Process consultation in organization development: Helping people help themselves
PAUL NYAUSARU
Imagine you’re called into a workplace where a once-thriving team now seems stuck.
Meetings drag on without decisions, conflicts simmer under the surface, and everyone waits for someone else to fix the problems.
The instinct might be to step in with solutions.
But Edgar Schein, one of the pioneers of Organization Development (OD), taught us something different: real change doesn’t come from outsiders telling people what to do—it comes from helping people discover their own way forward.
This is the heart of process consultation: a way of working with organizations that emphasizes partnership, dialogue, and learning rather than expert answers.
What Process Consultation Is (and Isn’t)
Process consultation is about improving how people in an organization interact, make decisions, and solve problems together. It’s not about designing the new strategy or rewriting the HR policy for them.
Instead, it’s about asking the right questions, noticing what’s happening beneath the surface, and creating the space for teams to reflect and act differently.
Think of it like holding up a mirror. The consultant doesn’t point fingers or prescribe solutions. Instead, they help the organization see its own patterns more clearly—both the productive ones and the ones that are getting in the way.
The Spirit of Helping
Schein was fond of saying that process consultation is about being a helper. But helping doesn’t mean swooping in with answers. It means building a relationship of trust, being curious, and showing humility. He even coined the phrase “humble inquiry”—asking genuine, open-ended questions that invite people to share their perspective, rather than imposing our own.
This matters in OD because organizations often already know the answers—they just need support in surfacing them. For example:
- A team might realize their conflict isn’t about strategy at all, but about feeling unheard.
- A leadership group may discover that decisions take too long because no one feels safe enough to challenge the boss.
- A community-based organization might recognize that their culture celebrates hard work but avoids tough conversations, slowing down progress.
In each case, the consultant doesn’t provide the solution. They simply help shine a light on what’s already there.
How It Works in Practice
In process consultation, the journey usually follows a few natural steps:
- Building trust – entering the organization respectfully, listening deeply, and clarifying expectations.
- Exploring together – observing meetings, asking questions, and noticing dynamics without judgment.
- Holding up the mirror – sharing observations in ways that spark curiosity and self-reflection.
- Co-creating change – supporting people as they test new ways of working and learn from the results.
The consultant might act as a facilitator, a sounding board, or even just a careful observer—always adapting to what the situation requires.
Why It Matters in OD
Process consultation is powerful because it builds ownership. When people discover the insights themselves, they are more committed to acting on them. The organization doesn’t just “get fixed”—it grows the muscles to handle future challenges.
This makes process consultation especially useful in:
- Team building, where small shifts in communication can transform collaboration.
- Conflict resolution, where underlying feelings and assumptions need a safe space to be voiced.
- Culture change, where hidden patterns of behavior shape “the way we do things here.”
- Leadership development, where leaders learn to see their blind spots and engage others more effectively.
The Ups and Downs
Of course, this approach isn’t without challenges. Clients sometimes want a quick fix or a ready-made solution, and it can feel uncomfortable when the consultant turns the mirror back on them. It also takes time and patience. But the payoff is deeper, more sustainable change—and people who feel respected rather than “consulted at.”
At its core, process consultation is about dignity. It’s about believing that people already have the wisdom they need to move forward, and that the consultant’s role is simply to help bring it to the surface.
In today’s fast-changing world, where organizations face complexity at every turn, this approach feels more relevant than ever. It reminds us that OD is not just about structures and strategies—it’s about people, relationships, and the courage to look in the mirror together.
As Schein showed us, sometimes the most powerful way to lead change is not by having the answers, but by asking the questions that matter.
