The Organization Development Consulting Model

Organization development consulting differs in significant ways from each of the three models just described, even though clients frequently approach an OD consultant with one of these alternative models in mind. Consequently it is the consultant’s responsibility to invite the client to share expectations about roles and working expectations early on so that misunderstandings can be corrected and implicit expectations can be made explicit.

In contrast to the expert model of consulting, OD consultants are hired as experts in human systems rather than in specific content areas. Though content expertise can help a consultant quickly identify with the client. In contrast to the doctor–patient model, OD consultants prefer an equal relationship in which the client has primary responsibility for the problem and the solution as opposed to the consultant taking ownership. The success of an intervention tends to be greater when clients and consultants jointly agree upon a diagnosis and intervention strategy.

In contrast to the mechanic model, in OD engagements the client’s active participation is necessary to ensure that once the consultant leaves the engagement, the intervention can be a sustained change. Without a client’s active participation, the results are likely to be short lived. The OD consultant must be a professional practitioner who is also a skilled diagnostician, social scientist researcher, interventionist, educator or trainer, facilitator, and coach. Learning to successfully perform these roles in a consulting engagement requires content knowledge, process knowledge, and interpersonal skills.