„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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TYPES OF PROCESS INTERVENTIONS
Arthur M. Freedman
During a recent consulting experience shared by several consultants, some useful
discussion surfaced concerning how, how often, and when to intervene in groups and
what kinds of interventions to make. The consultants expressed similar uncertainties and
insecurities regarding their own organization development (OD) skills and knowledge.
How could they be sure that they would intervene effectively at just the point when an
intervention would be maximally facilitative during a process consultation? The
appropriate moment for a particular intervention might easily come and go without
either the consultant’s or the client’s realizing it.
This discussion prompted outlining the following operational “philosophy” of
making interventions, with the thought that it may be of some value to other OD
practitioners. Although all process interventions can be called merely “process
interventions,” they can be differentiated into three distinct and separate classes. These
types might be labeled conceptual-input, coaching, and process-observation
interventions. Each type could (and probably ought to) be considered in terms of (1)
what it might look or sound like when it is made; (2) the objective(s) that it can
facilitate; (3) when it can be made; and (4) the form or style it might take.
CONCEPTUAL-INPUT INTERVENTIONS
Example
The following is an example of a conceptual-input intervention:
Member A, a supervisor (to the client group): “I am beginning to see that you
people get pretty upset when I come over to discuss the work I want you to do. I can see
that when you get upset, the work doesn’t get done as well or as fast as I think it should.
But what I don’t know is what I do that gets you all so upset. Maybe I need to hear a
little of what these consultants call ‘feedback.’ “
Member B (to Member A, after a long silence): “Well, I guess I could give you
some. You know, A, you can be pretty overbearing sometimes, and some of these new
people don’t know how to handle you.”
Member A: (Pause) “What the hell are you talking about? What’s that supposed to
mean?”
Originally published in The 1978 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators by J. William Pfeiffer and John E. Jones (Eds.), San Diego,
CA: Pfeiffer & Company. The author wishes to express his appreciation to Drs. Irvin Roth and Franklin Weingarten for encouraging him to
write this paper.
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The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer