What happens if we focus only on the content and not on the process? One of us will not eat the pizza that is desired.
Organizational problems
Enough talk about pizza. What does this have to do with problems at work?
Organizations and teams are networks of people working together to achieve a common goal, like ordering pizza. In 1969, MIT professor emeritus of organizational culture big fish Edgar Schein wrote, “All organizational problems are fundamentally problems involving human interactions and processes. No matter how technical or financial the problem, people are always involved in its design and implementation.”
Organizational problemsAll organizational problems are therefore interpersonal problems. The better we understand and identify these problems (processes), the better we can solve them. The chance that the solutions will be accepted and implemented by the entire team or the entire organization, also increases.
Read more about the book and Edgar Schein and his vision on processes on this (outdated) website. The book from 1969 is recommended if you want to know more about it!
What a process designer does
Process designers provide insight into the process and the interpersonal issues. This is about what happens around you and between you and others. Remember when you and I had completely canada mobile number list different expectations of the pizza we wanted to order? A process designer makes us aware of this and offers tools to align our expectations.
When solving problems, process designers help teams and organizations in different ways. For example, they think about what the goal is and what the team or organization needs. They also think about how teams and organizations can best find solutions themselves.
Process designer as process consultant
Schein says, “In helping others, consultants can take on three roles: the expert, the physician, or the process consultant. The expert gives expert advice on how to solve the problem. The physician solves the problem for you. A process consultant helps others help themselves.”
A process consultant helps others help themselves.
A process fesigner gives others the space to learn how to solve the problem themselves. If the same or similar problem occurs in the future, the team can solve it themselves and the process fesigner is no longer needed.