Model IV Consultation
Some practitioners believe that the client system should play a central and independent role in any developmental effort. Models One, Two and Three can limit the freedom of the client, make the client dependent on the practitioner, and place the practitioner rather than the client at the center of the developmental work. Model One, Two and Three practitioners begin with the assumption (often expressed by the client) that change (usually Level One) is required of the client organization. Model Four practitioners do not begin with this assumption, believing that such an assumption biases the subsequent perceptions of both the practitioner and client, limits the number of options available to the client, and diminishes the client’s ownership of both the problem and its solution.
It is not wise to begin with the assumption of change in the client system—especially if the consultant is being asked to engage with her client at Level Two. If an interventionist assumes that the client’s biggest problems can be fixed by change, he has already made a choice for the client. It may very well be that change is the most important problem or need facing the client. However, it is important that the decision not be prejudged by the interventionist; and, according to the framework, the client should be helped to make the decision. The interventionist can help the client first by assisting him in obtaining valid and useful information about the real issues.
If the majority of interventionists conceptualize problems as involving and requiring change, the potential clients may come to perceive their problems as those of change. The definition of the expert may become the expectation of the non-expert. But when the executive non-expert decides (and the interventionist agrees) that he wants to create change in the system, those subordinates responsible for working in the system may prefer to generate valid information and then see if change is their choice. Such action may be viewed by the top executive (and the interventionist) as resistance to progress, a view which would be incorrect.
