Abhishek Kumar_BLP038_Consulting_03Jan’12

Dealing with resistance

In a consulting assignment,there will be many instances when the client feels and displays resistance.Resistance is an emotional process as there are feelings of the client attached to it.Taking on the resistance and fighting it head on is not the right strategy.Here the skill of a consultant comes into picture.How the consultant can put those feelings of clients into words which will in turn demand the consultant as well as the client to be authentic.

If you fight the resistance head on,it will help in intensifying the resistance.Defending your methodology when the client is questioning it is like keeping that resistance alive.There are 3 steps suggested in this chapter in order to handle resistance effectively.
1.Firstly,identify in your own mind what the form of resistence.Here the skill is to pick up the cues and then analyse the situation.Listen to yourself and trust what you see than what you hear.
2.Try naming the resistance in a neutral and everyday language.By neutral,it means the language used should not be biased,rather it should bring out the clear picture of the resistance,irrespective of who is reponsible for this state.
3.Lastly,be quiet.Let the client respond to your neutral frame of resistance and live with the tension by not talking too much.

Also,few helpful tips are:
1.Do not take things personally.Defenses and resistance are a sign that you have touched something important and valuable on client's side but is coming out in difficult form.
2.Also,if a client ask a question,give two good-faith responses to every question.After two such responses,consultant need to deal with the problems of commitment and taking responsibility.Treat the question the third time as form of resistance.

Finally,dealing with resistance is the meat of the consultation.

From diagnosis to discovery

This chapter discusses the stage when the contract is clear and the consultant is ready to deal with the resistance.The next phase is of discovery.There are two purposes for this phase:
1.To look an independant and fresh way of looking at the situation.
2.To create a process that leads to client commitment,ownership and action.

The tradiational way is the diagnosis way i.e. client has the problem,want a solution and wants the consultant to deliver that solution to them.The limitation with this method is that it is strictly problem focused and the consultant does the bulk of discovery.

Further,two methodologies - namely Positive Deviance(where something is working well in a system e.g. businesses,hospitals and villages) and Appreciative Inquiry(in an organization's context,what is working well,right traditions being followed,dreams or vision for future), have been discussed.
The focus on relationships that is emphasized in contracting,is a very important aspect in the discovery phase.Also,resolution of a problem often requires a change in thinking and action on part of the client and this is a challenge.
This improved method of discovery,engagement and dialogue helps in giving best shot at building client capacity and solving problems.
 

The discovery model of problem solving has following steps:
1.Presenting Problem
2.Redefining the initial problem statement for the client.
3.Making a clear and simple picture of the situation.
4.2 aspects: How the problem is being managed and the technical/business problem.
5.Finally,the recommendations are made.

Other important aspects of discovery phase are:

1. Ask questions about the client’s personal role in causing or maintaining the presenting or target problem.
2. Ask questions about what others in the organization are doing to cause or maintain the presenting or target problem.
3. Involve your client in interpreting the data collected.
4. Recognize the similarity between how the client manages you and how they manage their own organization.
5. Condense the data into a limited number of issues.
6. Use language that people outside your area of expertise will understand.
7. Distinguish between the presenting problem(superfacial) and the underlying(real) problem.
8. Uncover and describe both the technical problem and how it is being managed.

Abhishek Kumar_BLP038_Self Leadership_Sep'11

Self Leadership: A Journey...!!

Do I know "I"....?

I get the power and confidence to answer this question only by the phrase quoted by Jim Whittaker - "You can never conquer the mountain. You can only conquer yourself."I found myself caught in a dubious situation after I finished attending the lecture on Self Leadership by Mr. Anil Sachdev.Few things were troubling me constantly. At the start of the lecture, I was apprehensive about the fact that what good that lecture would be doing to me.But, on the contrary, during the course of lecture, I suddenly found my heart gradually overtaking my mind. I don’t know what instilled that inquisitiveness in me.I could have easily felt those jolts between the mind and heart. But hey, where was I heading to? Who was correct - mind or heart? Hmmm... it was time to ponder and introspect. It was the time to know real self in solitude. I decided to give myself some time and find answers to these questions.

Anil Sir took us on a journey by posing some facts that live by themselves but haven't caught our attention as of yet.

1. The presence of omnipotent force inside oneself.

2. Mind controlling the emotions.

3. Ability to control our actions -role of body and perception

4. Thoughtfulness.

But what was that thing that was keeping me on the back foot in the past years? Was it my inner "Ego"? I think yes. It has created a lot of fear inside me. The past conditioning of my body and mind has given rise to this "Ego”. In the pursuit of happiness, joy and peace, it seemed as if I forgot my purpose of being here. Here came the aspect of big "S".It is about Self, Spirit and Source of universe. It is all about being fully present i.e. being mindful. Mindfulness is the combination of 2 aspects:

1. Capacity - to be more precise- Learning Capacity.

2. Right Attitude. ->right efforts ->am I using my gifts->it is not enough to have great qualities; we should also have the management of them.

Anil Sir addressed to all these woes in a very beautiful manner. He suggested the following ways to overcome them:

1. How to develop Learning Capacity - By practising silence.

2. How to overcome fear - By having courage which in turn is the child of Unconditional love.

3. How to do right efforts - By not letting you limit your vision and purpose, because by doing so we will limit our efforts.

He kindled that spark in our minds by putting up a question - "One aspect that I need to change and develop that I have been struggling with in the past”. This led to another interesting aspect - "Immunity to change - The Immune X-Ray Map”. It forced us to bring out that "hidden competing commitment" that was preventing us to change. The purpose of the mapping process is to surface the hidden commitments and assumptions that are blocking our progress. While we consciously have very good reasons for making a change, at a less conscious level we are also holding on to commitments and assumptions that go against the very change we wish to make. 

Immunity to change helped me in knowing the following aspects:

·         Why most change efforts fail?

·         How to change successfully as an individual?

·         How to help your organization change?

The core concept behind this fascinating article is that people and organizations want to change but often fail because they get in their way - is simple and clear. It discussed many of the stories about how individuals and groups have changed. I found them inspiring. The authors addressed a problem many people encounter daily, and their synthesizing discussion of learning theory provides a useful framework for thinking about change. They are perceptive about the fundamental mismatch between how people attempt to change and what they really need to do.

Today, we are faced with a dizzying array of challenges and a constantly changing environment. So even as we successfully master one behavioural change, new situations arise that challenge them to change in other ways. The truly successful leaders are those who can apply what they’ve learned through the process of adapting and changing to the next set of issues. This is true self-leadership.

"If we don't discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us." - William Feather.

After being inspired by this phrase, I believe that based upon our type of “locus of control”, we attribute our success or failure either to internal or external causes. When you focus on what you can directly influence, you start to feel motivated, positive and able to deal with things around you. You can influence, at the very least, your own thoughts, mood, actions, decisions and communication with others.

Eventually, I would like to finish this blog on a note by saying that we all possess a quest for happiness in our DNA.Love, right efforts, and self-belief are the keys that strike a balance between support and challenge, pleasure and pain, happy and sad.