The Flawless Consulting Fieldbook & Companion, 2nd Edition

Chapter 28Seven Questions: To the Most Frequently Asked Answers

Peter Block

The challenges that our clients and partners present to us always have an element that deals with the human system, which is a challenge no matter how technical the assignment. They are best thought of as “presenting problems” because if we take the client statement at face value, we will become as frustrated as the client. We will end up frozen in a room with no exit, like Stephen Wright, the comic who quipped that he lived at the end of a one-way, dead-end street.

It is a mistake to accept any problem as it is first defined, but we still have to remember that clients are giving us their best understanding of what they are up against. We are limited if we stay with the way the problem is defined or the question is framed. This is, in fact, where they are stuck and what we can help them with. Here are some recurring and classic problem statements and some ideas on reframing the question.

Question 1. How to Fix the Boss

The problem is presented as a boss or boss’s boss behavior problem. The boss is too controlling, plays favorites, doesn’t communicate enough, or is too tall.

If You Acted on This Definition

You would coach the boss, do 360-degree feedback, and pray that the boss changes.

To Reframe It

Remember that the inmates run the prison. The deeper problem is that the members of the team do not support each other. If members of a team support each other, they can handle any boss. If one ...