Schein’s)Ten)Principles)of)
Effective)Process)
Consulting
Compiled)by)Dr.)Doug)DeVore
As#a#process#consultant,#it#is#imperative#
that#you#adopt#principles#to:
! Ensure(ethical(consulting.
! Recognize(the(boundaries(within(which(you(
should(work(in(an(organization.
! Understand(the(risks(inherent(in(
organizational(consulting.
! Always(seek(to(understand(the(needs(of(the(
organization(through(the(lens(of(
organizational(theory.
3
Schein’s)Ten)Principles
1. Always)try)to)be)helpful.
“The&intention&to&be&helpful&is&the&best&
guarantee&of&a&relationship&that&is&rewarding&
and&leads&to&mutual&learning.”
2. Always)stay)in)touch)with)the)
current)reality.
“I&cannot&be&helpful&if&I&cannot&decipher&
what&is&going&on&in&myself,&in&the&situation,&
and&in&the&client.&.”
4
Schein’s)Ten)Principles
3. Access)your)ignorance
“The&only&way&I&can&discover&my&own&inner&
reality&is&to&learn&to&distinguish&what&I&know&
from&what&I&assume&I&know,&from&what&I&truly&
do¬&know.&”
4. Everything)you)do)is)an)
intervention.
“I&therefore&have&to&own&everything&I&do&and&
assess&the&consequences&to&be&sure&that&they&
fit&my&goals&of&creating&a&helping&relationship.”
5
Schein’s)Ten)Principles
5. Client)owns)the)problem)and)the)
solution
“My%job%is%to%create%a%relationship%in%which%the%
client%can%get%help.%”
6. Go)with)the)flow.
“Inasmuch%as%I%do%not%know%the%client’s%reality,%
I%must%respect%as%much%as%possible%the%natural%
flow%in%that%reality%and%not%impose%my%own%
sense%of%flow%on%an%unknown%situation.”%
6
Schein’s)Ten)Principles
7. Timing)is)crucial.
“Over'and'over'I'have'learned'that'the'introduction'of'
my'perspective,'.'.'.has'to'be'timed'to'those'moments'
when'the'client’s'attention'is'available.”
8. Be)constructively)opportunistic)with)
confrontive)intervention.
“When'the'client'signals'a'moment'of'openness,'a'
moment'when'his'or'her'attention'to'a'new'input'
appears'to'be'available,'I'find'I'seize'those'moments'
and'try'to'make'the'most'of'them.”
7
Schein’s)Ten)Principles
9. Everything)is)a)source)of)data.
“No%matter%how%well%I%observe%the%previous%principles%I%
will%say%and%do%things%that%produce%unexpected%and%
undesirable%reactions%in%the%client.%%I%must%learn%from%
them%and%at%all%costs%avoid%defensiveness,%shame,%or%
guilt.”
10.When)in)doubt)share)the)problem.
“Inevitably,%there%will%be%times%in%the%relationship%when%
I%run%out%of%gas,%don’t%know%what%to%do%next,%feel%
frustrated,%and%in%other%ways%get%paralyzed.”%Share%with%
consultant%team%and/or%client.
8
Closing(thoughts(.(.(.
“.$.$.$the$decisive$factor$as$to$whether$or$not$help$
will$occur$in$human$situations$involving$
personality,$group$dynamics,$and$culture$is(the(
relationship(between$the$helper$and$the$person,$
group,$or$organization$that$needs$help..”$(Edgar$
Schein)
9
References
Block,'Peter.'(2000)'Flawless'consulting:'A'guide'to'getting'your'expertise.'
Hoboken,'New'Jersey:'John'Wiley'&'Sons,'Inc.'
Schein,'Edgar.'(1969)'Process'consultation:'Its'role'in'organization'
development.'Reading,'MA:'Addison'Wesley'Publishing'Company.
Schein,'Edgar.'(1987)'Process'consultation,'volume'II:'Lessons'for'
managers'and'consultants.'Reading,'MA:'Addison'Wesley'Publishing'
Company.
Schein,'Edgar.'(1999)'Process'consultation'revisited:'Building'the'helping'
relationship. Reading,'MA:'AddisonVWesley.
10
Let’s&take&a&break!&
University of La Verne Practicum - January 2014 11
