OE Consultants: Is There a Future for Them?
Since my "Death of the OD Practitioner" article was published
about a month ago, I have been asked whether Organizational
Effectiveness (OE) consultants will experience the same fate. My
answer is "no." Of course, that assumes that OE consultants do
not follow the same destructive path that Organization
Development (OD) practitioners chose.
OD practitioners made the mistake of not partnering with their
clients to produce business results. OD practitioners looked at
business executives (their clients) with disdain. They saw
business men and women as bourgeois money-grabbers who didn't
care about their workers. Their anti-business, anti-capitalism,
anti-management rhetoric has led to their own demise. (You can't
look down your nose at your business client and expect to stay
in business yourself.)
OE consultants, who share a different mindset, will share a
different fate. OE consultants respect their clients and serve
as business partners. Let me make the following predictions
about the future of OE consulting:
1. OE consultants who serve as strategic business partners will
rise in status and recognition in their organizations. Salaries
will rise too as the value of their expertise becomes more
widely recognized. (A value-added approach will be critical to
fulfilling this prediction.)
2. The title of Chief Learning Officer (CLO) or Director of
Organizational Effectiveness will become commonplace at leading
corporations. These positions will be responsible for all
organizational learning and change efforts.
3. The role of OD practitioners will continue to decline in
importance for two reasons: (a) OD practitioners have not
adopted a strategic business partner approach, and (b) many OD
practices have already been adopted by mainstream American
businesses.
4. OE consultants will become more responsive to the needs of
senior management. OE consultants will become a valuable
in-house (or independent) source of guidance on tough management
issues such as succession planning, the creation and transfer of
tacit knowledge, and the development of organizational talent.
5. OE consultants will develop higher levels of consulting
skills to increase their value to their clients.
If you are an OE consultant, there are several things you should
keep in mind:
Bob Pike has said, "Deliver what is needed, not just what is
requested."
David Ulrich predicts, "Business organizations in the future
will compete aggressively for the best talent."
I have predicted, "In the years ahead, senior executives will be
looking for high-level tacit knowledge and experience that will
add to their organizations' core competencies and competitive
advantage. These core competencies, in the form of highly
developed human capital, will become the organization's most
important form of sustainable competitive advantage." How are
you going to add value to your organization's (or your clients')
core competencies and competitive advantage? You can't stand
still in a fast-moving world!