Consulting Skills Training
[April 26, 2002] John has conducted numerous training sessions for libraries around the world including some at the Snowbird Leadership Institute. "Consulting since 1973, John's current focus is in helping his clients understand and develop their capacity to capitalize on the dynamic forces of change that are unleashed once an organization is in motion. He believes a key element in this process is the building of a critical mass of employees committed to the change. Enormous gains are then possible. His clients rely on his intuitive process skills and conflict resolution. John has an M.S. in Applied Behavioral Sciences from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. from the University of Dayton. He is a member of the National Training Laboratories and delivers with his partner [Becky Schreiber] the Snowbird Leadership Institute." (http://www.flash.net/~jonbeck) Michael has often said that you can't just put a group of people in a room together and expect them to instantly become a team. As we learned from John, an effective team goes through a number of stages before they are working together productively. First they identify what has to happen and move to establish each member's role and develop trust. Finally, they reach a stage where the team works effectively and efficiently. The DALNET staff has already made some progress, and coupled with our move, this workshop helped us build on our teamwork to date. Another part of our workshop focused on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and what each type brings to the DALNET Team. The MBTI is composed of four pairs: Introvert or Extrovert; Thinking or Feeling; Sensing or Intuition, and Perceiving or Judging. When they come together, five group dynamics surface: "Lets Keep It", "Lets Throw It Out", "Lets Do It", "Lets Change It", and "Lets Do It Together". DALNET is fortunate to have at least one team member in each of these areas. Following this activity we identified what strengths and potential pitfalls we bring to consulting. We also learned about different consulting styles from John. These range from where the consultant is an extra pair-of-hands and is directly involved in completing the task, to where the consultant has the necessary knowledge and advises the customer . No class is complete without homework, and we have assignments to complete before our next session, scheduled for August. We will all read the book, "Flawless Consulting", identify a customer service need and apply what we have learned to date, and develop guidelines for how we conduct meetings and work together as colleagues. |
