ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the practice of organizational consultancy rather than on its academic side. It aims to examine people in work, both outside and inside organizations, and to offer a framework for understanding their experiences. The book describes how seemingly similar individuals and groups can behave in extremely diverse ways when working with different client groups. It draws on a specific phase of a consultancy project, when the director of an organization became terminally ill. The book shows how individuals responded to powerful experiences of shame in their working lives, and how consultancy helped them to regain a sense of confidence and competence. It also describes how in a context of constant organizational change, the manager’s capacity to be fully present becomes an essential element for stability and growth.
