Session Four(ConsulSkills) – Common Sense
Up until now I took for granted that the client was the person receiving the service. It was my opinion that knowing who the client “really” was, was a matter of common sense. I sure was wrong in my assumptions according to Chapter Four in the Schein book. There are so many variables in accessing who the client is that must be considered.
I have been in many situations where I was requested to help individuals with their training needs and never really took the time to figure out the client’s needs. I have also gone out and took it upon myself to figure the issues out without even considering the concerns, suggestions, or ideas of the individuals that were affected by the intervention.
On many occasions I have interviewed the primary and unwitting clients by “accident”. I refer it as an accident because I really didn’t ensure that this was done for every intervention. In the past, if I was charged with providing a service with no background information than I would seek input from my primary and unwitting clients. However, contrary to that scenario if background information was provided up front than there have been times where my clients were not involved in the planning of my intervention. The readings this week has given me a broader view of “who the client really is”.
