In some instances, the consultation will terminate at this point, the client having obtained sufficient information and insight into the problem to be able to move ahead on his own.
In other instances, the consultation will have just begun. The client and consultant will plan for one or more interventions that will build on the information that has been provided through the first stages of consultation and that will be compatible with the newly reformulated client-consultant contract.
Stage Seven: Planning for Intervention
In beginning the process of translating data into action, it is essential that the client and consultant give adequate attention to the goals of the client system. The client and consultant have to decide whether the current situation warrants change or stabilization. One need not begin with the assumption that change is essential to solution of a current problem. Change is appropriate in those instances where there is significant discrepancy between the current situation and the desired (target) situation. In other instances, a series of precipitous changes or the client’s failure to accept or acknowledge the strength and sources of gratification in the current situation may indicate the need for stabilization.
In most instances, the initial intervention of a consultant should focus on the achievement of an enabling goal—a goal that is not so much important in and of itself, but does enable (or at least increase the possibility) that other important goals get achieved. An enabling goal often can help break an organizational “log jam” and may have a greater impact than had been anticipated initially. By selecting an enabling goal, a client often can avoid debilitating debates over priorities to be assigned to two or more significant outcomes.
