Flawless Consulting, 4th Edition

CHAPTER 21Transformation Will Not Be Televised, Livestreamed, or Managed

IN A SENSE, THE JOB OF CONSULTING is to be a learning architect. At our best, we design social settings that lead to insight, resolution of differences, change and transformation, which is a shift in story that opens the portal to a different future. What follows are some ideas that support conditions under which learning and transformation are more likely to happen. None is fail‐safe; each contains elements of adventure, and all flow against the stream of the conventional wisdom and the dominant culture. If we think we can manage change, then we make it predictable, which is making the world a little better, but not unique. Imagining an alternative story or narrative is what makes our work most powerful. And useful.

Choosing Learning over Teaching

While we usually claim that we are in the business of helping our clients learn, most traditional educational and consulting efforts are more about teaching than learning. If you ask who is really learning at any meeting, communication session, or training event, the answer is usually, “The person in charge.”

The dominant models for learning come from our educational system. If you look at most of our classrooms, the teacher stands in front, and students line up behind or around tables, facing the front. The agenda, the objectives, and the method of learning are all specified by the teacher or the state legislature. The teacher is in effect the supervisor ...