in this issue...

Featured Article: On a developmentally deepened concept of process consultation By Eddy Jackson. Dialectical Thinking and Higher Wisdom By Ron Stewart Beyond Certification: Introducing the IDM Professional Development Program Society for Coaching Psychology formed in the UK Note on the Internat. J. of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring, Oxford, UK IDM Spring/Summer Certificate Courses IDM Spring/Summer Professional Development Courses European Spring and Summer Courses

FEATURED ARTICLE: “On a developmentally deepened concept of process consultation ”

By Eddy Jackson

Historically, Cooke (1996) argued a case for the integration of two related concepts, process consultation and the clinical perspective developed by E. Schein. Schein sees process consultation as a consultation to the client’s mental process, not just processes in the outer environment. This paper argues that in conjunction with a clinical perspective process consultation can powerfully improve the understanding, teaching and conduct of organizational development practice.

Over the past ten years, exciting new perspectives have been developed building upon this foundation, in particular, developmental process consultation as taught at the Interdevelopmental Institute. Laske’s (2008) research and practice has developed a strong developmental process consultation framework by extending Schein’s clinical viewpoint into developmental psychology. This model presents new challenges for behavioral styles of process consultation (Egan, 2002).

Laske’s model is more than just the application of so-called process approaches and the clinical perspective as described by Schein. Through his synthesis of adult developmental research and by building upon contemporary debates of adult studies, Laske provides four challenges for the growth of process consultation:

1. The creation of its own theory of practice.
2. The establishment of rigorous practitioner training programs.
3. Human resources implications of the use of process consultation in the work place.
4. Acknowledging the implications of the methodological restrictions found in the existing disciplinary biases.

Cooke’s proposal is based upon Schein’s work. Schein (1999) clearly asserts that consultants need to help clients’ psychological ownership of their work. He defines process consultation as follows:

"...a set of activities on the part of the consultant that helps the client to perceive, understand and act upon the process events that occur in the client’s environment.”

Cooke does not argue that the clinical approach is perfect. It does not replace, but enhances and supports, the work of Egan. He makes a case for pragmatically adapting process consulting by effectively using the clinical model to improve how we think and carry out our development practice.

Having taken note of Schein’s deepening of process thinking, Laske (2006) adds a fourth model to the three developed by Schein, thereby addressing Cooke’s concern. Where Schein shows the models of “helping” to advance in complexity and influence from (1) the delivery of expertise and (2) the doctor-patient model, to (3) a more engaged process consultation model, Laske adds (4) the adult-developmental aspect to deepen and extend the effectiveness of consultative engagements, calling this “developmental process consultation” (DPC).

These contrasting PC models present implications for client-centered learning which one might differentiate according to single, double and Laske’s "triple loop learning." (In the diagram below depicting double loop learning, the activities in circle 2B are thought to be applicable anywhere in the cycle).

Single Loop Learning

Double Loop Learning

The idea of ‘triple loop learning’ (Laske, 2006) opens a perspective on the basic assumptions made within organizations. Through the work of developmentally thinking process consultants these assumptions can be fruitfully drawn into question. To do so presupposes that the consultant fundamentally inserts his/her personal developmental insight into the professional helping strategies s(he) advocates, for the sake of assisting clients in gaining fresh insights and solutions based on self-reflection. In particular, the consultant who uses dialectical thinking can challenge clients’ thinking, and model higher-level systemic thinking.

Since 2000, Laske has taught a theory of professional helping rooted in adult developmental theory that he calls a “consulting to the client’s mental process”. Recently, he has begun offering this model independently of certification, as a stand-alone Professional Development Program introduced below (see also http://www.interdevelopmentals.org/professional-development.php) The new program gives practitioners of management consulting the opportunity to learn developmental thinking in a way that directly flows into their practice. This program makes Schein’s suggestions a reality in a rigorous manner. The fundamental premise of this program is that successful consultation is based on frames of reference of both the consultant and the client whose inter-developmental exchange promotes twofold mental growth The notion is that self-awareness of the client has higher priority than better ‘performance’ since the latter derives from the former.

Laske’s DPC provides a comprehensive, new framework that addresses the individuals’, teams’ and organisations’ social-emotional domains, the cognitive domains and the behaviour demands of the work place. This type of consultation adds a new dimension in that the task of the professional becomes to facilitate integrative leadership. Here the role of developmentally based consultants lies in assisting clients in strategic thinking of a systemic and dialectical nature. Combining social-emotional with cognitive listening and probing, the consultant becomes a mentor of his or her clients.

Laske’s theory and practice of process consultation facilitates collaborative relationships to create new systems. By addressing the client’s integrative thinking, development consultants can facilitate using evidence-based process consultancy. At the higher stages of adult development, successful integrative leadership is based upon reflective judgments of organizational situations that leaves behind “in the box” formal-logical thinking.

In my view, Laske’s conceptual framework called the Four Quadrants of Dialectic (2008) -- Context, Process, Relationship and Transformational System -- is ideally suited to promoting a greater understanding of strategic change. The quadrants require systemic, more precisely, dialectical, thinking, at a deeper level than do K. Wilber’s quadrants (which do not provide dialectical tools). Once mastered, consultants can use this framework as a model that supports strategic planning and change in tandem with clients’ mental growth.

References

Cook, B. (1996) From process consultation to a clinical model of development. IDPM Discussion Paper Series No. 48. Institute for Development Policy and Management. University of Manchester.

Laske, O. (2006) Measuring Hidden Dimensions of Human Systems - The Art and Science of Fully Engaging Adults. Medford, MA: Interdevelomental Institute Press.

Laske, O. (2008) Measuring Hidden Dimensions of Human Systems – Foundations of Capability Management. Medford, MA: Interdevelomental Institute Press.

Schein, E. (1999) Process Consultation Revisited: Building the Helping Relationship. Addison-Wesley. Reading. Mass. Wilber, K. (2000). Integral Psychology. Boston, MA: Shambhala.

Eddy Jackson is the owner of Cyrene Consulting and the Principal of Highfurlong School. He can be reached at eddyjackson7@googlemail.com .

Dialectical Thinking and Higher Wisdom

By Ron Stewart

Introduction

Last month’s article on Practical Wisdom, by Otto Laske, introduced an important connection between dialectical thinking and wisdom, with a focus on the work of Paul Baltes and his students. The Baltes School has been at the forefront of the scientific study of wisdom and has maintained a consistent emphasis on practical aspects of wisdom as they relate to aging and the conduct of life. Central to his perspective on practical wisdom is Baltes’ further emphasis on wisdom-related knowledge, much of which, as Otto pointed out, falls within the domain of dialectical thinking.

There are a number of other researchers investigating wisdom who take a broader view of the subject, not limited to technical and practical knowing. Some of them, like Holliday and Chandler (1986, 1990), follow the three-part knowledge system introduced by Habermas (1970) which divides into technical, practical, and emancipatory domains of knowing. Others, including Labouvie-Vief (1990, 2000) and Kramer (2000), work with a ‘dialectical’ integration of the rational and higher non-rational aspects of human nature. Based on research in multiple studies, these and other researchers tell us that wise people use all these types of knowing. Furthermore, the researchers conceptualize wisdom as an emergence that grows out of integrative knowing and dialectical thinking (Bassett, 2006).

In considering emancipatory knowing and the higher non-rational aspects of our nature in the context of wisdom, these researchers are echoing Aristotle’s famous distinction between practical and theoretical or higher wisdom. Theoretical wisdom for Aristotle meant something far beyond what we normally understand when we think of the word “theory”. For him, theory (theoria = to see) was contemplative in nature and more akin to spiritual awakening or enlightenment than to abstract academic knowledge. As Otto Laske stated last month, wisdom “describes human excellence and appears as the peak of adult development.” Those who explore higher wisdom extend that description of human excellence beyond practical considerations relating to the conduct of life to include a focus on what Maslow called “the farther reaches of human nature” (1971). For some researchers, particularly Alexander and Langer (1990) and Cook-Greuter (2000), these “farther reaches” include the possibility of ego transcendence and spiritual realization.

In this article, I would like to do two things: The first is to briefly point out the relevance of this sizeable body of research to the work of IDM. The second is to suggest a possible direction for concrete application of dialectical thinking that bridges the distinction between practical and higher wisdom, and allows coaches and other professionals to work with clients in bringing the full range of wisdom into their lives.

In a variety of ways, the course offerings and other programs offered by IDM grow out of a framework for understanding and consulting to adult development, particularly the social-emotional and cognitive aspects of human development. This framework is research- or evidence-based, a characteristic shared with the findings of all the researchers mentioned who are engaged in the scientific study of wisdom. That common characteristic, together with a mutual interest in understanding the trajectory of development as it evolves into higher levels, enables the research base these scholars provide to serve as a rich resource supplementing the IDM framework when searching for new ways to consult with adults regarding their development. The fact that dialectical thinking is pivotal in all these perspectives lends weight to the idea that they work well together in concrete applications.

The Pivotal Role of Learning Dialectical Thinking

Much of the work of IDM during 2008 is being focused on deepening our understanding of dialectical thinking and to exploring ways in which this kind of integrative knowing can be applied in various settings. A wide range of possible settings is being explored, two of which were considered from the outset: business or professional consulting and academia. The academic application, being carried out in Europe, is expected to result in Certificates of Advanced Study and may prove to be an important link between academia and the business world. As soon as the implications of dialectical thinking become clear, it is easily seen as a significant resource or tool in business consulting and the world of academia, and thus it becomes fairly easy to make a case for its implementation. The notion of wisdom may even gain limited acceptance among business or academic leaders, though it would certainly be restricted in its application to the practical sphere of life in these settings.

More recently, a third arena of applications has been proposed at IDM: individual and small-group consulting along the lines of life coaching. Within this arena lie some important possibilities for engaging with both practical and higher wisdom in the context of personal life issues. Among such possibilities are two that touch people at the deepest levels of human being:

• Linking dialectical thinking and integrative knowing with psychotherapeutic interventions and
• Integrating them into coaching for spiritual development.

It is in working with the fundamental life issues that come out in psychotherapeutic counseling and spiritual development consulting that the therapist and the coach are able to address the full continuum of wisdom. Each of these two applications is probably better suited to drawing upon different places along that continuum than the other, but they both allow for ways of involving dialectical thinking and integrative knowing that are not possible in business and academic settings.

References:

Alexander, C.N. & E.J. Langer (1990). Higher stages of human development. New York: Oxford University Press.

Bassett, C.L. (2006). Laughing at gilded butterflies: Integrating wisdom, development, and learning. In C. Hoare (Ed.), Handbook of adult development and learning (pp. 281-306). New York: Oxford University Press.

Chandler, M.J. (with Holliday, S.) (1990). Wisdom in a postapocalyptic age. In R.J. Sternberg Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins, and development (pp. 121-144). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cook-Greuter, S.R. (2000). Mature ego development: A gateway to ego transcendence? Journal of Adult Development, 7, 227-240.

Habermas, J. (1970). Knowledge and human interests. Boston: Beacon Press.

Holliday, S.G. & Chandler, M.J. (1986). Wisdom: Explorations in adult competence. Basel, Switzerland: Karger.

Kramer, D.A. (2000). Wisdom as a classical source of human strength: Conceptualizations and empirical inquiry. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19, 83-101.

Labouvie_Vief, G. (1990). Wisdom as integrated thought: Historical and developmental perspectives. In R.J. Sternberg Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins, and development (pp. 52-83). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Labouvie_Vief, G. (2000). Affect complexity and views of the transcendent. In P. Young-Eisendrath & M.E. Miller (Eds.) (2000), The psychology of mature spirituality (pp. 103-119). London and Philadelphia: Routledge.

Maslow, A.H. (1971). The farther reaches of human nature. New York: The Viking Press.

Ron Stewart is a long-time Montessori educator with a life-long interest in Buddhism. He is highly curious in the further or “higher” reaches of human development, more recently focused around integrative or dialectical thinking.

Beyond Certification: Introducing the IDM Professional Development Program

By Otto Laske
IDM Director of Education

Purpose of the New Program

For some time consultants have been without a rigorous practitioner training program for developmental process consulting, not only in the business world but also in life coaching and psychotherapy. In a major switch from its previous emphasis on certification, this month IDM is introducing a program that provides such a training program for use by consultants, coaches, mentors, managers, and psychologists. As noted by Jackson, above, developmental process consulting adds a new dimension of consulting amounting to triple loop learning. In such learning, not only are norms and expectations of clients reflected upon and questioned, but the way they are held by them in the first place is traced back to their developmental level.

The introduction of the new IDM Program is an indication of deep-seated needs. Professionals have searched for ways to extend their expertise without having to commit to a full certification program. In light of this situation, the first series of courses found at http://www.interdevelopmentals.org/pd-overview.php will be welcomed by practitioners. The new courses are focused on learning cognitive and social-emotional process consulting outside of IDM certification programs One, Two, and Three. Two master classes at the end of the program provide ways of putting what was learned into daily practice.

The new courses address themselves to the adult learner who is already expert at some particular kind of consultation. Three different kinds of courses are offered:

• Self study courses
• Courses comprising both self study and a subsequent tele-class
• Master classes held as teleconferences.

While these courses are primarily geared to those seeking enrichment of their immediate practice, they are also open to those who strive for an IDM certificate and are looking for immersion in practical applications of developmental thinking.

Course Structure

Displayed in graphical form, the courses introduced this month are linked as shown below:

The clear distinction between cognitive and social-emotional development at IDM is built into the Professional Developmental Courses from the start. As shown, the Gateway self study course opens to courses in cognitive and social-emotional process consulting either one of which, in turn, is the precondition for participating in the two master classes. The term “coaching and mentoring” is used broadly, including the work of management consultants who work with upper-level leaders. While “leader as coach” is a famous buzz word, here it is taken to mean that without thinking developmentally ‘leaders’ are not leaders.

The idea behind the new program is simple: without a grounding in the three perspectives on clients provided by the Constructive Developmental Framework taught in Gateway, one cannot truly understand or practice developmental process consulting. With this in mind, Rainer v. Leoprechting, Director of Pro-Action Europe (www.pro-action.eu), says about Gateway:

“The impact of Gateway goes far beyond the introduction to developmental assessment or coaching. This has been my own experience. Now that I give courses in the Gateway materials I am told again and again that the course compels people to re-think their profession and challenges them to integrate its teachings into their daily work. The impact is not restricted to coaching or consulting as one may think. There is a large number of HR processes, from recruitment, outplacement, selection of trainers and contractors, conflict management to succession planning and talent management that take on a different meaning. If one begins to understand them in terms of adult development, those scattered HR practices start to make sense and unite in the goal of helping people to live at their requisite place in an organization - that is, to work in tune with the development they have achieved right now, and stretching them just to their next level.

Through the Gateway course I have met a number of colleagues who have pursued their development in developmental consulting further. Some have become close partners in the Pro Action development programs and initiatives, working in different languages and places around Europe and the globe."

From a related perspective, that of a management consultant, Nick Shannon says:

"In bringing together theories of cognitive and social-emotional adult development Otto Laske has developed a unique methodology for assessing human capability at work. The methodology is soundly based empirically and theoretically, practical to apply, and teachable. Organizations that need a means to understand the capability, and assess the developmental needs, of their managers now have a breakthrough method which goes well beyond the typical route of competency measurement and psychometric testing. Otto’s contribution to a decision science for Organizational Human Resources is immense and has far-reaching applications. His programs have enriched and strengthened my practice, and in my view are essential learning for all practitioners in the field of management and organizational development."

As shown in the forthcoming sequel of Measuring Hidden Dimensions (Fall 2008), research itself points to the fundamental distinction adopted at IDM between cognitive and social-emotional development. The premature merger of these lines of development, say, in the form of a cognitive interpretation of social-emotional stages (taboo at IDM), hinders insight into the relationship between these two best researched developmental trajectories. It also makes impossible new insight into the gap between the cognitive and social-emotional development of individual clients which frequently presents the overriding coaching problem (see also http://www.interdevelopmentals.org/ezine/2008-01.html).

The Courses in Detail

The self study Gateway course opens the door to both the new Professional Developmental Program and IDM certification through Program One. It can be undertaken any time. The course comprises a short but thorough introduction to developmental thinking in coaching and management. By offering access to recorded Gateway tele-classes, the course makes it easy to follow the new concepts introduced in the course material. Through a tuition payment of $325 one also gains access to pertinent papers on the IDM methodology and to paid mentoring in understanding the material if needed.

Cognitive Process Consulting introduces to dialectical thinking in a hands-on manner, a subject that is taught nowhere else. In this sense, the course is utterly unique and the first of its kind. Cognitive interviewing is seen as the practice of choice for learning dialectical thinking. The course is “counter-cultural” in the sense that it makes participants aware of the difference between the Western fixation on formal logic and Asian dialecticism deriving from Chinese culture. In this way, the course helps participants gain access to their own potential of dialectical thinking as a natural outgrowth of perfecting logical thinking. It combines the self study of pertinent research with listening to teleclass instruction followed by a subsequent live teleclass in which the use of dialectical thinking tools is thoroughly rehearsed. These tools learned lend themselves to challenging and boosting clients’ self-awareness and, ultimately, performance.

When based on mere questionnaires (such as SCT, Sentence Completion Test), consulting lacks depth of understanding of the client that naturally arises from real-time conversations in interviews. For this reason, Social-Emotional Process Consulting makes interviewing – in contrast to scoring interviews -- the foundation of process consulting. In this form the course is unique and the first of its kind. Consulting is seen as carrying out structured encounters with clients where ‘structure’ is embodied in developmental levels revealed through an interview. Rather than dwelling on theoretical background, this course teaches “hearing levels” hands-on. Here, too, listening to teleclass instruction and reading of research precedes a live teleclass focused on rehearsing process consulting in a cohort. Those taking the course also learn to appreciate the relationship between the cognitive and social-emotional lines of adult development that becomes manifest in clients’ daily work.

Gateway and the two process consulting courses described above lay the groundwork for two master classes called “Coaching and Mentoring Supervision” and “Leader/Manager as Coach”, respectively.

Coaching and Mentoring Supervision is a live tele-master class that carries what was learned in previous courses into daily practice. It focuses on paying attention to the way in which one’s present developmental profile plays out in one’s practice as a supervisor. The course naturally extends to management consulting. It requires a high awareness of one’s own uniqueness and limits as the basis of interventions with clients. One can heighten this awareness by obtaining a developmental assessment (http://www.interdevelopmentals.org/services-assessment.php). By challenging participants to become aware of the developmental roots of their client model (the way they ‘see’ clients), the course promotes humility and expertise simultaneously. In the spirit of process consulting, it helps beginning and expert supervisors to adopt an interdevelopmental stance toward their clients for which thinking developmentally is central.

Leader as Coach is a live tele-master class that provides knowledge transfer from previous courses to daily practice as a leadership coach. The course focuses on paying attention to the way in which one’s own developmental profile plays out in one’s practice as a leadership coach. It naturally extends to management consulting. Emphasis in the course lies on transcending behavioral practices (now used almost exclusively) which exclude adult-developmental evidence and therefore lack structure. The course encourages obtaining one’s own developmental assessment (http://www.interdevelopmentals.org/services-assessment.php) as a precondition of being able to fathom and act upon the client’s developmental profile, and to reach a level of self awareness where one’s unconscious model of the client is cleansed of self projections.

Courses in the Professional Development Program can be started at any time simply by paying the appropriate tuition. IDM guarantees that live teleclasses will start within a two-month window of starting self study. See http://www.interdevelopmentals.org/professional-development.php.

For further inquiries about the new professional development program, write to info@interdevelopmentals.org.

Postscript of the Editor

In order to strengthen the Professional Development track, IDM will add three additional master classes before September 2008:

• Dialectical thinking in Psychotherapy
• Dialectical life coaching
• Dialectical thinking and the search for wisdom.

Society for Coaching Psychology

239 St John St, Clerkenwell, London, EC1V 4NG

A new professional body has been launched offering routes to international accreditation as a coaching psychologist. The Society for Coaching Psychology will establish and maintain a register of accredited coaching psychologists, supervisors, trainers and consultants. It will also confer recognition for courses of education and training in the field of coaching psychology and publicize and comment on courses for continuing professional education and development.

The Society has also recently announced that their Honorary Vice Presidents will include leading experts in psychology such as Professor Angela Clow, Professor Cary Cooper, Professor Carol Kauffman. Dr Otto Laske, and Professor Stephen Palmer. Dr Siobhain O’Riordan, Chair of the Society for Coaching Psychology, said “Membership of the Society is now available”. She continued “The launch of this new professional body is an important development in the international field of Coaching Psychology, which will also enable professional recognition for those working within this applied area of psychology”.

The Society will focus upon promoting and developing the science and profession of coaching psychology, aiding the advancement of theory and practice. Prof Stephen Palmer, Honorary Vice President of the Society, said “Already the Society has developed a code of ethics and a guide to coaching psychology practice, which sets out the core values and guiding principles to inform professional practice. The code is based on six ethical principles: rights, respect, recognition, relationships, representation and responsibility”.

Further information about the activities of the Society for Coaching Psychology and how to become a member are available at: www.societyforcoachingpsychology.net

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr Siobhain O’Riordan, e-mail siobhain@societyforcoachingpsychology.net

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE BASED COACHING AND MENTORING

Journal Home: http://www.business.brookes.ac.uk/research/areas/coaching&mentoring
Editor in Chief: Dr. Elaine Cox, Business School, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX33 1HX, UK.

The International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring is an open access journal with an established international editorial board. It is published twice a year by Oxford Brookes University and is one of the leading peer reviewed coaching and mentoring journals.

The Journal publishes research papers from a range of contributors from around the world and focuses on including papers that demonstrate evidence-based practice through scholarship, theory building and empirical research. It is rapidly becoming a vital tool for everyone who is serious about coaching and mentoring: academic specialists; post graduate students; life and corporate coaching practitioners; managers building organisations with a coaching culture; peer and team coaches; mentors in the voluntary and public sector.

The aims of the journal are twofold: firstly, to offer an accessible yet powerful discussion platform for the growing number of coaching and mentoring practitioners seeking to validate their practice, and secondly, to provide evidence-based, well-researched resources for students, professionals, corporate clients, managers and academic specialists who need to be at the forefront of developments in the field.

Remember: International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching & Mentoring is an open access journal – http://www.business.brookes.ac.uk/research/areas/coaching&mentoring

PRO ACTION EUROPE, Brussels, Belgium

http://www.pro-action.eu/13.html

has announced a new workshop program on developmental interviewing. In the spirit of Program One/Module A, the program concentrates on the social-emotional stages of development. Besides deepening and refining the understanding of this model, participants will practice interviewing, listening and scoring.

What you will learn:

Deepen your understanding of social-emotional development with illustrations of main stages and interim stages of development. Practice pro-active listening for development. Scoring and assessing developmental levels with original interview material.

Languages:

The workshop works in both English and French (bilingual), with English materials.

Tuition:

The tuition fee of 400 € for the interviewing course includes venue, snacks, teaching and handouts. If you are an associate member, you may deduct 50 €, if you are a regular member you can deduct 100 € from this. All fees payable in advance to the account of the Pro Action Europe, asbl at ING Belgium: 363 0267493 07.

IDM 2008 Spring/Summer Courses

All classes are recorded for subsequent listening.

IDM Summer Courses in Europe 2008

This summer, the emphasis of teaching in Europe is on cognitive process consulting. The topic is dialectical thinking as a way of thinking holistically and systemically along the lines of Asian dialecticism, instead of Western fixation on logical categories. The teaching is directed to practitioners and academics alike, thus to consultants, psychologists, coaches, mentors, and managers.

For keeping up to date on courses, subscribe to the IDM newsletter on the home page or go to IDM Ezine

For course descriptions, see:
IDM Professional Development programs
IDM Certification Programs

For personal questions regarding study at IDM, write to info@interdevelopmentals.org

On Our Site:

Books & E-Books

Developmental Assessments

Leadership Coaching

Certification Program

Course Schedule

Resources

Contact Us