Dialogic Process Consulting

This book introduces a subtle but powerful dialogic OD method that coaches and consultants can use to help clients address limiting assumptions and create new possibilities. The phrase “generative meaning-making in action” captures the essence of the approach. You will learn how to identify and address out-of-awareness mindsets during everyday conversations, how to deeply listen for the implicit mindsets that influence meaning-making in individuals, groups and organizations, and how to intervene through transforming talk to challenge or change them.

The presentation draws on more than 40 years of experience consulting with organizations where the author developed the ideas and methods described in the book. Conceptual frameworks, how to’s, and extensive cases are presented throughout to illustrate the ideas and methods in practice.

Outline of the Book

The Preface provides readers with a brief history of the insights and experiences that led the author into the theory and practice of Dialogic OD and to the concepts and methods of Dialogic Process Consulting.
Chapter One: Introduction provides a broad sense of what “dialogic process consulting: generative meaning-making in action” means and some basic ideas and definitions. Three core premises about mindsets, language and change that set the foundation for the book are explained.
Chapter Two: Language and Generative Change provides a discussion of the theoretical background and five guiding concepts that inform and support the dialogic methods described in the book, including the three processes that help lead to dialogic generative change.
Chapter Three: Deep Listening, explains and provides examples of the concepts and methods associated with the important skill of dialogic deep listening. How to listen both literally and symbolically is emphasized.
Chapter Four: Transforming Talk introduces the important concept of transforming talk. While deep listening to a client(s) the consultant or coach has the opportunity to be intentional about influencing dialogic meaning-making through transformational talk. Five transforming talk processes are introduced and illustrated with case examples.
Chapter Five: In-the-Moment Dialogic Consulting and Coaching discusses how to put the ideas introduced in the book into action, not in preplanned ways, but in-the -moment during conversational interactions with clients. The chapter provides five basic guidelines for in-the-moment interactions and concludes with a detailed case illustration.
Chapter Six: Concluding Tips provides brief tips and insights from the author’s experience for working in the ways outlined in the book. The chapter ends by inviting readers to reflect on the metaphors and storylines that inform their coaching and consulting mindsets.
References lists the sources for the key ideas and citations presented in the book.

Watch a 10 minute video of Bob talking about the book.

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About the Author

Robert J. Marshak is recognized as one of the leading contemporary thinkers about organizational consulting and change. He began his career as a management analyst in a U.S. government scientific agency and later served in senior executive positions in science policy before leaving to start his own consulting practice. As a consultant, coach, and/or educator, he worked globally with senior leaders on strategic change initiatives. He most recently served as a Distinguished Scholar in Residence for OD Programs at American University, Washington, DC.

Over the years, Bob also worked with thousands of participants in OD and change leadership programs at universities and institutes in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan. For NTL Institute he designed and served as Dean for residential workshops in conflict management, organizational change, and dealing with covert processes. He also served as Dean for NTL Certificate programs in Organization Development and Change Management conducted in Korea, Singapore and India. At American University he was one of the founding faculty for their OD Masters Program and taught more than 70 cohorts of OD graduate students.

Bob is the author of Covert Processes at Work: Managing the Five Hidden Dimensions of Organizational Change (2006), Organizational Change: Views from the Edge (2009), co-editor with Gervase Bushe of Dialogic Organization Development; The Theory and Practice of Transformational Change (2015), as well as more than 100 articles and book chapters on organizational consulting and change. He received the 2009 Douglas McGregor Memorial Award for the Best Article in the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, the 2016 Best Article Award in the Organization Development Journal, and the 2016 Most Outstanding Article Award in the Organization Development Practitioner.

His contributions as a consultant, educator, and author about language and change, the hidden dynamics of organizations, and Dialogic Organization Development have been recognized by numerous awards including: The OD Network’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the inaugural Distinguished Educator Award from the Organization Development and Change Division of the Academy of Management. A chapter about him and his work is in the Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers (2017). His BA is from Duke University and MPA and Ph.D. degrees from American University.

Endorsements

Judith H. Katz

Ed.D., Executive Vice President, The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc. Co-author, Safe Enough to Soar: Accelerating trust, inclusion and collaboration in the workplace.

Bob Marshak continues to break new ground in organization development and change with his new book on Dialogic Process Consulting: Generative Meaning-Making in Action. This book brings together decades of Bob’s work and helps us learn how metaphors, storylines, symbolic imagery, and dialogic processes shape individual and organizational realities and responses. The book provides a very practical and accessible guide to enable practitioners to help clients address limiting assumptions by understanding their metaphors and mindsets and the application of deep listening to create new possibilities. Dialogic Process Consulting is written in a straight forward manner with great case examples to really understand the process of meaning making and provides specific tips for change agents to apply the process. I highly recommend this book – not just for organization development and change practitioners but any manager or leader who is committed to change and transforming individual, team and organization experience.

Matt Minahan

President, The Minahan Group Strategy Consultants; Board Chair and Member, OD Network, 2009-2016.

There are three things that make this book magic: It is the first real applied handbook for how to consult from the Dialogic frame in OD, and nobody knows this better than Marshak. It is the perfect blend of theory and concrete action. And, it contains several great stories of Bob’s coaching and consulting work, which by themselves are well worth the price of the book.

Professor Cliff Oswick

Chair in Organization Theory and Change, Cass Business School, City University of London, UK.

This is a fantastic book. It is clear, informative and packed with well-focused, meaningful practical advice. The insights into ‘deep listening’ and influencing meaning-making through ‘transformative talk’ are invaluable. This book is an absolute must read for anyone wanting to engage in dialogic process consulting.

Sandra Janoff

PhD, Director, Future Search Network.

As someone who works with large diverse groups and the complexity of multiple realities, I appreciate Bob’s wisdom about explicit and implicit meaning-making. This book is a practical guide in the art of listening truly well, the beauty of linking unconscious processes to conscious awareness with insight and respect, and the belief that learning and acting together is something we can, and must, do. It is a feast of insights topped with great case examples!

Deborah A. O’Neil

Ph.D. Professor and Director Master of Organization Development Program, Bowling Green State University.

This book from the eminent scholar-practitioner, Bob Marshak, is instructive, articulate, and insightful. It strikes the perfect balance between the theoretical and the practical, clearly elucidating Dialogic OD and dialogic process consulting. Rich examples and case studies make this a go-to source for engaging with individuals, teams, and organizations from a dialogic process consulting mindset. Anyone interested in understanding and influencing how meaning-making occurs in organizational systems should read this book.

Keith W. Ray and Joan Goppelt

Act Too Consulting

Through case stories, vignettes, and examples, Bob not only describes Dialogic Process Consulting, but he also shows us what it is and the subtleties of how he practices. This book is a powerful source of learning for any practitioners wanting to engage at the next level with their clients.

Dr L Mee-Yan Cheung

Judge BSc, MA, Ph.D. Global Consultant, Educator, Author. Recipient of the International Organization Development Association’s Richard Beckhard Award and the Organization Development Network’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Through clear case study material, stories, and succinct explanations Marshak has made terms like generative meaning-making in action; deep listening; conceptual metaphor; dialogic thinking; transformative learning; transformative talk…etc, much clearer. More importantly, he describes a new way of consulting which he calls “dialogic process consulting”. By giving a clear explanation of what this type of consulting is about, he shows that by focusing on “dialogic processes”, practitioners can help clients to perceive, understand, and take action about organisational phenomena. He gives many examples of how he confronts and disrupts narratives, and then uses generative talk and imagery to help clients arrive at new narratives that lead to new ways of thinking and acting. The book is not light reading. What one appreciates is Marshak’s ability to stay at the philosophical and conceptual level, but also come down to an application level explaining how we can use dialogic process consulting to support our clients. I highly recommend this book to practitioners who love theories, and complicated conceptual frameworks, yet are eager to learn how to add new ways of consulting that will increase their impact on the systems they work with.

Brenda B. Jones

Co-Leader, Global Leadership Development and Organization Development Group.

This is a well-timed publication as the first in a new series of books on Dialogic Organization Development (OD) by Gervase Bushe and Bob Marshak, two of the foremost thinkers and writers in the field. Bob Marshak begins this must-read series with Dialogic Process Consulting: Generative Meaning Making in Action. His decades of extensive practice, well regarded teaching experience and deep intellectual curiosity come together in a thoughtful and informative book. It is organized with concepts that represent the current generation of work on Dialogic OD. Learning the power of narrative language, practicing attentive listening and uncovering authentic meaning invigorates individuals and organizations. This book stands out as it defines the contemporary importance of Dialogic OD and its relevant body of knowledge.

David W. Jamieson

Ph.D. President, Jamieson Consulting Group, Inc. and Distinguished Guest Faculty in many OD Education Programs.

This book is much appreciated in the evolution of the organization development and change fields. It grounds critical aspects of dialogic-based change work in practical language, methods and ways of thinking…making explicit how to use conversations as the platform for change. The book addresses changing how and for what you listen, ways to interpret conscious and unconscious mindsets, ways to understand frames and orientations guiding how someone is thinking and what is being said, and utilizing different forms of comments and questions in-the-moment to help make transformative shifts in how a person or organization is limiting their possibilities. It is a very helpful book making dialogic-based work clear and actionable while providing a thoughtful grounding of how to coach and consult using dialogic principles in generative meaning-making change processes. Examples and cases from Bob’s practice are woven throughout the discussions.

Miguel Guilarte

Ph.D. Professor of Human and Organization Development, Fielding Graduate University.

In Dialogic Process Consulting, Bob Marshak crystallizes the theory, practice, and process of a form of coaching and consulting that through dialogic engagement helps clients generate new ways of thinking and acting. The book is well organized and written in a style that is engaging, practical and straight forward. Practitioners of coaching and consulting will find this a valuable framework for transformational work with clients.

Donald L. Anderson

University of Denver faculty, consultant, author of Organization Development.

Dialogic Process Consulting will be of interest to both academics and practitioners. Based on the strong theoretical foundation behind Dialogic OD, it expands on the needed skills and grounded practical actions that will guide professionals in bringing Dialogic OD to life in real world situations.

Kate Cowie

author of Finding Merlin: A Handbook For The Human Development Journey In Our New Organisational World; and founding Editor of Practising Social Change.

Organisations are operating today in the interdependent, far-reaching and simultaneously failing ecologies of business, society, politics, climate and the environment. Breakdown calls for breakthrough. This book, which is theory-grounded and also very practical, is an indispensable resource for supporting the emergence of a new level of consciousness that will be needed in organisations if they, as essential elements of our interconnected world, are to play their part in the necessary work of system-transformation.