Ten Fundamentals of Process Consulting: Fundamental #10
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Lon L. Swartzentruber
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Fundamental #1 – A Humble Inquiry posture leads to a deeper connection and relationship with a Client
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Dear friends,
Born from the foundational texts of the humble inquiry and process approach, the Ten Fundamentals of Process Consulting are designed to help us understand the theory and practice of being in the Process Consulting mindset.
Whether you are a Process Consultant helping a Client, a CEO leading a team, a department head bringing together leaders to solve an emerging challenge, embodying these fundamentals can be helpful to you in charting your course. For the sake of this series of blogs, we will be using the profession of Process Consulting as our lens. Knowing full well that these fundamentals are practiced by anyone seeking to help another human.
Expressed in the triad below, these ten fundamentals form our DNA as Process Consultants. They are a starting point in our work with others and our traits as we prepare to show up in service to them. In this way, they are distinct and set apart from the core competencies of Process Consulting.
Integrating these ten fundamentals into your leadership is a lifelong journey.
Over the course of the next ten weeks leading up to the Society for Process Consulting’s inaugural conference, we offer these fundamentals for your use, iteration, and adaptation, modeling our willingness to improve, learn, and grow as humans through this publication.
| Fundamental #1 – A Humble Inquiry posture leads to a deeper connection and relationship with a Client |
An Art – Humble Inquiry is the fine art of drawing someone out, asking questions to which you do not know the answer, and building a relationship based on curiosity and interest in another person.
An Attitude – Humble Inquiry is not just asking questions; it is a total attitude that includes listening more deeply to how others respond to our inquiry, responding appropriately, and revealing more of ourselves in the relationship-building process. (Humble Inquiry 2nd Edition. Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, page 3. Berrett-Koehler, 2021.)
In the second edition of Humble Inquiry [1], Ed and Peter Schein frame this fundamental as a mindset and a way of being with another human. By integrating our thoughts (what question can I ask my friend that will help them gain more clarity?) and our body's posture (my body needs to lean towards my friend so that I can listen to them more intentionally) helps us create a deeper and more human connection with the other person.
If you have any comments about fundamental #1, please don’t hesitate to email me. I’d love to learn your prospective. Please watch this space for the 2nd fundamental next week.
We will be reviewing all ten fundamentals at the Society’s upcoming conference on 11 November 2024 in Philadelphia. Please sign up through this link today!
As always, if you’d like to learn more about the Society for Process Consulting, please don’t hesitate to give me a call.
Best,
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Interim CEO Society for Process Consulting
[1] Humble Inquiry 2nd Edition. Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, page 3. Berrett-Koehler, 2021.
Please take a moment to learn more about the Society's upcoming conference in Philadelphia PA 10 - 12 November 2024!
If you'd like to write a blog post for the Society for Process Consulting, please send an e-mail to admin@societyforprocessconsuting.com
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