OD Consultant? What's that?
A few weeks ago I had to renew an insurance policy using a new online form. One of the questions the website wanted me to answer was "What is your job?". Next to the question was a drop down list on which there were, quite literally, hundreds of options. The list included some familiar occupations: Accountant, Actuary, Receptionist, Welder, Priest, Car Mechanic and Quantity Surveyor, etc were all listed. Scattered among them were a host of other more unusual ways to earn a crust including: Axeman, Astronaut, Chicken Chaser and Chicken Sexer. I was so absorbed by some of these the amazing sounding jobs that I must have I scrolled up and down the list over a dozen times. I was amazed at its thoroughness. It seemed that just about every profession, or in some cases, bizarre fetish, that you could imagine, was listed.
But Organisational Development Consultant wasn't on the list.
The suggestion that there are more astronauts than OD consultants makes me smile <beep>.Why was OD consultant not on the list? <beep>. Are OD consultants uninsurable? <beep> Or is it that OD consultants don't call themselves OD consultants because nobody knows quite what it is that they do? I mean, aren't they just the same as trainers or HR management consultants? <ok, enough astronaut jokes>
The answer to that last question is 'no'. Close the door and pay attention. I'm going to tell you what an organisational development consultant does.
Let's start at the top.
What is organisational development?
Organisational Development, or ‘OD’ for short, is concerned with the way that organisations and the people in them, exist, interact and develop. Turn to any book on OD and you'll see a hefty quote defining the subject, but I am going to draw on the words of one of the UK's top OD practitioners, a fantastic and inspirational woman by the name of Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge (who presumably is also uninsurable). If there is a guru of UK OD then Mee-Yan is it. Organisational development, she says*, is the field of behavioural science "...that provides theory, practice knowledge and intervention technology to the world of work in order to support people to achieve what they set out to achieve". According to Mee-Yan, OD exists "..to improve the functioning of individuals, teams and the total organisation". It is a planned process aimed at the whole organisational system.
What is an OD consultant?
OD consultants then, by inference, work to this objective. They want your organisation, and the people in it, to be the best that they can be. But they want to achieve this in a particular way, specifically in a way that allows them to "teach organisation members how to continuously improve their own function without depending on external support" (Mee-Yan again). In this way the OD consultant is always trying to work him or herself out of a job, by helping to build competence within the organisation that they are working with that will enable the organisation and the individuals in it to continue under their own steam, strong enough in their own understanding of the issues in hand to sustain their own development.
Of course, being 'the best' is a very subjective term. It means different things to each of us. But the thing about OD consultants is that it's not their definition of 'best' that counts. It's yours. A good OD consultant will ask you lots of questions about what is important to you. A good OD consultant will try to understand more about your definition of 'best', and will also challenge you on your assumptions. A good OD consultant will help you be your best.
OD consultants have an understanding that what goes on in organisations is not all down to hierarchy, objectives, official communications and strategic plans. "An OD practitioner", Mee-Yan tells us, "...is a behavioural scientist who, through effective relationship building skills, delivers help and support to a client system with the goal of improving the health of the system...[They are] process orientated practitioners with an aim to pass on the process skills to the client system". They understand that economic theories of the firm, whilst important and useful, don't give you the whole story. They understand that organisations exist as a whole system, where people interactions are actually the most important thing that goes on, and that the psychology and power plays that accompany these interactions can both restrict and lubricate in equal measure. What we see going on in our workplaces is only the tip of the iceberg (there are lots of iceberg theories in OD). Being the best that you can might involve understanding these icebergs and how they impact you and the wider organisation.
The concept of ‘self as instrument’
Those associated with OD are keen to stress that there is real science in the application of these skills. This is not a world of mumbo-jumbo (or at least it shouldn't be). OD consultants are students of organisational theory, management science, business psychology, organisational behaviour, organisational dynamics and philosophy. And probably more besides. I say probably because each consultant will be different and will have a distinct skill set that they bring to the table. But each OD consultant will share a belief and understanding that they, as individuals, bring with them a unique history and awareness of themself as 'instrument' that influences the way they work with clients and with organisations. One consultant or practitioner may therefore be very different to the next. This difference is celebrated, and is at the heart of OD philosophy.
How do OD consultants and practitioners add value to an organisation?
OD consultants and practitioners use the rapport they build with their clients to deliver effective 'interventions' for the good of the client or client system. An intervention in OD terms is something that acts to initiate change or promote understanding. Interventions can be large scale, or small and are normally structured and delivered as part of an agreed development programme. OD consultants will help you decide which form of intervention is best for you or your organisation. Once the chosen route is agreed upon, the consultant will often be involved in co-ordinating or possibly even delivering the intervention. Effective facilitation of such events is an important way of galvanising and focusing group energy and is a core capability of most OD consultants. When you are asking someone to work with groups within your organisation, you want somebody who can generate energy in the sessions in which they are involved. Good OD consultants will do this.
OD and ROI
Because OD recognises the importance of the whole system, it is accepted that any intervention will act upon the whole system. But like the butterfly effect, the further the ripples of the intervention spread through the organisation, the more the relationship between cause and effect becomes harder to track. Hard value return on investment (ROI) calculations are of questionable value in OD where many of the benefits are non-financial in nature. Some data I have seen on the web however suggests that organisations scoring in the 'top' 25% for employee engagement ( a common OD focus), are, on average 16% more profitable than organisations who did not fall into that category. To be honest, the statistics prove little other than our enduring ability to use impressive sounding numbers to back any argument. Suffice to say that those who have experienced quality OD interventions and learning opportunities vouch for the process as one that can deliver lasting change, lasting benefits and a positive ROI.
OD consultant as mechanic
OD consultants are not the RAC roadside assistance experts of the business world. The OD practitioner typing this is not a mechanic who can turn up with flashing lights to fix broken organisations, but he does come with a toolbox that can allow us to understand more about the issue and, between us, find a way to get to where you want to go. When that is done he's learned about you, you've learned about him, you've both learned about the problem through different eyes and you've both - hopefully - learned about one way to get back on track. It's a long term thing. Unlike the RAC man, your OD practitioner or consultant won't take you to your destination. Sure, he or she will point you on your way, but will only do so after questioning you about why it is that you want to go there in the first place, and what's so good about it. He will make you think about what it is you want to do and why you are doing it the way that you are. Yes, he'll support you in achieving your goal, but you can expect to be challenged on the way. Assumptions that are left unquestioned are an anathema to OD consultants. They smell them out.
Self knowledge as a key to success
This is because perhaps above all else, the OD consultant will be aware of the role of the individual in the system in which they exist. OD practitioners believe that before you can attempt to understand organisations you must first understand yourself, and accept that everything that you are goes with you wherever you go. This may sound like a quote from the Dalai Lama, but we all know it to be true. All the experiences of your lifetime walk with you through the office door every morning. Don't think that you can leave them at home because you can't. They are part of you. They shape the way that you react and interact with your colleagues, they shape the way that you make decisions, how you behave, and they shape how open you may be to change and to new approaches. These experiences help us to make sense of our surroundings, which is fair enough, but sometimes they prevent us from seeing the picture in different ways. They inform our assumptions and while that is generally helpful, there are times when it might not be. And this is where the OD consultant can help. At an individual level, OD consultants will work with you to help you understand more about yourself, your assumptions, your core values and your experiences in a way that both recognises how unique this makes you but that also tunes you in to the dangers it might bring. When working with individuals in this way the OD consultant is acting in a similar fashion to a personal development coach. OD consultants are often effective coaches.
OD and change
These same skills also make OD consultants useful facilitators, people developers and change agents (and these jobs might even exist on the insurance form dropdown). Change is a constant in today’s organisations. It affects whole systems and creates anxiety. Anxiety is a human feeling, hence OD practitioners are often called upon to help organisations understand more about the impact of change with a view to easing this anxiety. One way this is done is to encourage involvement. OD consultants will tell you that successful change is done 'with', not 'to' people. Everyone is a stakeholder and recognising this is an important step in understang more about the ‘whole system’ nature of change and organisational development. As Mee-Yan puts it; "Regardless of their position in the hierarchy, whomever we rely on to support the implementation [of change] will need to have a role to shape the destiny and co-construct how to get there".
Conclusions
To be an OD consultant or practitioner is to be an enabler, working alongside organisations and people to develop meaningful conversations and interventions that move the system, and the people in it, closer to where they want to be. It is to be appreciative of the fact that organisations exist as whole systems where boundaries between cause and effect are at best blurred. It is to accept that humans, with all our baggage and (sometimes many) undesirable qualities are part of that system, warts and all. It is to recognise that we can still work with all of that to enable people and organisations to be the best that they can be.
Above all it is to have belief, and when you have belief then anything is possible.
*Mee-Yan quotes in this blog entry are drawn from a seminar held at Roffey Park in October 2011.
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