--- title: Clients as captains description: The Process Consultant allows the client to make their own decisions and write their own story, guiding them along the way to success. image: https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hubfs/Two%20creative%20millenial%20small%20business%20owners%20working%20on%20social%20media%20strategy%20brainstorming%20using%20adhesive%20notes%20in%20windows.jpeg --- ![www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI Logo (New)DGI Logo - Landscape-1](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/social-suggested-images/www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png?width=200&height=93&name=www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png) ![www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI Logo (New)DGI Logo - Landscape-1](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/social-suggested-images/www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png?width=200&height=93&name=www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png) ![www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI Logo (New)DGI Logo - Landscape-1](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/social-suggested-images/www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png?width=200&height=93&name=www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png) - [ABOUT US ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - What is Process Consulting? - [MEET US ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Areas of Specialty - Meet Our Process Consultants - Meet our Partners and Senior Consultants - Meet our Consultants - [Maestro-level leaders](https://www.maestrosuiteadvisors.com/) - [Society for Process Consulting](https://www.maestrosuiteadvisors.com/) - [Culture Change Leadership](https://www.acausegreater.org/) - [BE A CONSULTANT ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Explore Process Consulting - Community of Practice - Shared Platform - [BE CREDENTIALED](https://linktr.ee/MaestroSuiteAdvisors) - [RESOURCES ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Blog Library - Books - Podcasts - Cohorts - Case Studies - [ABOUT US ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - What is Process Consulting? - [MEET US ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Areas of Specialty - Meet Our Process Consultants - Meet our Partners and Senior Consultants - Meet our Consultants - [Maestro-level leaders](https://www.maestrosuiteadvisors.com/) - [Society for Process Consulting](https://www.maestrosuiteadvisors.com/) - [Culture Change Leadership](https://www.acausegreater.org/) - [BE A CONSULTANT ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Explore Process Consulting - Community of Practice - Shared Platform - [BE CREDENTIALED](https://linktr.ee/MaestroSuiteAdvisors) - [RESOURCES ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Blog Library - Books - Podcasts - Cohorts - Case Studies Get Started # Clients as captains ![Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hubfs/Consultant%20Headshots%20(NEW)/Jeanne%20Zimmerly-Jantzi%20Headshot%20(300x300).png) by [Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/author/jeanne-zimmerly-jantzi) June 15, 2022 ![Two creative millenial small business owners working on social media strategy brainstorming using adhesive notes in windows-1](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Two%20creative%20millenial%20small%20business%20owners%20working%20on%20social%20media%20strategy%20brainstorming%20using%20adhesive%20notes%20in%20windows-1.jpeg?width=1000&name=Two%20creative%20millenial%20small%20business%20owners%20working%20on%20social%20media%20strategy%20brainstorming%20using%20adhesive%20notes%20in%20windows-1.jpeg) ## Ownership over buy-in Has there ever been a word that you disliked so much that you wished you could erase it from everyone’s vocabulary?  If I had that superpower, I would permanently delete the term “buy-in.” “Buy-in” connotes passive support or participation in a vision or a plan or a process developed by someone else.  There is nothing active, enthusiastic, committed or passionate about “Buy-in”.   I prefer the powerful concept of “ownership.”  As [David Gurteen](https://conversational-leadership.net/ownership-not-buy-in/#:~:text=Ownership%20is%20when%20you%20own,in%20is%20the%20exact%20opposite.) writes,  “Ownership is when you own or share the ownership of an idea, a decision, an action plan, a choice. It means that you have participated in its development; that it is your choice freely made. **Buy-in is the exact opposite.”** A few months ago, a potential Client contacted me about some “discord” and “displeasure” in their organization.  They wondered if I could work with them in doing some mediation.  I met with their leadership team.  As they learned more about mediation, they came to the realization that mediation, with its emphasis on problem-solving a specific situation, was not the best fit for their context.  They appointed an ad hoc team in planning next steps.   The ad hoc team had all the contextual knowledge, cultural expertise, organizational history, and analytical ability necessary to plan the next steps.  My part in the co-creative process was to ask the open-ended questions that allowed the team to define their purpose, what they wanted to achieve, and what approaches would work best in their context.   They decided to deepen their understanding of the organization by offering a survey, two listening sessions, and an option for a personal conversation for anyone that wanted it.  Over the next two months as each activity unfolded, the ad hoc team met with me to debrief what had happened so far and to make adaptive changes for the next planned activity or event.   After two months, the full leadership team spent most of a day in a retreat to go over the data and to plan action steps.  The team members had done their own homework.  They had read pages and pages of raw data, sorted responses into themes, read a summary of the data compiled by a small working group, participated in the listening sessions, and had documented their follow-up conversations.  ![DGI - Core Competencies_Helping Client-Owned](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DGI%20-%20Core%20Competencies_Helping%20Client-Owned.png?width=342&name=DGI%20-%20Core%20Competencies_Helping%20Client-Owned.png) As a [Process Consultant](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/what-is-process-consulting), my part was to create the container that would allow a group of 13 people to effectively process the narrative data that they had gathered.   We used the *What? So What? Now What?* exercise from [Liberating Structures](https://www.liberatingstructures.com/9-what-so-what-now-what-w/) to guide the process.   By working first alone, and then in a variety of groupings, each person actively engaged in the process of analyzing the data and planning action steps to address the root causes of the challenges in their larger organization.  The creative ideas of the leadership team were documented on large sheets of paper so everyone could see them and photograph them to take along.  Although I facilitated the retreat, I spoke only about 20% of the time.  The work belonged to the people who generated the ideas, decisions, and action plans that day.   They owned their plan because they all had a part in creating it.  The changes they planned did not require “buy-in” from the larger organization, because most of the changes had to do with how the leadership team themselves would lead.   The Society for Process Consulting states, “Ownership is an expression of agency. A client who owns their Agreement is empowered to act sustainably toward their transformation.” As Process Consultants, we see Clients as “the captains of their fate and the masters of their soul”.  Clients steer their own process and determine their outcomes.  A Process Consultant comes alongside, and never grabs the pen as the Client writes their story.   To helping you write your story,   [![Jeanne Zimmerly-Jantzi Headshot (300x300)](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/_Consultant%20Headshots%20(300x300)/Jeanne%20Zimmerly-Jantzi%20Headshot%20(300x300).png?width=86&name=Jeanne%20Zimmerly-Jantzi%20Headshot%20(300x300).png)](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/about-steve-slagel)[Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/about-jeanne-zimmerly-jantzi) *Design Group International* *Senior Consultant * The core competencies of process consulting have been developed and are taught by the [Society for Process Consulting](https://www.societyforprocessconsulting.com/). If you are interested in receiving your credential in process consulting please visit our website.   Photo by [Claudio Schwarz](https://unsplash.com/@purzlbaum?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/helping?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) ###### Tags: [process consulting, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/process-consulting) [listening, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/listening) [helping, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/helping) [learning, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/learning) [Walking Alongside Blog](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/walking-alongside-blog) ![Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hubfs/Consultant%20Headshots%20(NEW)/Jeanne%20Zimmerly-Jantzi%20Headshot%20(300x300).png) Post by [Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/author/jeanne-zimmerly-jantzi) June 15, 2022 Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi has been consulting with others for 29 years in leadership roles in DR Congo, Nigeria, Indonesia and across Southeast Asia, and in US based settings. As a Senior Process Consultant, Jeanne works with groups on strategic planning, supports organizational leaders and their teams, helps new non-profits with policies, systems, and board development, and works with organizations to plan and implement processes for high participation engagement. She brings strong intercultural competency and has deep faith and anti-oppression values. She is a certified Advanced Process Consultant with the Society for Process Consulting and an SHRM Senior Certified Professional. [Follow me on my website](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/about-jeanne-zimmerly-jantzi) [Follow me on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/jeannezimmerlyjantzi) [Follow me on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanne-zimmerly-jantzi-consultant/) ### Comments ![Copy of Listening Helping Learning Blog Logo](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Copy%20of%20Listening%20Helping%20Learning%20Blog%20Logo.png?width=2000&height=1714&name=Copy%20of%20Listening%20Helping%20Learning%20Blog%20Logo.png) ### Subscribe Now! #### Listening, Helping, Learning... At Design Group International, our core values in process consulting are listening, helping, and learning. We use these competencies as we work alongside our clients to co-design solutions that support leaders and their organizations. Through our process consulting communities' writings, they will share insights on what they hear, how they help, and what they learn. 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