OF THE OD PRACTITIONER
FORMING THE PRACTITIONER-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
The practitioner-client relationship can be examined by viewing it as a system of inter-acting elements, as shown in Figure 4.3. One element is the practitioner: the internal or external OD practitioner or manager who initiates the change program aimed at im-proving the effectiveness of the client system. A second element, within the client sys-tem, is the client sponsor or contact. This is the person or group within the client organization who has requested the practitioner’s help and interfaces with the practi-tioner. The third element consists of the organizational unit or units that are to be changed, and the set of behaviors and values that have been traditionally practiced. This element is the client target system: the actual target of the OD intervention.
For example, in an OD program for a division of a medium-sized manufacturing company, the client contacts were the vice president of industrial relations and the divi-sion manager (also a vice president).The target system was the dividivi-sion, with the goal of developing a more participative managerial style and increasing productivity.The mem-bers of the division, however, had little voice in determining the proposed change
pro-ISBN: 0-536-63893-4
Organization System (Culture, Climate)
Client Sponsor
OD Program
Goals
Internal Practitioner
External Practitioner
Client Target A
Client Target B
Organization Environment
FIGURE 4.3 A System’s View of the Change Relationship
gram. It was found in preliminary discussions that some were strongly in favor of such changes, whereas others were strongly opposed or even hostile to them. This combina-tion of elements would need to be considered before beginning any change program.
Initial Perceptions
The first stage in developing a practitioner-client relationship involves an interaction between the parties that includes initial perceptions and assessments by each of the other. Such assessments involve the practitioner’s determination of whether or not to enter into a relationship. This decision is based upon the practitioner’s assessment of the degree of congruence between his or her values and those of the client system.These include the attitudes of the client system toward OD and change, the ability of OD tech-niques to deal with the problems, and the potential of the practitioner’s efforts to help solve the client’s problems.
The practitioner’s first intervention will probably be tentative. As OD practitioner Warren Bennis comments: “I enter a relationship on the basis that neither the client nor I know what the underlying problems are and that I need to explore and get a ‘feel’
for the situation before committing myself fully to the client system and before it fully entrusts itself to me.”24This initial intervention might therefore be termed a recon-naissance on both sides. The OD practitioner is trying to evaluate the organization’s readiness and commitment for change, while the client system is assessing the practi-tioner’s capabilities.
Lynda McDermott and Warner Burke explain that power networks are important because they will influence the choice of an OD strategy. The practitioner has to be aware of where the power is in the organization, because that represents the major lever for change.25First impressions obtained in these exploratory interactions are rather im-portant in setting the climate for any future relationships. (See the B.C. comic strip.) Research by Polansky and Kounin shows that very early in the relationship, the client system makes judgments on the capabilities of the practitioner.26
Source:B.C. By permission of Johnny Hart and Creators Syndicates, Inc.
ISBN: 0-536-63893-4
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development, Seventh Edition, by Donald R. Brown and Don Harvey.
Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Perception is the process individuals use to give meaning to their environment by in-terpreting and organizing sensory impressions; however, what one perceives can be sub-stantially different from reality. Perception is a basic factor in understanding behavior in the practitioner-client relationship because an impression is difficult to change once it is made, regardless of its correlation with reality. Clients form early impressions that become very quickly entrenched. Several studies indicate that impressions are formed very early, possibly in the first four or five minutes of the meeting. This is because people behave on the basis of what they perceive rather than what really is. Figure 4.4 shows a basic model of the way such perceptions are formed. Many factors are involved, including one’s past experiences, the system of rewards, the degree of stress in the situation, the amount of group pressure, and the type of role system involved. Selective perception, in-terpretation, and closure are all basic factors affecting the formation of perceptions.
Selective perception refers to the selectivity of the information perceived. People tend to ignore information that they do not want to hear because it might be distract-ing or conflict with other ideas or values. However, people tend to accept information that is satisfying, pleasurable, and in agreement with their ideas and values. Individuals may interpret the same stimulus differently. Every interpretation depends upon the in-dividual’s unique background and experience. Consequently, individuals tend to inter-pret situations in ways that reflect more favorably upon themselves.
Another process involved in perception is termed closure. This refers to the ten-dency of the individual to fill in any missing information, to complete the perception and give it meaning and wholeness. Closure may lead a person to perceive more in a sit-uation than is already there, adding information to make the picture seem complete.
During this initial intervention each party may be selling itself to the other and try-ing to second-guess the other party’s expectations. Often the client system seems to be seeking assurance that the potential practitioner is different enough from the client sys-tem to be a real expert and yet enough like it to be thoroughly understandable and ap-proachable. For the practitioner, however, the process of selling oneself has certain
Relationships
PERCEPTION FORMATION Past Experience
Information
Interaction Role Stress Group Pressure
Organization Position and Job Reward System
Interpretation
Closure
Perception Selectivity
Mechanisms of Perception Formation
FIGURE 4.4 Perception Formation and Its Effect on Relationships
Source:Adapted from Joseph A. Litterer, The Analysis of Organizations (New York: John Wiley, 1965), p. 64.
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dangers and could possibly lead to future problems. The practitioner should ideally be free of the pressure of needing the work, so as to remain neutral in judging whether the client system needs the service and whether the practitioner could be helpful. The in-ternal practitioner is in an especially precarious situation regarding personal indepen-dence and neutrality.
These elements are often termed dilemma interactions. They result from questions by the practitioner about the client’s definition of the problem and awareness of the need for change, efforts to reduce the client’s unrealistic expectations, the client’s mis-use of power, and value differences between client and practitioner. The issue of de-pendency is a real problem in many practitioner-client relationships. At the beginning of any OD relationship, there is bound to be some amount of dependence on the prac-titioner by the client.
As the relationship continues, the client is likely to become more independent of the practitioner and to want to reject either the help or the helper or both. This is a critical point in the relationship, and the effective OD practitioner must be able to let this in-dependence flourish while maintaining the relationship. Operationally, this may mean altering roles and letting the client assume a greater role in the change process. A ma-ture relationship is characterized by a condition of interdependence. In this situation the client is able to make optimum use of the practitioner’s resources, knowing when to use expertise, when to take the initiative, and how to accept suggestions or ideas for consideration. The practitioner feels free to give ideas and suggestions, knowing that the client will use these as appropriate. Mutual confidence between practitioner and client is an essential condition of a sound relationship.
Practitioner Style Model
There is often a gap between the practitioner’s and the client’s understandings about OD and change. The practitioner needs to assess the degree of this gap, because a relation-ship is possible only if the practitioner can be flexible enough to understand where the client is and help the client to learn about the OD change process. In this sense, the practitioner must have clarity about the purpose of OD in the organization, as shown in Figure 4.5. The practitioner brings certain knowledge, skills, values, and experience to the situation. In turn, the client system has its own values and a set of expectations for the practitioner. The target organization within the client system has its own subculture and level of readiness for change.
The practitioner’s task and the scope, difficulty, and complexity of the changes to be implemented affect the relationship as well. Finally, the target organization’s readiness for change, level of resistance, and culture also influence the practitioner’s style and the change approaches that may be successful in a given situation. The OD practitioner needs to involve organization members at all levels and convince them to “buy in” on the change program—in effect, to get involved in solving the problems.
Practitioner Task, Performance, Expectations, and
Rewards
Target Organization’s Readiness for Change
Practitioner Style and Approaches
Client System’s Expectations and
Values Practitioner Knowledge,
Skills, Values, and Experience
FIGURE 4.5 Practitioner Style Model
ISBN: 0-536-63893-4
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development, Seventh Edition, by Donald R. Brown and Don Harvey.
Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Developing a Trust Relationship
The development of openness and trust between practitioner and client is an essential aspect of the OD program. It is important because trust is necessary for cooperation and communication.When there is no trust, people will tend to be dishonest, evasive, and not authentic with one another, and communication is often inaccurate, distorted, or incomplete. There are several basic responses that the practitioner may use in the com-munication process aimed at developing a trust relationship:
• Questions—“How do you see the organization?”
• Applied expertise (advising)—“One possible intervention is team building.”
• Reflection—“It sounds like you would like to see a participative form of leadership.”
• Interpretation—“From your description, interteam conflict could be the problem.”
• Self-disclosure—“I’ve felt discouraged myself when my ideas were rejected.”
• Silence—Say nothing, let the client sort out his or her thoughts.
How these basic responses are used is important in developing the practitioner-client relationship. In general, the more balanced the practitioner’s use of these re-sponses and the more open the range of rere-sponses, the higher level of trust. For example, some practitioners rely almost exclusively on questions without sharing their own ideas and feelings. This tends to create a one-way flow of information. Other practitioners rely heavily on advisement responses, which may tend to develop a dependency rela-tionship. It is important for the practitioner to be aware of the range of responses and to use those that will build an open and trusting relationship.
During the first several contacts with the client system, the following types of ques-tions may be reflected upon:
• What is the attitude of the client system toward OD? Is there a real underlying desire for change? Or is the attitude superficial?
• What is the gut-level meaning of the client’s problem? How realistic is the client’s appraisal of its own problems?
• What are the possibilities that an OD program will alleviate the problem? Can OD solve the problem, or are other change programs more appropriate?
• What is the practitioner’s potential impact on the system? Based on feedback from the client, how probable is it that the practitioner can bring about signifi-cant change?
Once these questions are answered, the practitioner can decide whether to con-tinue the change efforts or to disconcon-tinue and terminate the relationship. Most OD prac-titioners recommend an open discussion with the client on these issues at an early stage.
Creating a Climate for Change
Most OD practitioners would agree that an open give-and-take relationship with the client is desirable. To some extent this depends on the ability of the practitioner to form relationships of openness and trust. Good relationships do not fit into a formula or equa-tion, but OD practitioners have noted a number of recognizable characteristics of which the practitioner may be aware. “The change agent should act congruently (authenti-cally), in accordance with the values he or she is attempting to superimpose upon the client system’s value system.”27To use an old expression, the practitioner should prac-tice what he or she preaches. The practitioner must think and act in ways that will cre-ate and enhance a positive climcre-ate for participation and learning.
The basic value system of the OD practitioner may not be compatible with the orga-nization’s culture. As a result, there may be conflicts between the value systems of the practitioner and the client system.An assessment of the degree of difference and the like-lihood of working these differences through should be part of the OD practitioner’s ini-tial intervention. The practitioner may desire to create a relationship of openness, authenticity, and trust. The client system managers, however, may tend not to be open, may have learned not to behave authentically, and may even feel threatened by an ex-ploration of feelings or confrontation by the practitioner. If the discrepancy between
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Practitioner
FIGURE 4.6 Four Practitioner-Client Relationship Modes
ues is too great, the practitioner may have reservations about the probability of a suc-cessful program. The practitioner also examines the degree of conflict and collaboration between organization units and needs to be aware of this to avoid being party to any ex-isting conflicts. “One of the most frequent forms of resistance to change,” comments OD authority Ronald Lippitt, “is the perception by certain subgroups, that the consultant is more closely related to other subgroups and is ‘on their side’ in any conflict of interests.”28 Practitioner-Client Relationship Modes
Eric H. Neilson has identified several basic dimensions in the practitioner-client rela-tionship that can be used as indicators of the climate for change.29In order to collabo-ratively change the organization’s culture, members need to (1) share their ideas, assumptions, perceptions, and feelings, and (2) accept personal responsibility for their own behavior. Based upon these two dimensions, Neilsen has identified four possible modes in the practitioner-client relationship (see Figure 4.6).
The apathetic mode.Members keep their true ideas about self-fulfillment and organization effectiveness to themselves. They assume that sharing this informa-tion will not make any difference, so why bother? They follow established rou-tines, take no responsibility for their actions, and simply do as they are told.
They relate to the practitioner in the same way, assuming that higher authority has sanctioned the change but viewing it with skepticism.
The gamesmanship mode.Members keep their true feelings about
self-fulfillment and organizational effectiveness to themselves, under the assumption that sharing information may threaten personally desired outcomes. They make their own decisions about how to behave, thus taking responsibility for their be-havior. This may include conforming outwardly to any decision-making proce-dure but manipulating strategic factors to gain personal goals. Members may favor change if they can see ways in which it can serve their personal interest.
The charismatic mode.A limited number of members openly share ideas and feelings with the rest, based on perceptions of leadership. The followers are looking for cues from their leaders, so responsibility is low for most members.
Members view the change process as desirable if the leaders approve, but they rely on the leaders to interpret the results.
ISBN: 0-536-63893-4
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development, Seventh Edition, by Donald R. Brown and Don Harvey.
Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
The consensus mode.Members continuously share perceptions and feelings openly, both on self-fulfillment and organizational effectiveness. Personal view-points are seen as relevant to organization functioning and are expressed. Deci-sions are made and differences are resolved through the sharing of viewpoints.
This process involves both sharing of data and maintaining one’s responsibility for actions. Members see the OD process as consistent with their way of operat-ing and find the results interestoperat-ing and useful.
The practitioner’s attitudes and behavior make it possible for the client to create a climate where feelings about the client system can be freely and honestly expressed.The practitioner also has the ability to listen effectively and express ideas clearly and concisely.
The practitioner is honest with the client, because facades have no place in the rela-tionship. By operating based on power equalization, the practitioner ensures that the power differential between practitioner and client is not too great, for otherwise it will be difficult to develop a collaborative relationship. This is particularly true with internal practitioners, who may be in a subordinate position in the organization’s power structure.
The practitioner also makes certain that all the key parties in the client system are in-volved in the OD program to some extent.The practitioner must determine to how much involvement by different individuals or groups is appropriate. The outcome of ignoring key people is increased resistance and probable ineffectiveness in the change program.
These are not the only dimensions that are involved in a complex practitioner-client relationship, but they have been discussed here to provide the beginning practitioner with an awareness of some of the important dimensions that should be examined and con-sidered. The practitioner must keep in mind that this relationship is analogous to one’s impact on the total system. The practitioner’s behavior will actually be a model for the organization between organization members. In attempting to create a climate of open-ness and collaboration between organization members and departments, one strives to develop personal relationships based on similar qualities. A good relationship increases the probability of a successful OD program. A tenuous or superficial relationship in-creases the probability that the OD program will be ineffective or unsuccessful.