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Are you a coach, consultant, or another kind of helper? Have you ever examined the status relationship between consultant and client?
This article may be a little off-purpose for some readers, but I thought it was worth putting out there anyway. If you do any coaching or consulting, you may get some juice from this look at the status relationship between client and consultant.
How is status a factor in the helping relationship? What are the factors that contribute to a disequilibrium of status? What are the advantages of creating an equilibrium in the status relationship?
From “Equilibrating the Status Relationship Between Client and Consultant”
by Erek Ostrowski:
The stereotypical and widely held image of the consultant as the quintessential “expert with all the answers” undermines the true power and possibilities of the consulting relationship. The real potential of consultation to produce significant, lasting results lies in the ability of the consultant to create and maintain a status equilibrium in his/her relationship with the client. This is the only way to access the heart of the situation, to make a valuable contribution, and ultimately, to be of service to the client.
In order to understand why status plays such an important role in the consulting relationship, it may help to consider that the dynamics of the consulting relationship are essentially very similar to any helping relationship. We can gain insight into the consultant’s world by examining the role of the helper, and the helper’s relationship with the person seeking help.
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what you write is at the core of coaching. In the coaching relationship, it is the client who is the expert and has the answers and the coach helps them to discover what works for them.
This is a very important aspect of coaching/consulting that few take the time to become conscious of and explore. Knowing the dynamics of the coach/client relationship could help you reach a better resolution!
Great post, I work with groups of clients in workshops and I give participants coaching as well as facilitate peer feedback. I love to nurture this second role - not only is the peer feedback heard with the most intensity, but the peers get to develop their own skills in listening and supporting one another and get validated for their own coaching ability. They are the experts, my job is to ensure their insights are heard.
Really wonderful insight on this - it is more of an assisting in discovery process than a master/follower relationship. Thanks for this post!