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.

Consulting Project Plan and Methodology

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.

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.

Process Consultation in Non-Profit and Small Organizations

Chapman (1998) argues that process consultants will sometimes use different skills — or emphasize certain skills more or less — when working with non-profit organizations. Skills oriented toward profit drivers will naturally be downplayed, while those oriented toward collaboration will be emphasized. Because process consultation is inherently driven as much by the people within the organization as by the consultant, the consultant must engage key stakeholders in the non-profit in ways that resonate with their values. Where appeals to profit are ineffective, appeals to mission-driven outcomes will be far more persuasive. The culture of non-profits tends to differ from that of for-profit entities — people may be motivated as much by the work itself as by financial compensation, creating greater room for collaboration. As a process consultant, the central goal remains helping the people within the organization perform more effectively than they currently do.

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.