A Boswell Group consultation begins with a confidential meeting between the consultant and potential client, typically the CEO or leader of an organization. The initial meeting is first and foremost about establishing a relationship, and explores the issues at hand. This allows the consultant to form an overall impression which lays the foundation for continued conversations with the CEO and other key people. Soon, these conversations evolve beyond information gathering to commencing the advisory process itself. The consultant immerses himself in the life of the organization by getting to know its people, its practices, and its culture, and this immersion becomes the crucible for the consultant’s work.
The consultant draws upon on his clinical training and experience throughout his engagement with the organization. There is nothing magical about the interventions he offers that generate progress and some of the benefit comes from simply providing the CEO with an ongoing sounding board and “coach” to enhance their personal effectiveness. Some take the form of suggestions about structural changes in the organization, based on observations about how problematic current structures may be crippling growth, interfering with communication, or inhibiting creativity; others are more specifically aimed at key people or the interactions among executives. What these engagements share is an underlying appreciation for the complexity of human behavior that exists in a corporation, and an aversion to simplistic, reductionist formulations that characterize more superficial consultative or coaching approaches.
Given the uniqueness of every organization and leadership challenge, there is no predetermined time-frame for a psychodynamic consultation, nor is any particular commitment of time required at the outset. The consultation continues as long as necessary, and can be terminated on a moment’s notice.