and unsustainable. 3. Effective consultants who are in optimal condition most of

the time. The first group of OD consultants often convey a highly

professional image. They are even likely to invest money and time updating their technical expertise. They can be quite effec- tive in some projects. However, they are much less effective when projects require the use of self as an intervention beyond their technical expertise. Many have not accepted that an effec- tive OD consultant must understand and deal not only with technology, but also with human processes such as trust, dependency, and ethics.

The second group of consultants, like the third, is commit- ted to their mission as OD professionals, highly skilled in many types of OD intervention, and well respected by clients and colleagues. But they differ significantly in three ways: 1. The amount of time and energy they spend working on

knowing themselves better.

1 4 O D P R A C T I T I O N E R

The Self as an Instrument—A Cornerstone for the Future of OD

MEE-YAN CHEUNG-JUDGE, Ph.D., since 1985 has been the Director of Quality & Equality, an OD Con- sultancy Services Group based in Oxford, United Kingdom. Mee-Yan held various academic positions in the USA before moving to the UK. She has over twenty years of OD experience, supporting top teams across various industrial sectors in attaining optimal health and high performance. She is committed to coach and mentor other OD consultants, sharing her insights of how the roles and competencies evolve through time.

AU T H O R

… if we fail to engage in self-work activities, it is

certain that high performance will entail

a high personal cost, both to our clients and ourselves. Through time, this will eat

into our sense of well being. Many of us have become

aware of the personal cost, and have learned never again to be put in that situation unwittingly.

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Authors

Burke, 1982

Argyris, 1962

Beer, 1980

Sullivan and Sullivan, 1995 McLean and Sullivan, 1990

Nevis, 1987

Fi g u re 2 : O D C O N S U LT I N G C O M PE T E N C I E S

Required Competencies

1. The ability to tolerate ambiguity. 2. The ability to influence. 3. The ability to confront difficult issues. 4. The ability to support and nurture others. 5. The ability to listen well and empathise. 6. The ability to recognise one’s own feelings and intuitions quickly. 7. The ability to conceptualise. 8. The ability to discover and mobilise human energy. 9. The ability to teach or create learning opportunities. 10. The ability to maintain a sense of humour. 11. A sense of mission.

1. Self confident. 2. Interpersonally confident.

1. Be credible. 2. Be neutral. 3. Ability to stay marginal.

Based on McLean and Sullivan’s earlier study, they involved over 2000 OD practitioners in defining essential competences of internal and external consultants. Listed the required 187 competences under ten categories of OD activities. 1. Marketing Phase (3 competences). 2. Initial Contactivity Phase (20 competences). 3. Start up Phase (10 competences). 4. Assessment and Feedback Phase (45 competences). 5. Action Planning Phase (16 competences). 6. Intervention Phase (12 competences). 7. Evaluation Phase. 8. Adoption Phase (13 competences). 9. Separation Phase (13 competences). 10. General competences (40 competences).

Outlined the skills required to be effective in using a Gestalt approach based on the Cycle of Experience as an orientation for both client and self. Organises skills in terms of consultant’s major tasks. 1. Ability to stay in the present and focus on the ongoing process, with faith in natural develop-

mental sequence. 2. Considerable sensitivity to sensory, physical functioning of self and others. 3. Frequent tuning into your emotions. 4. Ability to separate data from interpretation and to emphasise non-judgmental observations. 5. Awareness of your intentions, of what you want to do or say, together with the ability to be

clear in letting others know what you want of and from them. 6. Ability to see where the client is at any time, and to respect that in working with the system. 7. Ability to face and accept emotional situations with a minimum of personal defensiveness. 8. Ability to make good contact with others. 9. Ability to present self as a highly attractive yet non-charismatic presence. 10. Capacity to be both tough and supportive during the same work session. 11. Ability to help the client system draw meaning or understanding from its experience with the

consultant. 12. Appreciation of the significant contextual issues involved in System Intervention. 13. Awareness of the aesthetic, transcendent, and creative aspects of working as a consultant.

2. Their commitment to take time to pursue a robust self-care package.

3. The personal cost they incur because of their high perform- ance.

The second group often performs very well for a time, and then suddenly seems to suffer from serious burn out. The symp- toms can range from mild depression, loss of temper with clients and staff, lack of motivation, and continuous fatigue to physical illness, loss of focus, and serious depression.

While I emphasise the differences between the three groups, in reality, most consultants slide up and down this con- tinuum, depending on what else is happening in our lives, and how much emotional energy we have to deal with those issues that are critical to well-being and instrumentality. However, if we fail to engage in self-work activities, it is certain that high per- formance will entail a high personal cost, both to our clients and ourselves. Through time, this will eat into our sense of well being. Many of us have become aware of the personal cost, and have learned never again to be put in that situation unwittingly.

CONCLUSION

Like Burke, I believe that none of us can ever achieve per- fect instrumentality, and that it is very difficult to be an effective OD consultant. We can begin the journey towards perfect instrumentality; we can never complete it. But if we aspire to both the labels and the roles of helper, counsellor, adviser and supporter, using ourselves as key instruments, we must under- take a process of life-long discovery and of owning and refining our instrumentality.

Finally, what would happen if we collectively (without a formal licensing procedure) agreed to create a bright future and make a major impact in the field of OD by the effective use of self? How would things change? I believe that organisations all over the world would be well disposed to a group of effective helpers who would become likely partners with them in the pursuit of optimal health for their organisations. Through time, we would pass on the baton to managers (our clients) and coach them to play a key role in transforming the way their organisations are run. Ultimately, a healthy organisation can develop itself with its managers as the primary practitioners. In this way, more managers will come to understand the necessary balance between freedom and constraint, democracy and authority, profit and ethics in organisation life and health. ■

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Beckhard, R. (1969). Organization Development: Strategies and Models. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Beer, M. (1980). Organization Change and Development: A Sys- tems View. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear.

Burke, W. (1982) Organization Development: Principles and Prac- tices. Boston: Little, Brown.

Burke, W. (1994) Organization Development: A Process of Learn- ing and Changing. (2nd ed.) Reading: Addison-Wesley.

Cooperrider, D. (2000) “Positive Image, Positive Action: The Affirmative Basis of Organising.” In Cooperrider, D., Sorensen, P., Whitney, D., and Yaeger, F. (2000) Appreciative Inquiry. Champaign: Stipes Publishing. (pp 29-53).

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McLagan, P. (1989). Models for HRD Practice. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and Development.

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Nevis, (1987) Organisational Consulting: A Gestalt Approach. Cambridge: GIC Press. (1998 Second Edition)

Lippitt, R., and Lippitt, G. (1975) “Consulting Process in Action.” Training and Development Journal. 29(5): pp 48-54; 29(6): pp 38-44.

Margulies, N. (1978). “Perspectives on the Marginality of the Consultant’s Role.” In The Cutting Edge: Current Theory and Practice in Organization Development, ed. W. W. Burke, pp. 60- 69. La Jolla, Calif.: University Associates

Schein, E. H. (1980). Organizational Psychology, 3rd ed. Engle- wood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

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The Self as an Instrument—A Cornerstone for the Future of OD