Post Course Reflection Paper

Part A

I, along with my Learning Contract Group (LCG), participated in an onsite face to

face meeting with the non-profit organization, America’s Future Foundation (AFF), for a

flash consultation project. Our initial meeting was with the Executive Director Cindy

Cerquitella, and Leah Whetstone, the Community Growth Manager. Their presenting

problem focused on AFF’s inconsistent culture and operational procedures, including its

chapters, and concerns about whether a chapter model provides the best structure for

scalability and organizational management.

My LCG provided AFF a summary of our findings. Despite the condensed

amount of time available to gather data and investigate AFF’s circumstances, I felt our

team offered meaningful information for AFF leadership to consider. The presentation

was professional and well organized. We all participated during the client presentation

meeting and contributed a variety of ideas based on our experience and findings. The

client was receptive to our recommendations, and they committed to making some of

the changes over the next six months.

Under very tight time constraints, our team worked cohesively to discuss and

analyze our findings. There were moments where members of the group did not agree

one hundred percent about our observations. During these times, we revisited the

consulting models from our coursework, our group norms, and at points, our advisor

offered guidance to overcome objections. Ultimately, as a new group of consultants

with varying perspectives and experience, we successfully worked through our

challenges. We remained focused on delivering a top-notch presentation. I enjoyed the

process, and I believe the client did as well.

I have worked as a consultant off and on for many years. I have experience with

interviewing, observing, and researching a client. During the AFF project, I hoped to

learn more about effective consulting in a group and to improve my consulting design

and communication skills. I enjoyed having the opportunity to hear new perspectives

and observe different processes that challenged my thinking and experience. Some of

the skills I demonstrated were interviewing and observing the client, including how the

client treated us, collect and document data, and survey chapter members. After the

client meeting, I funneled data during our analysis meetings, summarized our data to

place data and presentation visuals in a PP for its most significant impact, and I helped

facilitate and manage the feedback meeting.

Some of the attitudes and behaviors I demonstrated related to the LCG work

process. For example, I worked on developing a broader understanding of each group

member. By learning more about their beliefs, perceptions, and what they hoped to

accomplish during the consulting process, we worked more effectively as a team. This

effort also helped facilitate and accelerate meaningful dialogue in our group, which in

turn reduced our work time on this project.

I treated the group as a collection of individuals working to help each person feel

that we each are as equal as possible. Our group also used this approach in the client

meeting. In addition to structuring the meeting environment for task function, we

structured the room to make everyone feel equal and at ease, and for effective

communication.
 After the project was completed, I asked to meet with my LCG advisor to obtain

personal feedback on my performance. They encouraged me to take a more significant

role in sharing my professional experiences to have a more meaningful impact on the

direction of a project or perhaps an individual’s development. I was hesitant to do more

of this as a result of a negative experience I had in one of our cohort exercises. She

shared her observations and explained how the group responds when I show leadership

in this area. I had the opportunity to participate in a post-project discussion, where I

offered feedback on some of the individual behaviors and their impact on our group

work process. This was an excellent opportunity to practice leadership in the areas my

advisor encouraged me to be proactive in. My actions and statements were well

received, and the discussion was helpful to various individuals and our group.

The consulting project start to finish, was a great learning experience. The

project provided an excellent opportunity to improve my ability to consult in a group and

with designing and practicing more effective consultation skills.

Part B

With great anticipation, my LCG met with client AFF for a quick consultation. Our

group approached our consulting opportunity with open minds and positive energy

towards each other.

During our client preparation meeting, we discussed and determined what roles

are required for the session, who would assume these roles, and what tasks each

function would perform. We all worked diligently to ensure everyone’s voice was heard.

We read the information provided to us on the client, discussed client management, and

potential challenges we might face. There was jockeying between a few individuals for
the presentation role. One individual spoke very assertively and conveyed emotion

about taking on this responsibility; the offer was received with a mixed reception.

Speaking concisely is not a strength of this individual, and this alone presented concern

about their ability to communicate effectively. The individual went on to express that

they wanted the opportunity to develop their presentation skills. I understood both the

desire of the individual wanting the chance to develop their skills and the concerns

about whether they would communicate effectively. The group discussed what was

best for this instance and decided the presenting role would be shared between two

individuals, an individual with extensive speaking experience and the individual

requesting the development opportunity. This situation provided an excellent

opportunity for the group to be sensitive, supportive, and learn how to work through this

type of challenge.

It was a unique experience for me to work with my OD peers who all are dynamic

and accomplished, and similarly aged individuals. Despite having years of experience

working within and leading groups, this opportunity required different skill sets. I had to

be more aware of the power structures and social needs within our LCG. I found that

each person came to the group with varying social needs. I enjoyed the learning

process within our group and the different level of awareness required to work within the

specific dynamics of my group. I look forward to having more experiences like this in

my career.

During the AFF presentation design, one individual blocked the process. They

behaved in a way that disrupted the flow of information in the group and this delayed

our ability to move forward. They, at times, acted as an aggressor disagreeing and tried
to dominate the planning meeting. When this occurred, one individual used humor to

avoid conflict and deflect their frustration over the planning process. For the most part,

despite the tight timelines, we ultimately performed well as a new consulting group. We

were committed to keep learning, to keep an open mind, and to work through our

challenges. In the end, we made the right decisions in a reasonable amount of time.

Some of the more interesting observations I had related to the power structures,

group reaction to the power structure, the impact of the timing of actions particularly

when fatigue hit, the challenge of keeping everyone on task, and language used

towards each other. If communication was not relevant or easily understood, this

caused delays and conversations ensued to gain clarity and hear everyone’s voice.

This process delayed the preparation of the executive summary, and we all had to work

at keeping each person engaged in the process. For some, the urge to speak in place

of listening was powerful.

Most of us kept to our “norms” of not interrupting each other and practiced being

fully present and using listening skills. Periodically we had a member that became

focused on their point of view, demanding their point of view be included in the

presentation content, despite no one else in the group agreeing with their position. I

found myself as well as others negotiating with this individual to modify their perspective

to include a broader scope of the group’s view on the topic.