Appreciative Inquiry and Process Consultation in OD

Stakeholder Participation in Organizational Change

In appreciative inquiry, action research, and process consultation, a high level of participation among the members of the system desiring change is essential. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that the consultant is an outsider and, as such, cannot know everything about the organization. Internal stakeholders are critical to understanding the issues and dynamics at work within the organization. The second reason is that all organizational change efforts require a high level of cooperation from internal stakeholders. Ultimately, it is the people within the company who need to implement ideas, and without their buy-in it will be all but impossible to bring about effective organizational change. By involving them through high levels of participation, stakeholders remain aware of what is happening throughout the process, have an opportunity to have their say, and can influence outcomes. When internal stakeholders have played a role in shaping the solution, they are more likely to support the change and will work harder to ensure buy-in throughout the entire organization.

Some of these techniques also require high participation by their very definition. Process consultation and appreciative inquiry in particular are processes where the consultant guides and influences the company, but the change effort is driven by the internal stakeholders. Process consultation simply cannot occur without a high level of participation on the part of internal stakeholders — that is inherent to its definition.

A consultant therefore needs to maximize participation. This can be done in a number of ways. First, the consultant must ensure that internal stakeholders understand the process and their role within it. It is easier for the company to fulfill its role when it understands what that role actually is. The next step is to actively solicit feedback and participation. The reason is straightforward: while this process is underway, people within the company still carry a full workload of regular responsibilities. Any time given to the change process must be carved out of their workdays. The default tendency would be to minimize this time, since performance during the change process is unlikely to be formally measured, and time taken away from regular duties may reduce performance in those areas. The consultant therefore needs to encourage participation — including scheduling it — as a means of ensuring that key stakeholders devote sufficient time to the change effort.

Grand Objective: To improve organizational performance across a number of metrics. In the early stages of the consultation process, the company will establish with the consultant the specific metrics it wants to improve, and target benchmarks for these metrics will be set as a means of guiding the consultation process toward objectives that matter to the end client.

First Sub-Objective: This will be identified after an initial opportunity to speak with people in the organization and observe how it operates. There will likely be a sub-objective identified each week so that the consultation process can advance through weekly cycles.

Planning Phase: The planning process is envisioned as something developed post-initial meeting, once work with the client has begun. Overly formal systems can make interactions stilted and limit what can be learned. Most people are more comfortable with natural interactions, and the organization's members tend to open up more when the conversation does not feel scripted.

The first one-to-two-hour meeting should cover several items. These include introductions and beginning to understand the mission of the organization, a quick tour of the facilities to gain a physical sense of the operation and to meet some of the people working there, and an explanation of the consultation process — how it works and what is expected of the client. This initial meeting also creates an opportunity to understand what the client expects from the consultant, a conversation that relates to the psychological contract and the importance of ensuring that both parties are broadly aligned on the purpose and scope of the project.

Consulting Project Plan and Methodology

Appreciative inquiry is the chosen approach for the consulting engagement. The client organization is a family business, which means nearly all relevant parties will be present and involved regardless. The focus should therefore be on the positive — on identifying how to maximize the organization's potential. Much of this work involves thinking creatively and collaborating with the client on ideas. The client must be heavily involved throughout the process, which means that meetings need to be regular and support a genuine two-way flow of information.

The reflection phase occurs after each meeting with management, during which the organization's direction and opportunities for improvement are discussed. This consultation is conceived as a cyclical process, with each weekly meeting representing an iteration: decisions reached can be implemented during the following week. In this way, meetings can focus on what is working, what barriers exist, and how subsequent cycles can be made smoother or more effective.

The following is a sample letter of intent framing the consulting agreement:

Letter of Intent
July 19, 2014

Name of Organization
[Address on file]
[Phone on file]
[Email on file]

The organization agrees to participate in a consultation process using the principle of appreciative inquiry. It is expected that there will be weekly meetings, and that ideas discussed in these meetings will be implemented within the company as part of this process. The consultation will run for ____ weeks, and at the end there will be a final consultation and discussion of findings. Meetings will be held at a time and place agreed upon by both parties and may involve a variety of stakeholders.

Process Consultation in Non-Profit and Small Organizations

When the non-profit is also small, the consultant's ability to secure buy-in becomes especially significant. Christensen and Klyver (2006) note that "clients are co-producers of the consulting process" and that this is especially true in small organizations. The ability to engage, collaborate, and foster communication are essential skills in these contexts. The adjustment is therefore not about deploying entirely different or new skills, but about varying which skills are most emphasized based on the needs, culture, and power structure of the organization. Smaller organizations and non-profits do differ meaningfully from large for-profit corporations, and the process consultant must recognize these differences and adjust strategy accordingly.

Dent (2001) describes the psychological contract as something entered into implicitly when a new employee joins a company. It exists in the minds of both parties as a set of mutual expectations — each party believes the other must fulfill certain obligations — that go beyond what is formally written. The defining characteristic of the psychological contract is that it is implicit, whereas the actual employment contract is explicit. Embedded within it are beliefs about the respective roles of employee and employer.

The psychological contract matters because performance and satisfaction are often shaped by it more than by the written contract. As Hiltrop (1996) observes: "People fill in the blanks along the way, and they sometimes do so inconsistently… a company staffed by cheated individuals who expect far more than they get is headed for trouble."

In consulting engagements, it is important to revisit the psychological contract regularly. There will be an implicit psychological contract between the consultant and the organization, and it is advisable to revisit the expectations embedded in that contract frequently. The organization's buy-in and its evaluation of the consultant's performance is likely based more on elements within the psychological contract than on the specific deliverables spelled out in any formal agreement. Managing expectations is therefore a continuous and critical responsibility.