Ed Schein’s Principles of Helping


Process Consultation is a practice of intervention and change that is based on the simple principle that learning and change happens better in systems when rather than being told what to do, they are instead allowed to develop their own learning and change. In order to do this systems and consultants working within them need to develop environments and cultures that encourage and support exploration and learning. Environments of learning that recognise, honour, and build upon the unique individuality of every system and its culture. (As discussed by Ed Schein in The Three Levels of Organisational Culture).

5 of Schein's principles of helping

  • Be careful- make sure what you do is helpful.
  • Stay in touch with reality- the conditions and the problems of the place you’re in now. Not previous experience and past problems.
  • Access your ignorance- what’s going on that you don’t know about?
  • Everything you do is an intervention- every phone call, ‘hello’ and action has an impact somewhere.
  • The client owns the problem and the solution- responsibility comes down to them, not you.

You can find out more at The Art of Change Making

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