--- title: "Navigating the Helper’s Maze: Helping is Client Specific" description: The Process Consultant needs a robust definition of context in order to understand the specificities of the client. image: https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hubfs/March%20Post%20-%20DGI%20Blog%20Post%20Image-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) ![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 # Navigating the Helper’s Maze: Helping is Client Specific ![Dr. Gerry Krupp](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hubfs/Consultant%20Headshots%20(NEW)/Dr.%20Gerry%20B.%20Krupp%20Headshot%20(300x300).png) by [Dr. Gerry Krupp](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/author/gerry-krupp) July 07, 2021 ![July Post - DGI Blog Post Image-1](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/March%20Post%20-%20DGI%20Blog%20Post%20Image-1.png?width=525&name=March%20Post%20-%20DGI%20Blog%20Post%20Image-1.png) This is a continuing reflection on three foundational values we hold in Design Group International: Listening, Helping and Learning.  Think for a few moments on your own context. What Design Group has learned as a community of practice is this:  Each client is unique and real help for an organization is always specific to that organization!   When I was first dating my spouse-to-be, I joined her at a family reunion.  As we sat together among a large group of strangers (at least to me), someone approached a podium and began to assign tasks.  “You three will sing a special song.”  “How about the two of you work up a duet?”  We need a men’s quartet, how about, Rick, Rod, Kenny and Donny?”  It was all I could do to keep from hyperventilating.  I’m sitting in a puddle of my own fear terrified that this host would look at me and call me out to do something completely outrageous, to sing.   What I didn’t know, what I was completely unaware of, was this was a family of singers and the culture of that family for years was to express joy, love and faith through song.  They had no fear about joining with others to sing because most of them had sung with their brothers, sisters, cousins somewhere before!  Ultimately, I would come to know the culture and the context from which this family derived great happiness when they gathered together.     Process consultants are constantly invited into diverse organizational cultures.  To help an organization about which the consultant knows nothing prior to engagement requires a number of skills.  One of those skills is to listen deeply, conceptually, structurally, and adaptively.  In every early conversation with a stakeholder, a process consultant adopts a posture of curious listening and deeper questions.  Hopefully, out of those conversations, an initial framework is outlined for work together.   From the initial encounter, the trained process consultant enters into the organizational culture and discerns the context of the work.  A skilled process consultant continues to listen carefully, discerning what is unsaid and seeing that which is unknown.  An experienced process consultant must identify cultural touchstones.  **This is an important truth: an organization’s cultural DNA is discerned contextually.**  Applying intuition to every context includes the absorption of organizational meta-data and filtering contextual information with experience and knowledge.  The old adage still applies there is no short-cut for wisdom and experience.  ![DGI - Core Competencies (7)](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DGI%20-%20Core%20Competencies%20(3).png?width=475&name=DGI%20-%20Core%20Competencies%20(3).png) Without understanding context, the technical work may thrive but the ability to think fruitfully about the distant and unknown will be largely left dangling.  Understanding the context of a client makes all the difference.   I had a church client that functioned in a hierarchical organizational structure.  The leadership structure was top down.  Without certain officers in place the entire structure broke down.  There was, at the same time, a vibrantly creative stream of work and ministry taking place.  How was this church able to function without their chief executive officer, who is the pastor, to remain vibrant?  The context of their adaptive functionality is attributed to two very distinct workflows.  The hierarchical flow was top down through the organization chart.  However, the dynamic ministry flow was horizontal, weaving its way through the organizational chart with vibrant new ideas and efforts introduced into the church.   The argument could be made that the hierarchical flow hindered the dynamic and vibrant contribution of the people.  However, this workflow adaptation fit the context of the congregation.   What is your context?  Do you need someone who brings experience and wisdom to the challenges with which you are wrestling?  The best hope for your organization to return to vibrancy and vitality might be to engage a process consultant for whom solutions are adaptively and collaboratively resourced for the unique context you know!   Walking Alongside, ![gerry signature](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CD2pW0CKCiYw8OhYmKBCjStGa8T9kKeL3hjNfd1hY41ICW01CO9oQGGdOf0ROvMSdDjj5gEF6YcpKM_i8lb7CJteqW6wpA112TzyorHyJYDx0fXXhsORJ_MFwjhm9kUf1SBrqMQ) [![Gerry Krupp Headshot 300x300](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2021_Consultant%20Photos/Gerry%20Krupp%20Headshot%20300x300.png?width=86&name=Gerry%20Krupp%20Headshot%20300x300.png)Dr. Gerry Krupp](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/about-gerry-b-krupp) *Design Group International* *Senior Consultant * Dig Deeper: *Want to explore more on this topic? Take a look at these resources:* - "Helping is a performance art laden with often mis-aligned expectations…The helper must vary their behavior according to the stream of feedback signals." from [Process Consulting Revisited: Building the Helping Relationship by Ed Schein](https://www.amazon.com/Process-Consultation-Revisited-Relationship-Organizational/dp/020134596X). - A scholarly article about proactive and reactive help in work settings: Lee, H. W., Bradburn, J., Johnson, R. E., Lin, S.-H. (J.), & Chang, C.-H. (D.). (2019). The benefits of receiving gratitude for helpers: A daily investigation of proactive and reactive helping at work. [Journal of Applied Psychology](http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000346), 104(2), 197-213.m *Process Consulting competencies identified and implemented through the [Society for Process Consulting](https://www.societyforprocessconsulting.com/).*   ###### Tags: [process design, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/process-design) [process consulting, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/process-consulting) [kim stezala, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/kim-stezala) [Design Group International, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/design-group-international) [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) [Ed Schein, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/ed-schein) [organizational consulting, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/organizational-consulting) [business consulting, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/business-consulting) [hiring a consultant, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/hiring-a-consultant) [workplace dynamics, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/workplace-dynamics) [client-owned, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/client-owned) [helping professions, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/helping-professions) [Walking Alongside Blog](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/walking-alongside-blog) ![Dr. Gerry Krupp](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hubfs/Consultant%20Headshots%20(NEW)/Dr.%20Gerry%20B.%20Krupp%20Headshot%20(300x300).png) Post by [Dr. Gerry Krupp](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/author/gerry-krupp) July 7, 2021 I walk alongside leaders, listening to understand their challenges, and helping them lead healthy organizations that flourish. [Follow me on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerry-brannon-krupp-59551311/) ### 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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