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B
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Bi
" r es ul t s , and t hey want t hem f a i r l y r a p-
Consultants need to be able to connect i dl y. Ian ( br o a dc a s t e r ) c o mme n t e d:
with other people deeply and qui ckl y "Ea r l y on, I woul d need to ha ve f r o m
and communicate that They need to be V
ou some l i ul e vi cl or
y'
somc
P
i ecc ol
. , wi sdom t ha t you i mpa r t or s o me t hi n g
able to cut to the chase to get to the
a bout me t ha t I am abl e t o i ncor po-
core issue pretty quickl y. ^
{{
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maRes me
-Dr. Br i an Bell (consultant,
El l c n
( mu s i c i a n ) suggest ed t h a t
. . . . v i s u a l f e e dba c k t h r o u g h v i d e o t a p e
f a mi l y business) , ,
woul d be u s e f u l . She also spoke ol t he
va l ue of concrete and s peci f i c f ocus on
t he pr esent s i t ua t i on:
I wo u l dn ' t spend a whol e l ot of t i me expl or i ng t he dept hs of
f ear . Fear i s t he most n o r ma l t h i n g i n t he wor l d. I t h i n k wha t
you have to do is l earn to cope wit h it: i dent i f y it and own it
and t hen get past it . Dwel l i ng on it s source may be a
wor t hwhi l e a c t i vi t y at some ot her poi nt , but I don' t t h i n k t ha t ' s
going t o hel p t he per f or mance now. Y ou' r e bet t er of f j u s t
sayi ng: It' s t he most hor r i bl e t h i n g i n t he world t o be a f r a i d ,
s t a n d i n g up t her e i n f r o n t of t ho u s a n ds of people, when t he
st akes ar e hi gh and you can' t mess up. Y ou' r e goi ng t o ha ve
nor ma l f e a r r ef l exes, so let' s t a l k a bout wha t you' r e a f r a i d of
and how yo u ' r e goi ng t o deal wi t h t he f ea r when you f eel i t
The Ideal Consultant
coming up. What are you going to do? Are you going to resist
it, push it away, or are you going to j ust incorporate it? How
are you going to get it out? How are you going to let it go? I
would deal with it rather t han anal yze it.
Performers in a number of domains expressed a strong preference
for informative, collaborative consul t at ion r at her t han directive consul-
tation. Diane (musi ci an) commented t hat the consul t ant can bring issues
to a performer' s awareness t hat they can then address. Eric (neurosur-
geon) suggested a kind of smorgasbord approach:
I would like it if a consultant could provide me with a list of
patterns or activities that people utilize to prepare for surgery.
Personalities are so varied that you are not going to f i nd that
the whole list is beneficial to everybody, but I think you would
be able to look t hr ough a list and say, "This may be something
that could real l y be hel pf ul " or "That is not anyt hing that I
could utilize." Y ou' d need to do this knowing t hat we are f ai r l y
ignorant about all t hat . We do not have any history of saying,
"Joe Blow does this and that is kind of neat. I want to try that
technique," or "I'm not interested in that." Trying to steer
somebody down a path is probably going to be less successful
for neurosurgeons t han to kind of give options and make them
feel like they are directing it themselves. Y ou' re building the
ego, so to speak, but you' re allowing a self-discovery process
that probably would be adopted and utilized faster.
Michael (conduct or ) suggested an al t ernat e form of informat ion shar-
ing through di f f i dence:
A person has to have his own realizations and needs to decide
for himself what is t r ue. Anybody can help a person who is
doing a good job. And the person can look at the fact ors t hat
are in his life, what is going on there, and take a look at them,
and put two and two together and make a better go of it
because of t hat .
If I was consulting with someone, helping somebody, I
would certainly ask, "Have you thought about this, have you
thought about that?" I like to put things in this way: "This is
what I have f ound for myself to be very hel pful . " And it
resonates with the individual , and he or she can say, "Oh yeah,
I can see that, I see that in rny own si t uat i on, yesterday blah
blah blah, and that' s what happens with me." And it helps to
improve a person's life. I'm very car ef ul in that I don' t want to
enforce my views on somebody else. I like to simply put it in
terms of letting someone know what has helped me.
225
2 2 6 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
Biases
Having asked about var i ous per sonal i t y and style charact erist ics of the
ideal consul t ant , we were also curi ous about bias in the di f f er ent do-
mains. We wondered whether performers had certain biases with regard
to the obvious visible characteristics of age, gender, and et hnicit y. Recog-
nizing that there could well be a tendency to present a "politically cor-
rect" image of ut t er neut r al i t y, we asked not onl y about the specific
performer' s own preferences but also about t heir expectation of others
in t hei r profession. In regard to age, for example, Di ane ( mus i ci a n) com-
mented t hat the age of the consul t ant was not an issue for her per sonal l y
and that, more broadl y, it woul d not be rel evant for others in music.
At a general level, Keit h ( act or ) commented: "I don' t real l y feel l ike it
would make an enor mous di f f er ence. I've f ound some val uabl e i nsi ght s
in some of the least likely places." As a real ist , Dr. Bell (consul t ant , busi-
ness) recognized t hat whereas demographic characteristics might not be
significant af t er t he i ni t i al contact, t hey mi ght well af f ect t he l i kel i hood
of "getting in the door."
AGE
We had ant icipat ed neut r al i t y for the most part but were surprised ( and,
given that we've been ar ound for a while, personally somewhat rel ieved!)
to f i nd t hat to the ext ent t hat per f or mer s saw age as rel evant , they ex-
pressed interest in worki ng wit h someone older r at her t han younger.
For some people, it was a mat t er of working with someone wi t hi n their
age rangeand our i nt er vi ew part i ci pant s, by vi r t ue of our expertise cri-
teria, were t hemsel ves not beginners. For others, this pr ef er ence was
direct l y tied to an assumpt i on t hat age most l i kel y related to number of
years of experience and competence.
A number of people in the business domai n responded to t his issue.
Charl es (i nsur ance broker execut i ve) suggested someone older t han 35 .
B ar r y (adver t i si ng, age 4 3) woul d want a peer or someone a bit older.
Ar t hur (lawyer, age 5 1) , was qui t e specific: "Probably being 4 0 is bet t er
t han being 30. Looking 4 0 is bet t er t han being 4 5 and l ooking 35. Maybe
someone who is a l it t l e older and has t aken a few t ur ns ar ound the t rack. "
Making the age aspect rel at i onal , Anna (lawyer, age 5 1) commented:
To me, gender or et hnicit y are irrel evant . I t hi nk age is probabl y
a fact or for me. I doubt t hat I could have the type of
r el at i onshi p t hat I woul d envision want i ng f r om such a person,
with somebody who was very young. I woul d probabl y want
somebody who was wi t hi n my age group. I probably woul dn' t
The Ideal Consultant 227
Initially, I think age is kind of important.
There are some impressions that you
might have to get over. We've got a lot
of high-tech companies around here and
mostly the people that do those are
young. In a lot of family businesses,
members of the founding generation are
my age or near it. They don't do e-mail,
they don't do computers, but their kids
sure as hell do. So, they kind of take to
me at first figuring that I don't know
one end of the computer from another.
Sometimes I use that. I do know one end
of the computer from the other, but I
may disparage that and say "Well, you
can't high-tech everything. You've got to
know what the hell you are doing, too."
All that does is just help you get in the
door, get some rapport,
The younger ones are more likely to
assume that because of my age [64], I
don't know diddly about what they are
trying to accomplish: getting a
management information system and
people who are computer literate, and
getting the old man to understand that
there is more to running a business these
days than just yakking on the telephone.
We all start with these kinds of vices and
assumptions. We have to work with
those or against them or overcome
them,
Dr. Brian Bell (consultant,
family business)
want somebody a lot older or a
lot younger. Y ou might have a
probl em real l y believing that a
younger person could have
insight t hat you wouldn't have.
Pragmat ical l y, Eric ( neur os ur geon)
suggested t hat age would be irrelevant
to neur osur geons unless there were a
large age discrepancy: "If t here is a huge
age di f f er ence, it probably wouldn' t be
as beneficial to them. It's kind of that 30-
55 stretch where time stands still." Simi-
l arl y, Dr. Dean ( consul t ant , busi ness)
comment ed that age can become a fac-
tor if the mismatch is too great.
A few people noted the likely rela-
tionship between age and experience. Ian
(broadcast er) said t hat he would discount
i nf or mat i on from a person who was both
young and inexperienced. David (banker)
art icul at ed this interaction:
Age would matter onl y to the
ext ent t hat it t ransl at ed into
r el evant experienceand t hat
indirect l y would correlate with
age. If somebody walked in 18
mont hs out of gr aduat e school,
t hat would be a lot di f f er ent
f r om somebody who has been
doing it for 20 years. There
woul d be a lot more chance of
respecting t hat person's
opinions. They woul dn' t have
to prove themselves as much.
The new gr aduat e might still
win everybody over, but it
would be a harder sell.
GENDER
A number of the (mal e) businesspeople suggested t hat businesspeople
woul d pr ef er wor ki ng wit h a man, as Charles ( i nsur ance broker) com-
228 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
mer i t ed, "because it ' s a pr e do mi n a n t l y
ma l e bus i nes s . " Thi s o bs e r va t i o n wa s
acknowl edged by some of the mal e busi -
ness cons ul t a nt s . Among Dr. Col i n Cross's
s t a f f a r e women bus i nes s c o n s u l t a n t s .
Co n f o u n d i n g gender a n d pr o f es s i o n a l
backgr ound a bi t , he nonet hel ess com-
ment ed wi t h consi derabl e f r u s t r a t i o n ,
Whet her we l i ke t o accept t he
f act or not , we st i l l have people
i n de c i s i o n - ma ki n g posi t i ons i n
t he i n du s t r y who ar e mal e.
And i f gi ven a choice bet ween
a mal e wi t h a sport s
ba ckgr ound or a f ema l e
wi t ho u t one, i n v a r i a b l y t he y ' l l
choose the mal e. About 80% of
t hem will choose the mal e wi t h
t he sport s ba ckgr ound.
However, t he onl y f ema l e per f or mer
we i nt er vi ewed i n t he busi ness domai n,
An n a ( l a wye r ) , comment ed on t he va r i -
a bl e n a t u r e of pr ef er ence f or one gender
or the other. She reflected t hat "depend-
i ng on t he i nt er act i ont he dyna mi c
somet i mes it can be a real pl us to be the
opposite sex, and sometimes it can be a
real pl us t o be t he same." Dr. Adams also
t ho u ght t h a t bei ng f ema l e or an e t hn i c mi n o r i t y coul d be advant ageous at
t he pr esent t i me. He bel i eved t hat a f f i r ma t i ve action had creat ed an at mo-
sphere of oppor t uni t y for women and et hni cal l y diverse i ndi vi dual s.
The per f or mer s i n h i g h - r i s k medi ci ne were cl ear about pr ef er r i ng t o
wor k wi t h a ma n. George ( medi c- s ni per ) sai d t ha t a man woul d be easi er
t o open up t o. Er i c sai d:
Gender i n t he f i e l d of neur os ur ger y pr obabl y woul d be an i ssue
at some poi nt , because t her e ar e very f ew women i n t he f i el d
of neur osur ger y. I don' t t hi n k anyone has a strong preference,
good or bad wi t h i t , but it ' s j u s t t ha t t he f i e l d hasn' t been
h e a v i l y pen et r a t ed a nd I t h i n k you woul d f i n d t h a t some
peopl e woul d not be as comf or t a bl e wi t h a f ema l e.
I sometimes have difficulty with
somebody who's significantly younger
than me trying to tell me, "You should
be doing this, that, and the other." I
went to a sports clinic a couple of days
ago, and part of the time I was feeling
like an old curmudgeon and saying to
myself: "Come on, Helena, now just
relax. These people probably know lots,
and they can be really helpful to you."
But I just found it very difficult to get
over thinking that I was practically old
enough to be the doctor's and the
physiotherapist's mother. And I just
found myself resenting the fact that they
hadn't gone through half of my life
experience, and so they just don't have
the frame of reference that I'm coming
from. Maybe they'll luck into exactly the
information that I need, but I somehow
trust somebody who's got at least the
mileage behind them that I have.
Helena (dancer)
The Ideal Consultant
229
Similarly, in emergency medicine, Frederick saw gender trumping
et hni ci t yt hough less because of gender per se and more because of
het erosexual energies:
I t hi nk t hat by and large the white male emergency room
physician would relate much better to a white or black male.
When you are spilling your guts, you don't want any issues of
sexual it y to pl ay a part . I t hink it would be much easier for a
woman to go to a man because women don' t look at every
man and t hi nk whet her they want to go to bed with them or
not.
Because I'm in a helping profession,
sometimes t don't realize how
Machiavellian business often is, or how
sociopathic people will behave, or how
much the sole motivator is often money.
I've often projected some of my own
needs or experiences onto the situation,
whereas in fact it's a different culture
and I've misread it.
Women in particular have been
misreading the men's world and men's
motivation, thinking that relationships
count more than they do. People have
done things that totally shocked us. We
never expected them to do such dirty or
manipulative things. And they do. And
then our coaching hasn't been as
effective.
Helena (dancer ) would also opt for a
same-sex consultant. For her, issues of
sexism and het erosexual it y could then
be el i mi nat ed f r om t he i ni t i al i nt er -
change:
I usual l y feel more comfortable
t al ki ng to a woman. Generally,
if I'm talking to a man who is
in a sort of counseling or
t herapeut ic position, there's a
bunch of defenses t hat I have
to get over before I can deal
with whatever the issues
act ual l y are. It's easier for me to
start without those defenses so
that I'm closer to dealing with
whatever the actual issue is at
hand.
Dr. Cl.nre Crown (consultant, business)
Interestingly, some of the consultants
working with high-risk performers saw
potential advantages to women as con-
sul t ant s in these f i el ds. Dr. Gates sug-
gested that women working with race car
drivers might have some advantages, as
long as they minimized sexual cues in
t hei r dress and demeanor and were able to tolerate a t radit ional and
bl at ant l y sexist environment. Some of Dr. Lindsay' s femal e students were
unexpect edl y more effective in working with Navy SEALs in training
t han were the male consultants. He hypothesized t hat the naval trainees
felt the need to mai nt ai n a "macho" facade with male consultants, whereas
with femal e consultants, they "didn' t have to act any part."
2 3 0 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
These very mixed perspectives on gender suggest t hat t her e may be
increasing f l u i di t y even wi t hi n some t r adi t i onal l y closed systems. It may
also be import ant to di st i ngui sh between issues of ent ry and issues of
acceptance. Ul t imat el y, a female consul t ant ent eri ng a t r adi t i onal l y mas-
culine environment must be deliberative about how she est abl ishes le-
gitimate credibility and professional relationships.
ETHNICITY
All of the performers i nt er vi ewed were Whit e. Few had any comment s
about ethnicity. Frederick (emergency room physician) raised the possi-
bility that a Black male physician might t hi nk t hat a White male woul dn' t
underst and his perspective. As mentioned, Grace suggested t hat in broad-
casting, diversit y is accepted and val ued. "In radio we are much more
open and loose. I act ual l y have a slight bias against the Caucasi an gray
suit-wearing man, because we have had some bad experiences wi t h
them."
Recommendations
to Consultants
Although professionals may place a great deal of stock in formal
credentials as a means of establishing credibility, performers do not.
Performers assess credibility by looking at a consultant' s experience,
knowledge, and his or her valuing of the performer' s craft.
A consul t ant wil l t ypical l y be viewed more positively if he or she
has some form of performance experience. It does not have to be
at the same level or necessarily in the same domain. The mere fact
of having experienced the demands and expectations of perfor-
mance enhances the belief t hat the consultant can empathize with
the performer.
It is crucial that the performer experiences the consultant as em-
pathic. This is the cornerstone of an effective rel at ionship and con-
sequently the f oundat i on of successful consulting.
Each performance domain is a uni que cul t ur e. A consul t ant is ad-
vised to become a "cul t ur al anthropologist" and l earn the cul t ure' s
language, customs, and attire. The consul t ant can "mi rror" t hat
knowledge by selecting the "appropriate" language, at t ire, and ac-
tions.
Performers val ue a consultant who shows empat hy and support
and can work with them in a collaborative f ashi on t hat recognizes
their own strengths and expertise.
The Ideal Consultant
Preference for the manner in which feedback is presented may
vary from performer to performer. Consultants are encouraged to
explore with the performer how he or she best receives feedback
and then respond accordingly. Consultants accustomed to a tradi-
tional, nondirective approach most likely must learn how to be
more engaged and direct.
It is important that the consultant be able to rapidly establish a
trusting relationship with the performer, assess the situation, and
provide feedback in a timely fashion. Providing feedback and sug-
gestions that prove beneficial to the performer is perhaps the most
potent means of establishing credibility.
More yout hf ul consultants may be at a disadvantage in perfor-
mance consulting, as numerous (experienced) performers preferred
older, more experienced individuals. Y ounger consultants are ad-
vised to be respectful of these concerns, to acknowledge the limi-
tations of experience, and to emphasize their usefulness as a col-
laborative resource rather than an
y/
expert with the answers."
It is not clear whether gender or ethnicity biases play a role in the
selection of a performance consultant. There has been some indi-
cation that being male might be a slight advantage in gaining ini-
tial access to consulting in high-risk domains, but there is also com-
pelling evidence that women may be equally (if not more) effective
in dealing with stress-related issues in that same domain. This topic
requires f ur t her research and clarification.
There are several indications that the ideal consulting relationship
is forged over a significant period of time. Consultants must be
prepared to be available to the performer "for the long haul," al-
beit at varyi ng levels of involvement.
231
C o n s u lta n t E f f o r t s T h a t
Hinder P er f o r m a n c e
I t would be t r oubl es ome i t I got t he message t h at i ndeed I am wr ong, t hat
t her e i s s omet hi ng wr ong wi t h me. That woul d j us t per pet uat e my cycles
of c r umbl i ng.
Kei t h ( ac t or )
I t hough one hopes t hat c ons ul t ant e f f or t s woul d have posi t i ve ( or at least
ne ut r al ) ef f ect s , c ons ul t ant cont act pot ent i ally can be negat i ve or har m-
f ul . We asked: Ar e t here t hi ngs a c ons ul t ant mi ght do t hat mi ght ac t ual l y
hi nder per f or mance? We asked because we want ed t o know what con-
s ul t ant s s houl d avoi d doi ng and because we t hought responses mi ght
shed li ght on t he ant i t hes i s : de f i ni ng best pr act i ces. I t was also an i nt r i gu-
i ng ques t i on because i t of f e r e d pe r f or me r s an oppor t uni t y f or s pont ane-
ous comment r at h e r t han r out i ne responses t o pr edi ct able quest i ons. I n
addr es s i ng t h i s t opic, we also t ur ne d t o our cons ult ant s , whose h umi l i t y
and i nsi ght s f r om t hei r own f ai l ur e s gui ded our under s t andi ng of t he
r i sks and l i abi l i t i e s i n wor k i ng wi t h eli t e per f or mer s.
The at hlet es i n Or li ck and Par t i ngt on' s ( 1987) s t udy of pr ef er r ed con-
s ul t ant at t r i but e s descri bed t he worst cons ult ant s as havi ng t he f ollow-
ing char act er i st i cs: poor i nt er per s onal s ki lls , poor appli cat i on of psychol-
ogy t o sport , lack of s e ns i t i v i t y or f l e x i b i l i t y t o i ndi v i dual needs, li mi t ed
one- on- one cont act , i nappr opr i at e behavi or on sit e, bad t i mi ng, and i n-
adequat e f eedback. These i s s ues were described by our i nt er vi ewees as
well.
We clus t er ed pot ent i al l y h ar mf ul consult ant act i vi t i es i nt o t hree gen-
eral cat egories: t hose t hat are of f t he mar k, t hose i nvolvi ng poor ski lls,
and t hose t hat i nvolve pr oblems wi t h t he cons ult ant ' s per sonali t y. Per-
f or mer s also ex pressed var i ous at t i t ude s t oward and bi ases about con-
s ul t ant s and c ons ul t at i on t hat mi ght have addi t i onal negat i ve ef f ect s .
233
234 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
O f f the Mark
C ons ul t ant s c an h i nde r a pe r f or me r i f t h e y o f f e r s ug g e s t i ons t h a t ar e of
l i t t l e us e or ar e un r e al i s t i c . The l ac k of domai n- s pe c i f i c k nowl e dge , r e-
s ul t i ng i n advi c e or i nt e r v e nt i ons t h at ar e un r e a l i s t i c or i nac c ur at e , was a
pot e nt i al concer n me nt i one d b y s ever al pe r f or me r s . A r t h u r ( l a wy e r ) , f or
ex ample, c omment ed: " A l ot of l aw c o n s u l t a n t s come i n and don' t hav e
a lot t o s ay [ of s ub s t anc e ] . Ther e i s no l i s t e n i n g goi ng on and no di ag no-
s i s , b ut i t ' s e nt e r t ai ni ng . "
Our c ons ul t ant s obser ved t h a t pr ob l e ms of unr e al i s t i c or i nac c ur at e
advi ce were t ypi c al l y r e l at e d t o pr ob l e ms wi t h as s e s s me nt . A l t h o u g h per-
f or mer s di dn' t us e t he same t e r mi nol ogy, t h e y s har e d t he s ame concer ns .
Wi t hi n t h e h i g h l y t r a d i t i o n a l i s t , s t r uc t ur e d f r ame wor k of b al l e t , C h ar -
lot t e ( danc e r ) not ed t h a t a pe r f or me r ' s c apac i t i e s c oul d i n some ways be
i mpai r e d:
I f someone ( a danc e r ) whose ego was al r e ady a l i t t l e out of
cont r ol was convi nced t h a t t h e y wer e even b e t t e r t h a n t h e y
t h oug h t t hey were. Par t of be i ng m a t u r e i n danc e i s t h a t yot i
have t o unde r s t and your place i n t he or g ani z at i on. Not
everyone can be a pr i nc i pal danc e r .
in dance, anatomy is destiny. No matter
how hard you work, you may not be able
to be a professional. If you don't have
the turn-out or the feet or the extension,
it's not going to happen. [Dancers can be
adversely affected if the consultant]
assumes that because they want this so
much, all that is necessary is to focus on
helping them get it without recognizing
their personal limitations. The role of the
consultant as a psychologist may not be
helping them to perfect their techniques
or even deal with performance anxiety
it may be helping them to find another
career.
Dr. Donna Desmond
(consultant, dance)
S i mi l a r l y , Nor man ( m u s i c i a n ) s ug-
gest ed t h at i t woul d b e h a r m f u l i f t h e
c on s ul t a n t wer e t o pump up pe r f or me r s
beyond t h e i r ab i l i t i e s and not ac k nowl -
edge t he di s c r e panc y bet ween t h e i r e x -
pe c t at i ons and a b i l i t i e s .
Har ol d c omment ed s pe c i f i c al l y about
t he ways i n whi ch i mager y t r ai ni ng could
be pr ob l e mat i c t o a mus i c i an. B ec aus e
mus i c i s abs t r ac t c ommuni c at i on, a par -
t i c u l a r me nt al i mage c oul d r e s t r i c t t h e
br oade r e x pr e s s i on of t he mus i c .
Ex pe r i e nc e may i nur e t h e pe r f or me r
t o a c on s ul t a n t who gi ves poor adv i c e .
I l e ne sai d t h a t s he had t h oug h t s o muc h
ab out pe r f or manc e i s s ue s f or t he pas t 3 0
year s t h a t " I doub t i woul d t ak e any s ug-
ges t i ons t h a t I t h oug h t wer e bogus. I ' m
j us t r e al l y j udg me n t a l . I f I T h o u g h t t h e y
we r e n' t t e l l i n g me a n y t h i n g t h at was use-
f u l , 1 wo u l d n ' t l i s t e n t o t h e m any mor e. "
Consultant E f f orts That Hinder Perf ormance
235
One issue is not being adequately
sensitive to the actual physical demands
of a performance. I'm going to describe
a sports situation, though it's equally
applicable to the military. It's less so in
business because there you are talking
about cognitive skills more often than
the physical requirements of
performance.
A discus thrower was having a hard
time staying focused. She just had too
many distracting thoughts. I suggested:
"As you get in the ring, why don't you
just pay attention to the feeling of the
weight of the discus in your hand." The
idea was that you can't simultaneously
really feel that, pay attention to it, and
be distracted by thoughts going on
inside your head.
I wasn't aware that for a discus
thrower to focus on the weight in their
hand means they lose awareness of their
lower body. That is where the strength
cornes from for their throw.
This person just used her arm for
throwing. She didn't lower her body to
get the drive through the power of her
legs. My suggestion actually interfered
with her performance. A lack of
sensitivity to the biomechanics and the
actual physical demands of the
performance situation meant that an
intervention that made sense from a
concentration standpoint, when put
together with what the body has got to
do, was not the right thing to suggest.
Dr. Kenneth King (consultant, military)
Davi d ( bank e r ) conveyed a si mi lar
at t i t ude :
As st r ong wi lled as ever ybody is
her e, i f somebody didn' t t hi nk
somet hi ng was right and di dn' t
want t o do it , t hey j us t
woul dn' t do it . They might
li st en, t hey mi ght t ry some
t hi ngs, ex periment , but not f or
long if it 's not working. They' d
be qui ck t o speak up and say,
" B ulls hi t ! "
From Davi d' s perspect ive, rat her t han
hi nder i ng t he per f or mer , "t he only har m
would be t he t ime and mat er i alst he
cost in dollar s and t ime away f r om do-
i ng ot her t hi ngs. "
Dr. Bell' s s ummar y of " of f t he mar k"
c ons ul t i ng capt ures t he f lavor of t his t ype
of wor k. As a consult ant specializing in
work wi t h f ami l y businesses, he recog-
niz ed t hat i naccur at e assessment , knowl-
edge, or present at i on can be problemat ic:
I t h i nk t he biggest mi st akes in
wor ki ng wi t h f ami l y businesses
ar e f ai l ur e s t o r eally under st and
t he f ami l y. I f you haven' t paid a
lot of at t ent i on and you don' t
under s t and t hat f ami ly and
what is going on t here, you j us t
do t hings t hat are dumb, naive,
and misdirect ed. I t may be a
great idea, but it is not going t o
work because you di dn' t
deli ver t he message in a way
t hat it could be heard.
Poor Skills
Somet imes a consult ant may lack or be
weak in cer t ai n ski lls, which hinders his
2 3 6 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
or her ab i l i t y t o serve per f or mer s . Some weaknes s es may lead t o pr ob-
lems wi t h pr es ent at i on, not bei ng able t o mat ch i nt e r v e nt i ons wi t h i n di -
v i dual s , c r e at i ng over dependenc e or un de r m i n i n g c onf i de nc e , and pr o-
v i di ng i n ade q uat e s uppor t . We di s cus s t hes e s hor t c omi ngs i n t h i s s ect i on.
PROBLEMS WITH PRESENTATION
Di f f i c ul t y wi t h pr e s e nt at i on may i nc l ude pr obl e mat i c l anguage , poor l i m-
ing, or uns ki l l ed paci ng. A number of t hese are basic cli ni cal or cons ult a-
t i on s ki l l s . However , as r ef l ec t ed by bot h t he pe r f or me r s ' concer ns and
t he c ons ul t ant s ' ex per i enc e, i n t he pr es s ur e of a new cont act or di f f e r e nt
use of one' s s k i l l s , some s e e mi ngl y i ng r ai ne d s k i l l s can at leas t t empo-
r ar i l y get de r ai l e d.
Tr yi ng t o i mpr e s s t he per f or mer can bac k f i r e . B ar r y ( adv e r t i s i ng ex -
e c ut i v e ) s ai d, " Don' t t ell me all t he great people you know r i ght t i p f r ont .
Focus on me."
Somet i mes , i t ' s a mat t e r of poor basi c c ommuni c at i on s k i l l s . B ar r y
c ont i nue d: " You have t o be t he r e i n t he room wi t h me. I t woul d be a
pr obl em i f t her e were s i gns t h at you were di s t r ac t e d. " Act ors, comment ed
ac t i ng c ons ul t ant Dr . Owen Os bor ne, s omet i mes des cr i be t h i s k i nd of
di s t r ac t ed i n a t t e n t i on t o t he pr es ent as " phoni ng i n" one' s pe r f or manc e .
Pr obl emat i c t i mi ng or pac i ng could i nv ol v e gi vi ng t he person t oo many
t hi ngs t o f oc us on, s ugges t ed George ( medi c - s ni per ) . Ex pe r i e nc e d con-
s ul t ant s echoed t he i mpor t anc e of paci ng and i nc r e me nt al change as cen-
t r al t o success. Dr . Cross, f or e x ampl e , used a t er m f i r s t developed by
i nv e nt or B uc k mi ns t e r Ful l e r , t r i m t ab adj us t me nt , and elabor at ed:
You don' t t r y and c hange e v e r yt hi ng. I f t he T i t ani c had t ur ne d
a hal f a degr ee s out h as i t l e f t Eng l and, t he r e ' d hav e been no
movi e. And t he s ame t h i ng i s t r ue wi t h us . Ye s t e r day I was
doi ng a c oac hi ng wor ks hop. One of t he t h i ng s t he par t i c i pant s
had t o do was t ake a s i ngle goal and br eak i t down and t he n
come up wi t h a pe r f or manc e goal. Then t hey got coached i n i t .
We were t r yi ng t o b ui l d s e l f - awar e ne s s and s e l f - r e s pons i b i l i t y
i n ot he r h uman bei ngs . One of t hese goals was b ui l di n g r appor t
wi t h people. Someone pi cked an i t em and sai d, "Well t h i s i s not
very big." And I s ai d t o t he m, " Thi nk about i t : i f you s t ar t t o
wor k wi t h b ui l di ng r appor t wi t h your people t hr ough mor e
t wo- way c ommuni c at i on and mor e t wo- way di al ogue , i n t hr ee
mont h s you' r e goi ng t o have a whole di f f e r e nt r e l at i ons hi p
wi t h t h e m. You don' t hav e t o c hange t he wor ld, j us t t hi s one
s mal l t h i ng . You s t ar t t o give people your undi v i de d at t e nt i on
when t hey come i n t o speak t o you i n your of f i ce; f our mont hs
l at e r you wi l l be i n a whole di f f e r e n t place wi t h t hose people
and unde r s t andi ng t he m.
Consultant E f f orts That Hinder Perf ormance
Ar t hur ( lawyer ) suggest ed t hat t he consult ant is inef f ect ive if he or
she is merely ent ert aining rat her t han act ing as an agent of change:
A lot of law f irm consult ant s specialize in what I would
charact erize as gossip. Somet imes inf ormat ion is involved, but
most ly it ends up being gossip about ot her law f irms and how
ot her law f i r ms pract ice, but t he person who comes in wit h t he
gossip does not know how similar you are t o what t hey are
t alking about . I f t here is a knowledge base t o it pay, where
people went t o law school, and t hat sort of st uf f heari ng
about anot her' s corporat e cult ur e or deciding whet her t hat
corporat e cult ure f it s your own pract ice requires more t han
gossip; [but ] you can't do t hat on an ent ert ainment budget .
POOR MATCH BETWEEN THE INTERVENTION
AND THE INDIVIDUAL
Pro f or ma solut ions do not t ake t he i ndi vi dual, t he sit uat ion, and t he
consult at ive f ocus int o account . The lack of an individualized approach
can signal problems wit h consult ant skill (Simons & Andersen, 1995).
Charles (insurance br oker ) gave an ex ample:
I f somebody in my business were not det ail-orient ed and t he
psychologist said, "This is an ex ercise t hat 's very det ailed. For
t he nex t t wo or t hree days, record what you do during t he day,
every f i f t een minut es, " I t hink a lot of people would bail out .
OVERDEPENDENCE
A consult ant f ost ering over-invest ment by t he per f or mer can creat e di f -
f icult ies. Simons and Andersen ( 1995) int erviewed 11 well-known sport
psychology consult ant s regarding t heir consult ing pract ices. Dr. Ronald
Smit h, at t he Universit y of Washingt on, comment ed t o Simons and
Andersen about t he problems of f ost ering at hlet e dependency: "I've . . .
seen lot s of inst ances where at hlet es have f ormed t remendous depen-
dency relat ionships wit h sport consult ant s, and t hey can't make a move
wit hout t hat person. That 's one t hing I t hink is a negat ive rat her t han a
posit ive" (p. 465). Among our own int erviewees, Norman (musician)
suggest ed t hat an over-reliance on t he consult ant could be problemat ic:
I f [t he consult ant ] were t o lead you t o believe t hat your
perf ormance was somehow based on his or her helping you
and you f elt t hat you couldn' t do it wit hout t he ot her person's
help, t hat would be a det riment . "I've got t o see my t eacher
237
2 3 8 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
bef ore I play t his concert , I ' ve got t o get t o t he gur u, I ' ve got t o
see my spi r i t ual counselor, " t hat ki nd of t hi ng.
TENDENCY TO UNDERMINE CONFIDENCE
AND DISCOUNT EXPERIENCE
Support , i ncludi ng a s us t ai ni ng sense of conf i dence in t he client ' s capaci-
t ies, would seem t o be a basic element of counseling or consult i ng ski ll.
Yet a number of per f or mer s recognized t he delicacy of per f or mer s' be-
lief s in t heir own knowledge, skill, compet ence, and conf idence. This
cat egory was one of t he most f r equent ly ment i oned by per f or mer s in
various domai ns. Whet her in br oadcast i ng, i nsur ance, mus i c, or medi -
cine, t he pot ent i al negat i ve i nt er act i on bet ween a consult ant ' s power
and a per f or mer ' s ego loomed as a real t hr eat .
I an ( br oadcast er ) r emar ked:
I f a cons ult ant crit iciz es in t he wrong way or poi nt s out
short comings in a way t hat under c ut s your level of conf i dence,
t hen t hat could hi nder per f or mance. You are out t here on your
own every day. There is no script and you br i ng t o it what you
br i ng t o it . You have t o br i ng a cer t ai n ment al conf i dence. I f
[the consult ant ] under mi nes t hat , you can' t per f or m.
Charles ( i nsur ance br oker ) i ndi cat ed t hat per f or mance would s uf f e r
if t he consult ant di scount ed t he per f or mer ' s ex peri ence and hi t her t o suc-
cessf ul met hods. Fai t h ( mus i ci an) said: "The only t hi ng t hat would be a
det riment is if t hi s pr act i t i oner made you have doubt s about your s elf . "
Bot h physicians r ef lect ed on t his issue as well. Er i c ( neur os ur geon)
described t he possibly serious, genui ne li f e and deat h implicat ions of such
an int eract ion.
I f someone is a successf ul pract i ci ng surgeon, I t hi nk you could
undermine compet ence by t r yi ng t o aggressively change t hi s or
t hat t o demean what people have been doing. I can pi ct ur e
someone coming in and saying, "Oh no, you' ve done t hi s all
wrong. You' ve got t o do t his and t his di f f er ent ly. " I f someone
really t ook it t o heart , it could seriously shake his or her
conf idence. I n surgery, you have t o be conf ident in what you
are doing. I f you can' t walk int o a case and f eel conf i dent t hat
you' r e going t o get t hr ough t hat case regardless of what is
t hrown at you along t he way, t hat ' s going t o af f ect your abi li t y
t o perf orm t he surgery and t he pat i ent will s uf f er .
Frederick (emergency room physician) recognized t he ways in which
self -conf idence can be under mi ned and t he implicat ions of t hat :
Consultant E f f orts That Hinder Perf ormance
Let 's t ake a person who has a poor self -image. You can
obviously do t hings t o f ur t her screw t heir self -image. You can
do t hat t o anybody. I t doesn't mat t er whet her t hey are in
emergency medicine or anyt hi ng else. I f you' ve got somebody
t hat is f r ai l in t hat regard, a person who has grave self -doubt s,
if you want t o, obviously you can t ake t hem out .
INADEQUATE SUPPORT OR FOLLOW-THROUGH
Consult ant s, but not perf ormers, specif ically ment ioned t he problem of
i nadequat e support or f ollow-t hrough. Dr. Barbara Bent on (consult ant ,
business) said, "Lack of f ollow- up or f ollow-t hrough can be a problem.
Even consist ent t op per f or mer s occasionally hit a wall. They need t o see
you ASAP and it would be a dr awback if you' r e not accessible."
The import ance of access was echoed by perf ormers when discussing
charact erist ics of t he ideal consult ant and was one of t he key point s made
by at hlet es in t he Orlick and Part ingt on st udy (1987). Dancer Charlot t e
was ex plicit on t he import ance of availabilit y, and I lene (musician) un-
derscored t he value of an ongoing relat ionship over t ime.
The Personality of
the Consultant
239
I n t oday's pract ice climat e, compet ing met hods are used t o at t ract pot en-
t ial cust omers. Though consult ant s may reason t hat t he best way t o ob-
t ain or ret ain business is t o present a specif ic package t o clients, a number
of perf ormers were leery of t his met hod. Our ex pert consult ant s also saw
packaging as an i nef f ect i ve business met hod.
CLAIMS OF HAVING "THE ANSWER"
Perf ormers were especially caut ious about consult ant s who have The
Answer. Ar t hur ( lawyer ) comment ed: "You can have somebody who is
inef f ect ive because he or she's come t o sell one t hing. He's got The An-
swer and he's going t o share it wit h you and you' re going t o be happy."
Barry (i nsurance br oker ) described t his approach as "t hinking you know
it all. Having t he answer right away."
The Answer can at t imes indicat e a vari ant on t he lack of individual-
izat ion. Keit h (act or) said:
I would j ust f ind it very di f f i cult if someone f elt t hat t hey had it
f igured out , like: "This is what works f or t he sprint er I work
240 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
[To assess consultants' competency], I
would want to see that they were the
embodiment of what we were talking
about here [training, professional
credentials, etc.]. And even though they
may be the embodiment of it, they
shouldn't be evangelical about it. Some
people go away and take a course and
then they come back and they turn
people off because they {claim to] have
The Answer.
Dr. Colin Cross {consultant, business)
wi t h, so t h i s wi l l work f or you. I
know t her e ar e di f f e r e nt
ci r cums t ances , but t hi s wi ll wor k
f or you. "
Maybe t hat is t r ue , I don' t
know. But I ' m a cur i ous ,
i nq ui s i t i v e k i nd of per son, and I
don' t t ake r eally well t o people
l ayi ng it out f or me. So I suppose if
t hat was t r ue, I would li ke
somebody t o lead me t o t h at
conclus i on and at least pay me t he
li p service of t ak i ng i n all of t he
cr uel and un us ua l demands of my
i ndus t r y, and my l i f e . And t hen at
t he end, t hey could say, " Oh, t h i s i s
ex ac t l y t he same t hi ng t hat we di d
f or t he s pr i nt er . "
I n t hei r i nt er vi ews wi t h ex per t sport psychology c ons ul t ant s , Si mons
and Ander sen ( 1 9 9 5 ) comment ed: " None of our c ons ul t ant s endor sed a
' cookbook' approach t o ment al s ki l l s t r ai ni ng, and none of t hem c l ai med
t o hold t he ' one t r ue met hod' " ( p. 458) . Al t hough t hi s st r at egy f or pre-
sent at i on may appear appe al i ng t o some, clear ly nei t her per f or mer s nor
ex per t c ons ul t ant s see i t as v al uab l e .
Grace ( br oadcas t er ) sai d t hat per f or manc e was ac t ual l y hi nder ed when
t he st af f at her r adi o s t at i on were pr ovi ded wi t h
t he molded s t uf f , t he carbon s t uf f , t he preconceived s t u f f . We
were r e q ui r e d: " Here i s t hi s pr omot i on/ c onc e pt / bi t . I t has
wor ked r eally well i n [ anot her s t at e] and so t hi s i s ex act ly how
you should do i t her e. " We di d t hat her e wi t h an on- ai r cont est
t hat bombed miserably. I t had been a huge success in [ anot her
cit y] . We " Xer ox ed" t he concept her e and it bombed, because
our cit y is not t hat cit y and t hi s is not t hat r adi o s t at i on. Thi ngs
ar e di f f e r e nt here.
From pai nf ul per sonal ex per i ence ( as he r elat ed i n chap. 9, t hi s vol-
ume ) , Mi chael ( c onduc t or ) was v i v i dl y awar e of t he det r i ment al ef f ect s
of t he c ons ul t ant - as - aut hor i t y:
The consult ant s houl dn' t set hi mself or her s elf up as an
aut hor i t y, because whoever needs help has t o discover what ' s
t r ue. That ' s t he only t hi ng t hat has t o happen. The person has
t o discover what ' s t r ue f or hi mself or her s elf . I f t he c ons ul t ant
can help t he pe r f or me r do t hat , t hat ' s gr eat .
Consultant E f f orts That Hinder Perf ormance
241
You m ay have th e com petence to give OUT SIDE THE BOUNDARIES
tec h n ic a l a dvic e, bu, it wo u ld be
OF THE
C ONSULT ING
"CONTRACT"
inappropriate because it isn't your place
to do that, especially if the advice clashes Wh a t is t h e c o n s u l t a n t 's l e ve l o f kn o wl -
with the advice of those who are
e d
8
e i n t h e f i e l d ?wh a l a r e t h e
s e r vi c e s
... , ., , _, ., t o wh i c h t h e c o n s u l t a n t a n d pe r f o r m e r
responsible for the performance. That s a ^
h a ve a gr e e d ? Al t h o u gh Je r r y (d a n c e r )
dangerous position to be i n. Moreover, , , , -. 1 i u
t h o u gh t t h a t a n i d e a l c o n s u l t a n t wo u l d
that leads to a kind of triangulation
be s o m e o n e wh o h a s be e n a
pr a c t i c i n g
which happens all too frequently in the pe r f o r m e r , h e a l s o s a i d t h a t f o r m e n t a l
theatre world: People end up carrying s ki l l s t r a i n i n g, "I wo u l d t h in k m o s t c o n -
the opinions of other people on their s u l t a n t s wo u l d h a ve a h a r d t im e m a i n -
shoulders and that messes them up.
t a i n i n
^
t h e i r
c r e d i bi l i t y if t h e y a c t u a l l y
ga ve t e c h n i c a l a d vi c e ."
Dr. Owen Osborne P e r f or manc e can be adv e r s e l y af -
(consultant, theatre) f ect ed if t he pr act i t i oner bl ur s t he di s t i nc-
t i ons bet ween cons ult at i on and psycho-
t h e r apy. We di s c us s t h i s i s s ue mor e
t hor oughl y i n chapt er 15. Di f f e r e nt i at -
i ng bet ween t he roles of per f or mance c ons ul t at i on and i ns i ght - or i ent ed
psychot her apy, Ellen ( mus i c i an) suggest ed t hat i n per f or mance c ons ul t -
ing, per f or mance f ear should be addr essed in t er ms of nor mal i z i ng and
developi ng coping mechani sms r at her t han addr essi ng hi s t or i cal root s.
Hist orical under s t andi ng and r econst r uct i on can occur at some ot her point
and is essent i ally a di f f e r e nt " cont ract ."
UNETHICAL PRACTICE
Few per f or mer s descr i bed conduct t hat t hey woul d ac t ual l y consi der
unet hi cal. I an ( br oadc as t er ) , however, had per sonal ex per i ence of con-
sult at i on wit h unclear boundar i es and ult i mat ely, a vi olat i on of conf i -
dent i al i t y:
The one r adi o cons ult ant I wor ked wi t h was a guy who f ocus ed
on psychological aspect s. He want ed " t o get i nt o your head and
see where you were at and see what ki nd of person you were
and help t o mold you i nt o being a bet t er per sonali t y, " when in
f act he was collect ing i nf or mat i on f or t he gener al manager
who repeat ed it all back t o me as I was bei ng f i r ed. So don' t
come in here and t ell me it ' s all bet ween us. There has t o be a
doct or-pat ient r elat i onshi p. I t has t o st ay c onf i dent i al and I
have t o t r ust t hat ; ot herwise you are not going t o help me,
because I am never going t o open up t o you.
2 4 2 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
Two pot ent i al l i abi l i t i e s r elat ed t o t he cons ult ant ' s per s onali t y or ego
were ment i oned only by c ons ul t ant s : loss of perspect ive and lack of con-
gr uence. C ons ul t ant s ' awar enes s and concern about t hese f ac t or s may
r ef lect t he i r own ex per i ence and obs er vat i ons of colleagues' behavi or .
LOSS OF PERSPECTIVE
The c ons ul t ant s recogni z ed t h at bei ng " i n awe" of t he per f or mer would
li kely r ender t hem i ne f f i c i e nt at best and possibly hi nder t he per f or mer ' s
e f f or t s . This obs er vat i on has also been made in t he sport psychology con-
t ex t ( Goul d & Damar j i an, 1998; Si mons & Ander sen, f 9 9 5 ) . An awe-
s t r uck c ons ul t ant i s more l i k e l y t o i ndul g e t he t endency of some per-
f or me r s t o act wi t h i mmat ur i t y. Dr . Owen Osborne comment ed:
Some pe r f or me r s say, " I ' m t he ar t i s t . I get t o be t he baby. I get
t o be out r ageous . I n f act , i t may even enhance my i mage as
somebody who i s t r ul y ar t i s t i c. " Somet i mes t hey' ve had people
i n t hei r l i f e who di d t hat t he i r mot her t reat ed t hem l i ke t hey
were t he Second C omi ng and i ndul g e d t he hel l out of t hem or
made ex cuses or pr ot ect ed t he m f r om l i f e . Somet i mes an ar t i s t
at t empt s t o operat e out of bei ng unbal anc ed i n t he i r l i f e and
t h i nk s t h at t h e i r t al e nt or t h e i r c ommi t ment t o t he f i el d i s goi ng
t o somehow compensat e f or t hat or pr ot ect t hem. I f t he
c ons ul t ant accept s t hat , i f t hey i ndul g e t hat , wat ch out . B ad
news.
I t can be a f i ne l i ne, suggest ed Dr. Ki ng, mai nt ai ni ng a bal anc e be-
t ween showing respect yet not put t i ng some per f or mer s on a pedest al.
Ef f e c t i v e c ons ul t i ng may well be compr omi sed when t he c ons ul t ant be-
comes swept i nt o t he per f or mer ' s or bi t . Dr . Gor don Gat es pr ovi ded an
ex ample (see chap. 15, t hi s v ol ume ) of a s i t uat i on in whi ch a " sport s
gr oupi e' s" awe about t he s t at us of hi s cli ent ( a race car dr i v e r ) li mi t ed hi s
ef f ect i venes s .
CONSULTANT BEHAVIOR NOT ISOMORPHIC
TO MODEL
C ons ul t ant s whose wor k f ocused on t eam dynami c s and l eader s hi p i s-
sues were par t i c ul ar l y sensi t i ve t o t he pot ent i al haz ar d of " pr act i ci ng di f -
f er ent l y t han one pr eaches. " Dr. Coli n Cross descri bed hi s own appr oach:
I f you don' t mat ch up wi t h what you' r e t r yi ng t o t each, I t hi nk
t hat ' s i nappr opr i at e. I f you' r e t r yi ng t o get managers t o be mor e
open- mi nded, t o i nvolve t hei r people more, t o ask more
quest i ons, t o use t he wisdom of t he gr oup, t hen you bet t er
Consultant E f f orts That Hinder Perf ormance
meet all of t hose behaviors t o t he nt h degree. You' ve got t o
model it big t ime. And t hat ' s cert ainly t r ue in working wit h
corporat e people. You need t o model what you want t hem t o
do. And it 's so easy somet imes t o want t o violat e t hat and say,
"Well we don't have a lot of t ime, so let me j us t t ell you t his."
Biases and Attitudes
About Consultation
243
Many of t he perf ormers were unf ami li ar wit h t he concept of using con-
sult ant s t o work on ment al skills. Some had had unpleasant or di f f i cult
prior ex periences wit h consult ant s; ot hers were skept ical. I t is us ef ul f or
consult ant s t o be aware of t he preconcept ions t hat may color perf orm-
ers' recept ivit y t o working wit h consult ant s.
I n cert ain domains, specif ic at t i t udes t oward consult ant s were not ed.
I n broadcast ing, Grace comment ed: "As a rule, we hat e consult ant s in
our business." Dave ( banker ) has f ound large leadership conf erences, his
primary cont act wit h consult ant s, st ult i f yi ng and obvious:
To me and t o most people in my group, t hese leadership
conf erences have not been all t hat helpf ul. You' re t old you
need a vision and need t o share t he vision f or t he company,
and you need to ex press it to people, and you need to be a
t eam player and you need t o be a good list ener ... all t hat sort
of t hing. Frankly, most of us know t hose t hings, even if we
don't necessarily do t hem.
So much of it (leadership conf erences) is, to me, common
sense. Or t hings t hat never even occur t o me, like "never pick
up a piece of paper but once." There are a lot of t hings I handle
once, but t here are a lot of t hings I like to have just sit on my
desk. I like t o put t hem aside and t hen handle t hem again. To
me, t hat is product ive. Or: making a list, priorit izingno shit,
of course, you know. My problem is I so much love making lists
and checking t hings of f , when I make a list I t end t o do t he
quick and easy t hings f irst and t hen I can check seven out of
nine t hings of f . And I ' m lef t wit h t he t wo really big and
import ant ones and I've done t he unimport ant .
Concerning consult at ion f or lawyers, Ar t hur said:
A bad consult ant will ruin it f or t he nex t t hree good ones.
Lawyers bring a cert ain level of skept icism about a consult ant
2 4 4 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
being able t o help t hem, no mat t er where t hey are. I f you end
up wi t h someone who comes in wi t h only one approach or
someone who is j us t an ent er t ai ner t ype, t hen t he nex t t i me
when s omet hi ng is seri ously wrong, [ t he lawyer won' t be
wi lli ng t o make use of a cons ult ant ] . Let 's say you' r e h al f -
dys f unc t i onal and you br i ng i n somebody who i s bad. By t he
t i me you' r e f ul l y dys f unc t i onal , you' r e probably s unk, because
t he nex t guy is never goi ng t o have a chance.
As a bus i nes s man, Davi d i ni t i al l y t hought t hat a consult ant would be
called in only if somet hi ng were really going wrong and needed t o be
f i x e d. Regar di ng hi s own t ensi on headaches, f or ex ample, he said:
I was j us t havi ng a headache. I wasn' t on t he verge of anyt hi ng
ser i ous. A cer t ai n amount of st ress is good. People get st ressed
out , people blow up occasionally, t hings happenbut it 's j us t
short t erm. I t 's nat ur al in a very compet it ive but di f f i c ul t
envi r onment wi t h hi gh st akes. I t h i nk I would need t o see
some seri ous problems bef ore I would call a per f or mance
cons ult ant .
On t he ot her hand, he could see t he relevance of per f or mance con-
s ul t i ng in t he world of at hlet i cs and sport psychology: " Obviously, in t he
at hlet i c world it has done an awf ul lot ." However, he quest i oned evalu-
at i ng ef f ect i venes s in a s i t uat i on wit h a sample size of one: "The problem
is you never know whet her it had any impact because you never know
what would have happened if you hadn' t done it or if you had done
somet hi ng else."
Ult i mat ely, he acknowledged t hat t here mi ght be ways in which lear n-
ing could be mor e ef f ect i ve and ef f i c i ent by us i ng a compet ent consult -
ant :
We' re c ont i nually doi ng nonr emedi al t hi nki ng ar ound here.
We' re t r yi ng t o f i g ur e out how t o i mprove what we do. We
act ually do t hat consciously and are always t alki ng about it . We
ask our newest young people a couple of t i mes a year, "Hey,
you guys j us t came f r om t he out si de, t ell us: Do you t hi nk we
can do bet t er? We may l augh at you, we may not ; but we want
t o know. You' re coming in blind; you don' t know t he hist ory of
a lot of s t uf f . " Or when a new associat e comes in: "See if you
can come up wi t h t hr ee t hi ngs t hat don' t make any sense. Let
us ei t her ex plai n t hem t o you or st op doi ng t hem." And we t ry
t o do t hat sort of t hi ng in our periodic meet ings: "How can we
i mprove t he process, what can we do di f f er ent ly?" Not t hat
we' re doing anyt hi ng wrong, but what can we do [bet t er]? So I
t hi nk we make a very conscious ef f or t t o c ont i nual l y improve
Consultant E f f orts That Hinder Perf ormance
s t uf f t hat ' s not br oken. And I j us t want t o make t hat point ,
because I t hi nk t hat is ver y i nconsi st ent wi t h my preconceived
not i on about t he consult ant . I t hi nk if I could have learned a
lot of t hi ngs t hat I 've learned over a long period of t ime, if t hat
could have been helped a long t ime ago, t o learn t hose sooner
and f as t er and bet t er maybe lear n some ot her t hings, t oo
t hat would be great .
Recommendations
to Consultants
245
The great est concern ex pressed by perf ormers is t hat a consult ant
might under mi ne t he i r self - conf i dence. C ons ult ant s ar e advised
always t o be r espect f ul of t he per f or mer ' s abilit ies and t o build on
ex ist ing st rengt hs and resources.
Even more t han domai n- speci f i c knowledge, t he consult ant should
consi der what i s appr opr i at e f or t his speci f i c i ndi v i dual i n t hi s
uni q ue set t i ng wi t hi n t hi s specif ic domai n. We r ef er t o t his capac-
it y as contextual intelligence and discuss it f ur t h e r in chapt er 16.
As indicat ed in ear li er chapt er s , assessment is crucial t o ensur e
t hat challengi ng but realist ic goals are set .
A c ons ul t ant can be well me ani ng but none t he l e s s h ur t an
i ndi vi dual' s per f or mance by not demonst r at i ng appropriat e pac-
ing, or not mat chi ng i nt er vent i ons t o t he par t i c ul ar st yle and
st r engt hs of t he i ndi v i dual .
A cons ult ant who i s ent er t ai ni ng r at her t han i nf or mat i v e will ult i -
mat ely be viewed as a wast e of ef f or t and may hi nder ef f or t s of
subsequent consult ant s in t hat set t ing.
For many per f or mer s, crises may not f it a predet ermined consult -
ing schedule. From t he onset of services, consult ant s should plan
f or adequat e support and f ollow- t hr ough.
At t he same t i me, consult ant s can hi nder a per f or mer by creat ing
overdependence on t he consult ant . The ult imat e goal of consult -
ing should be t he per f or mer ' s aut onomous success.
Fai lur e t o recogniz e t he i di os yncr at i c nat ur e of each i ndi vi dual is
li kely t o lead t o i nef f ect i ve consult at i on at best and may even have
adverse ef f ect s. A
y/
one size f i t s all" model may seem t o ease t he
demands on t he consult ant ; however, it is likely t o be a disast er.
Bei ng "a f an" or in awe of t he per f or mer renders consult at ion in-
ef f ect i ve. C ons ul t ant s need t o mai nt ai n perspect ive on t heir role:
assist ing a person in t he process of change.
2 4 6 W H A T D O P E R F O R M E R S W A N T ?
Whi le havi ng per f or mance ex perience i n t he par t i c ul ar domai n
may be an asset f or developing cr edi bi li t y and empat hy wit h t he
perf ormer, it may also be a l i abi l i t y if t he consult ant s t r ays f r om
per f or mance consult i ng t o gi vi ng t echni cal advi ce.
I t is crucial t hat a consult ant have a clear under s t andi ng of issues
f al l i ng under t he domai n of per f or mance cons ult at i on and t hat
of psychot her apy. This is discussed in great er det ail in t he nex t
chapt er.
I t is i mpor t ant t hat cons ult ant s " pract ice what t hey pr each." This
is par t i cular ly t r ue wit h cons ult ant s who f ocus on t he organi z a-
t ional cli mat e and t he deci s i on- maki ng process in a per f or mance
set t i ng.
A Good Fit: Training,
C om petence, and
E th ic al P rac tic e
hether a person considers performance consulting a distinct profession
or a subset of professional knowledge and expertise, there is no doubt
that the field is in a process of evol uti on. The consultants we interviewed,
like the performers, came f rom varyi ng backgrounds and di f f eri ng levels
of involvement with assorted types of perf ormers. In beginning to map
out appropriate expectations for trai ni ng, competence, and ethics, we
wished to tap this very diversity, refl ecti ve of the f i el d.
We were curi ous about the practicalities of perf ormance consulting.
How does one become and stay competent? What best prepared them
for what they are now doing? How would they assess a colleague' s com-
petence?
Training and Turf Concerns
A number of consultants expressed concern about other consultants. In
some instances, the concern was expressed in terms of professional cat-
egories of training; in others, consul tants shared specific concerns about
other consultants they knew or knew of. Within the community of con-
sultants, some of these red fl ags are well recognized, and some are red
flags for "bulls" with di f f erent types of trai ni ng. It is i nstructi ve, there-
fore, to understand what some of these concerns are.
249
2 5 0 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
Various consul tants expressed concern about the current vari ety of
paths to coaching and the lack of regul ati on in the f i el d. Dr. Bri an Bell
( f ami l y busi ness) noted t hat the f i el d of perf ormance coaching is pres-
ently wi de open to people with, at best, mi ni mal trai ni ng. His sardoni c
summary: "Some of these people remi nd me of reporters who have re-
ported on a lot of wars and af t er a while they decide they woul d make
pretty good general s. "
Lest those of us with advanced degrees scoff at these reservations,
the concerns of others meri t some refl ecti on. For example, Dr. Cross ( bus i -
ness), whose background is in sports sciences, commented on the ways
in which psychologists who lack experience in sports may superimpose
i nappropri ate val ues on thei r clients:
I can remember a psychol ogi st who went in to work with a
group of athl etes and he said to me, "It's an abusive
envi ronment! It's this; it' s that. " He di dn' t unders t and sports. I
don' t know a lot of Olympic athl etes who love t hei r coach.
They l i ke t hei r coach, they respect thei r coach, but they always
feel l i ke they' re being overworked. It's not that I' m siding with
the coach or the athl ete. I don' t. I of ten represent the athlete to
the coach. But you have to understand what that world is all
about. You don' t have to know the i ntri cacy or the strategy of
the game, but you have to unders tand what trai ni ng is all
about and how hard it is, and how someone is tryi ng to move
someone out of thei r comfort zone and getting them to stretch.
So, too, it is with the busi ness world.
Dr. Dani el Dean ( busi ness) shared his concerns about the arrogance
demonstrated at times by practi ti oners who do not obtain addi ti onal spe-
cialized trai ni ng. He sees suppl ementary educati on as especially impor-
tant when one attempts to consul t wi th businesses. He compared the
l earni ng process in business consultation to that of sport psychology. Prac-
ti ti oners l earni ng how to become sport psychologists often do so, in part,
through vol unteer activities. The busi ness setting, however, does not pro-
vide "amateur" opportuni ti es:
I don't know too many who have the l uxury of having a
f ormal trai ni ng program l i ke I had at . Frankly, I t hi nk a lot
of times [lack of specialized trai ni ng] comes f rom confidence
and a lot of times I thi nk it's false confi dence. My sense is that a
lot of people are going into [business consul ti ng] as solo f ol ks
wi thout a lot of experience and jus t sort of wi ngi ng it. They
shoul d not be conf i dent, because they are wal ki ng i nto a
di saster! It is easy in the sport area to say, "I' ll do thi s for f ree to
get some t rai ni ng. It is onl y j u n i o r high soccer, so I am not
going to do much harm. " It is very hard to do t hat in a
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
corporate setti ng. To call up the local offi ce of the Xerox
organi zati on and say, "Hey, do you guys need some team
bui l di ng? I am l ooki ng to get some t r a i ni ng in t hat area. I' ll give
you a talk!" You have to go in wi th both feet and "b.s." some
people to be able to pul l it of f , unl ess you have some f ormal
consul ti ng group where you' ve got fol ks who can mentor you.
Essential Ethical Concerns
251
Issues of trai ni ng, competence, and ethi cs are hi ghl y i nterwoven. Ul ti -
mately, the "big pi cture" of ethi cal practice means doi ng "work that is
good." There are two basi c ways of measuri ng that: ( a) obtai ni ng appro-
pri ate preparati on and ( b) practi ci ng in a competent manner. This con-
cept is l i ngui sti cal l y supported: The deri vati on of the word competent comes
f rom the Lati n competens, "being f i t . " It i s appropri ate that f i tness i mpl i es
both heal thperhaps the heal th of thi s new f i el dand capacity.
The devel opment of competency in perf ormance consul ti ng must
i ncl ude more t ha n the obvious acqui s i t i on of techni ques and skills. The
knowledge and ski l l s requi red to treat pathol ogi es are not necessarily the
s a me a s t ho s e n e e d e d t o f a c i l i t a t e ex c el l en c e ( Se l i g ma n &
Cs i ks zentmi hal yi , 2000; Shel don & Ki ng, 2001). It may be equal l y im-
portant to at t ai n perspectives and at t i t udes that emphasi ze strengths and
excellence rat her than defi ci enci es. These senti ments are consistent wi th
recent observati ons f rom the positive psychology movement.
A discussion of ethi cs is of ten l ef t to the end of a book. At times,
we' re sure thi s i s because pract i t i oners may approach ethics di scussi ons
with a paral yzi ng combi nati on of boredom and f ear. Instead, we sub-
scribe to the idea t ha t ethi cs f rame and shape our best practi ce. Accord-
ingly, we consi der a di scussi on of ethics as an opportuni ty to refl ect on
the central issues and val ues of perf ormance consul ti ng.
It is in the context of ethi cal bel i efs, val ues , and practices that the
practi ti oner can move wi th some sense of confi dence into a new area of
practice. This f ramework i s well art i c ul at ed by Pope and Vasquez ( 1998):
[Learni ng] ethics is a process through which we awaken,
enhance, i nf orm, expand, and i mprove our abi l i ty to respond
ef f ecti vel y to those who come to us for hel p. . . .
[Ethics codes] cannot do our questi oni ng, thi nki ng, feel i ng,
and respondi ng for us. Such codes can never be a s ubs t i t ut e for
the acti ve process by which the i ndi vi dua l therapi st or
counsel or struggl es wi th the sometimes bewi l deri ng, al ways
uni que constel l ati on of questi ons, responsi bi l i ti es, contexts, and
competi ng demands of helping, another person. . . .
2 5 2 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
Et hi c s mu s t be p r a c t i c a l . Cl i n i c i a n s c o n f r o n t a n al mos t
u n i ma g i n a b l e d i v e r s i t y of s i t u a t i o n s , each wi t h i t s own s h i f t i n g
qu es t i o n s , d ema n d s , and r es p o n s i b i l i t i es . Every c l i n i c i a n i s
u n i q u e i n i mp o r t a n t ways . Every c l i en t i s u n i qu e i n i mp o r t a n t
ways. Ethi cs t ha t are out of t ouc h wi t h the pract i cal r ea l i t i es of
c l i n i c a l work, wi t h t he d i v er s i t y a n d c o n s t a n t l y c ha n g i n g
n a t u r e o f t he t he r a p e u t i c v e n t u r e , a r e usel ess, ( pp. x i i i - x i v )
The et hi c a l concerns of p er f o r ma n c e ps ychol ogy are s i mi l a r to the
concerns of sport psychol ogy, whi c h have been expressed i n t ha t l i t er a -
t u r e f or the past 20 years ( see, e.g., A n d er s en , Van R a a l t e, & Brewer,
2001; Br o wn , 2001; Ni d e f f e r , 1981; Sachs, 1993; Whel a n , Meyers, &
El k i n s , 2002). The A s s oci at i on l or t he A d v a n c emen t of A ppl i ed Sport
Psychol ogy has devel oped i ts own Code of Et hi cs ( Meyers, 1995). Al -
t ho u g h based f a i r l y ex t en s i v el y on t ha t of t he A meri can Psychol ogi cal
A s s oc i a t i on ( A PA ; 1992, 2002), the Code of Et hi c s recogni zes the par-
t i c u l a r c i r c u ms t a n c es a n d s i t u a t i o n s t ha t appl y t o those c o n s u l t i n g wi t hi n
t he a t hl e t i c s et t i n g . These v a r i o u s resources hi g hl i g ht es s ent i al concerns
r eg a r d i n g competence, c o n f i d en t i a l i t y , mu l t i p l e rel at i ons hi ps , s el f - r ep r e-
s en t a t i o n t o t he p u b l i c , ma r k e t i n g , and a d v er t i s i n g . Ma ny of t he sport
exampl es descri bed i n t he l i t e r a t u r e c o u l d a p p l y equ a l l y wel l t o o t her
p er f o r ma n c e d o ma i n s .
A l l of our c o n s u l t a n t s emphas i z ed t he i mport ance of ha v i n g an e t h i -
cal f r a mewo r k and of rec ogni z i ng t he l i m i t s of t hei r competence. For
ex a mp l e, Dr. Gat es ( h i g h - r i s k ) suggested t ha t he woul d ma k e a r ef er r a l
t o c o n s u l t a n t s "who know enough t o recogni ze t he i r own l i mi t s and know
not to t a k e a r ef er r a l i f t hey ' r e not goi ng to be abl e to do i t wel l . " More
g en er a l l y , Dr . Ki n g ( h i g h - r i s k ) suggested:
1 l ook at p er f o r ma n c e al ong a c o n t i n u u m. A nd al ong t ha t
c o n t i n u u m, 1 t h i n k i t i s f a i r t o s ay t ha t everybody has some
s i t u a t i o n s t hey can be s ucces s f ul i n and everybody has some
t ha t t hey are goi ng to f a i l i n. The key f or me has more to do
wi t h i n d i v i d u a l s ' rec ogni t i on of t hei r own l i mi t a t i o n s and t he i r
areas of competency.
Dr. Bel l ( bus i nes s ) rai sed i mpor t a nt ref l ect i ve questi ons i n consi der-
i ng c o n s u l t a n t s ' competence: "Do t hey have f o r ma l t r a i n i n g i n a rel evant
d i s c i p l i n e? Do t hey have some p r o f es s i o n a l as s oci at i on t hat woul d hel p
hol d t hem to some et hi c a l g u i d e l i n e s of some k i n d ? Do t hey have appro-
p r i a t e ex p er i en c e i n wha t t hey are t r y i n g t o do?"
Wi t h i n A PA , the area of sport psychol ogy has rec ent l y been recog-
ni z ed as a pr of i c i enc y, and i n i t i a l des c ri pt i ons of t ha t f i el d and i t s p r a c t i -
t i o n er s have been devel oped ( A PA , n . d . ) . The Ed u c a t i o n and Tr a i n i n g
Co mmi t t ee of APA' s Di v i s i o n 13 , Soci ety of Co n s u l t i n g Psychology, has
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
e sta bl ish e d P rinc ip l e s fo r E duc ation a n d
Anybody can occasionally make an error _ . . , ^ , ,
3
Trai ni ng at the Doctoral and Post-Doc-
and may occasionally do things that
U)r a l Le ve l in
c o n sul tin g P syc h o l o g y/
might appear to be incompetent In Or g a n i za t i o n a l C o n sul tin g P syc h o l o g y
many cases, the training you have had (A P A , 2000). T h e d o c um e n t "o utl in e s
and your ability to document it become th e e xp e c t e d c o m p e t e n c i e s to be o b-
important in order to make the point
ta in e d b
V P
c r so n s
r e c e ivin g training at
^, . , . ^, , th e d o c t o r a l o r p o st -d o c t o r a l l e ve l in
that I am in fact competent in this. . . , .
Co n s u l t i n g Psychology ( CP).
Dr. Stanley Jones (former director E th ic a l i ssue s in p e r fo r m a n c e c o n -
of the APA Ethics Office)
Sul tin
8
a
P P
e a r to be sim il ar to th o se r e c
'
o g n i z ed wi t hi n sport ps ychol ogy a nd
cons ul t i ng psychol ogy organi zati ons. Be-
cause the f i el d of perf ormance c ons ul t at i on is in the process of develop-
ment, its ethical s t andards may be even more ambi guous than those of
more establ i shed areas. To address concerns of ethi cs in t hi s new f i el d,
we were gui ded i n l arge meas ure by an i nt ervi ew we conducted wi th
Stanley Jones, the f ormer di rector of the APA Ethics Of f i ce (1990-1999),
and a cons ul t ant to t hat of f i c e si nce t hen. Dr. Jones was wi l l i ng to ex-
t rapol at e hi s u n d er s t a n d i n g of prof es s i onal ethi cs i n devel opi ng areas to
a d d r es s concerns a b o u t p er f o r ma n c e psychol ogy. I n cont ras t t o our
broader i ntervi ews wi th the perf ormance cons ul tants , our i ntervi ew wi th
Dr. Jones focused en t i r el y on i ssues of the ethi cs of prof es s i onal s movi ng
i nt o a f i el d t hat i s s t i l l i n the process of bei ng def i ned. Our di scussi on
drew f rom the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct ( APA,
1992); however, i n the present di s cus s i on we have ext rapol at ed hi s com-
ments to the recent l y publ i s hed revi si on ( 2002; we ref er to both as the
APA Ethics Code}.
A l t ho u g h we f ocus on a doc ument t ha t has speci f i c appl i cat i on to
psychologists, we recogni ze t ha t nonps ychol ogi s t pract i t i oners may be
more f a mi l i a r wi th and have great er legal and ethi cal res pons i bi l i t y to
uphol d the ethi cs f r a mewo r k of t hei r p a r t i c u l a r prof essi on. We commend
them to the document s per t i nent to t hei r licensed prof essi onal i denti ty.
In a l i ti gi ous society, i ssues of ri sk management are also embedded
wi t hi n ethi cal concerns. In pa r t i c ul a r , bei ng abl e to document one's de-
vel opment of competence in a p a r t i c u l a r area takes on potenti al l egal as
well as ethi cal s i gni f i c anc e. A p r a c t i t i o n er wi t h s ubs t ant i at ed t rai ni ng may
be in a posi ti on to place a o n e- t i me mi s t a ke in the perspective of a hi s t ory
of et hi cal practi ce. I n contras t, i f a pr a c t i t i oner commi t t ed the i dent i c a l
act, but l acked a t rack record i n d i c a t i n g the devel opment of competence,
the error mi ght be perceived d i f f er en t l y . In regard to these issues, we
appreci ated the oppor t uni t y to revi ew some of the rel evant risk manage-
ment f actors wi th Er i c Ha r r i s ( pers onal c ommuni c a t i on, Ja n u a r y 28,
2003 ), a psychol ogi st and l egal c o n s u l t a n t to the APA I ns urance Trust.
253
2 5 4 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
The secti ons t ha t f ol l ow are desi gned to revi ew t r a i n i n g , competence,
and et hi cs f rom a v a r i et y of angl es . We begi n wi th a s t r a i g ht f o r wa r d ap-
pl i cat i on of t he c u r r en t prof es s i onal s t a nda r ds regardi ng b o u n d a r i es and
ma i nt ena nc e of competence to the area of perf ormanc e c ons ul t i ng. Then
we i ncorporat e the perspecti ves of our c ons ul t ant i nt ervi ewees on the
el ement s of t r a i n i n g and experi ence necessary t o t hei r own devel opment
and ma i n t en a n c e of competence. A s l i g ht l y d i f f er en t perspecti ve i s of -
f ered as we consi der the t as k of assessi ng another' s competence. Et hi c a l
concerns t ha t move beyond i ssues of competence are then revi ewed.
Fi n a l l y , becaus e p r a c t i t i o n e r s approach t hi s f i el d f r o m v a r i o u s bac k-
grounds , we descri be i n d et a i l the t r a i n i n g and practice of three of our
per f or ma nc e c o n s u l t a n t i nt ervi ewees .
THE BOUNDARIES OF COMPETENCE
St andar d 2. 01 of the APA Code of Co n d u c t , des cri bi ng the Bo u n d a r i es of
Competence, speaks d i r ec t l y to the i s s t i es of t r a i n i n g and compet ence.
2. 01 ( a) Ps ychol ogi s t s provi de servi ces, l each, and c onduc t
research wi t h p o p u l a t i o n s and i n areas onl y wi t hi n t he
b o u n d a r i es of t h e i r compet ence, based on t hei r ed u c a t i o n ,
t r a i n i n g , s upervi s ed experi ence, c o n s u l t a t i o n , s t udy, or
pr of es s i ona l experi ence.
St andar d 2. 01 recogni zes a broad a r r a y of ways i n whi ch one may
devel op competence i n a p a r t i c u l a r area. The l i n g u i s t i c changes i n the
u p d a t ed A PA Et hi c s Code suggest t ha t i n a n u mb er of prac t i c e areas ,
ps ychol ogi s t s are e x p a n d i n g t he i r knowl edge by a v a r i et y of means . Thi s
s t a nda r d descri bes t he a t t a i n me n t of competence f a i r l y broadl y by v i r t u e
of the word o r . I n s i t u a t i o n s where f o r ma l educ at i on i s a v a i l a b l e, p r u -
dence woul d suggest t hat such educat i on be obtai ned. What t hat t r a i n -
i ng i ncl udes , however, i s not d ef i n ed wi t hi n t he s t a n d a r d .
St a n d a r d 2. 01( c ) i s especi al l y r el eva nt f or pr a c t i t i oner s who have al -
ready obt ai ned t r a i n i n g i n, say, c l i ni c a l or couns el i ng psychol ogy. Thi s
secti on addresses s i t u a t i o n s i n whi c h g r a d u a t e t r a i n i n g occurred i n one
f i el d and the p r a c t i t i o n er wi s hes to add a d i f f e r e n t area of practi ce:
2 . 01 ( c ) Psychol ogi sts p l a n n i n g t o provi de servi ces, t each, or
c onduc t research i n v o l v i n g p o p u l a t i o n s , areas, t ec hni ques , or
t echnol ogi es new t o t hem u n d er t a k e rel evant educ a t i on,
t r a i n i n g , s upervi s ed experi ence, c o n s u l t a t i o n , or s t udy.
This standard notes that the i nt ent i on to engage in anot her area of
pract i ce s ho u l d i n c l u d e d el i b er a t i v e r el eva nt l ea r n i n g . A g a i n , t he met hod
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
by whi ch the prac t i t i oner l earns and the necessary a mo u n t of l earni ng
needed may vary.
A f u r t her compl i cati on resul ts f rom the i nteracti on of i ndi vi dual s with
vari ed backgrounds worki ng wi t hi n a f i el d ( i. e. , perf ormance consul ti ng)
in a state of devel opment. On the one hand, a pract i t i oner psychologist
al ready t rai ned i n the use of r el a x a t i o n or i magery s ki l l s mi ght benef i t
f rom a weekend workshop t ha t el aborates on the use of these skills in
perf ormance setti ngs. On the other hand, i f a person' s background and
trai ni ng i s i n comparati ve psychol ogy wi th mi ni mal unders t andi ng of
methods of worki ng wi th people, thi s same works hop would at most
onl y touch on the necessary knowl edge for t hi s psychologist.
Standard 2. 01 ( e) ref ers to t r u l y emergent areas of practice. It reads:
2. 01( e) I n those emergi ng areas i n which gener a l l y recognized
s t andards f or pr epa r a t or y t r a i n i n g do not yet exi st,
psychologists nevertheless take reasonable steps to ensure the
competence of t hei r work and to protect cl i ent s / pat i ent s ,
s t udent s , supervi sees, research part i ci pant s , organi zat i onal
cl i ents, and ot hers f rom ha r m.
The chal l enge of def i ni ng " reas onabl e steps" or "rel evant educati on"
f or perf ormanc e psychol ogy i s t h a t the f i el d i s nei t her t ot al l y new nor
f u l l y def i ned. Furt hermore, i t makes use of t ec hni ques and popul ati ons
t hat have been and are wi t hi n the p u r v i ew of others. It exi sts i n a middle
or gray zone, wi th el ements of both emergi ng and t r u l y establ i shed areas
of practi ce. Because the f i el d of perf ormanc e c ons ul t i ng i ncl udes elements
and techni ques with whi ch ma n y psychologists may al ready be f ami l i ar,
some psychol ogi sts wi l l l eg i t i ma t el y argue t hat t hi s area i s a "subspe-
ci al ty" of t hei r general practi ce. As an emergi ng area, it is sti l l not clear
whet her the exact emphasi s of t r a i n i n g shoul d be at the graduat e or post-
g r a d u a t e l evel . In part i c ul ar, the l ack of a developed gr a dua t e curri cul um
and other s i mi l a r i ndi ces suggest t ha t i t i s not yet a f u l l y establ i shed fi el d.
Unt i l such gui del i nes are f o r ma l l y developed, the APA Ethi cs Code
( 2002) i ndi cates t hat "reasonable means the prevai l i ng prof essi onal j u d g -
ment of psychologists engaged in si mi l ar acti vi ti es in s i mi l ar circumstances"
( p. 1061). This suggests t hat i f a cl i ni cal or couns el i ng psychol ogi st i s
seeki ng to expand hi s or her practi ce to i n c l u d e perf ormance consul ti ng,
i nf ormat i on f rom colleagues engaged in general practi ce is not likely to
be s u f f i c i en t l y " i nf or med" to meet the def i ni t i on of "reasonabl e" ef f orts.
One mus t look to those who are es tabl i s hed and acti ve i n perf ormance
c ons ul t i ng f or g u i d a n c e regardi ng appropri ate s t andards . I n the sections
that follow, we have i ncorporat ed the opi ni ons of our consul tants i n or-
der to provi de a mea n i n g f u l ref erence l or persons s eeki ng ethical expan-
sion i n t hi s area.
255
2 5 6 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
MAINTAINING COMPETENCE
Psychol ogi sts who have devel oped ex p er t i s e i n an area are al s o e t h i c a l l y
obl i gat ed t o ma i n t a i n t ha t l evel of s k i l l . The new s t a n d a r d t ha t addres s es
t he i ssue of compet ence ma i n t e n a n c e i s b r i ef but t o t he poi nt . St a n d a r d
2. 03 reads:
2. 03 Ps ychol ogi s t s u n d e r t a k e o n g o i n g ef f o r t s t o devel op and
ma i n t a i n t h e i r c ompet enc e.
A l t ho u g h t he met ho d s used t o devel op and ma i n t a i n competence-
are not ex p l a i n ed , we s ugges t t ha t f or m i n i m a l compl i ance, one mu s t
have an awarenes s of t he c u r r en t j o u r n a l l i t e r a t u r e and engage i n rel -
eva nt c o n t i n u i n g e d u c a t i o n . A s n o t ed ea r l i er , l o r t he b e n e f i t o f b o t h r i s k
ma n a g emen t and ma i n t e n a n c e of et hi c a l practi ce, p r a c t i t i o n er s are ad-
vi sed to secure c redi bl e evi denc e of t hes e e f f o r t s . Thi s may be i n the f o r m
of c er t i f i c a t es v e r i f y i n g works hops or s p ec i f i c c o n s u l t a t i v e or s u p er v i s ed
experi ence i n t he n ew f i e l d . No n et hel es s , t he c o n u n d r u m r ema i n s : Wha t
c o n s t i t u t es r el ev a n t ed u c a t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g ?
A s t he f i e l d ev o l v es , f o r ma l ways wi l l u n d o u b t e d l y devel op t o hel p
p r a c t i t i o n er s become k n o wl ed g ea b l e and s peci al i zed. A t pr es ent , t he con-
s u l t a n t s we i n t er v i ewed descri bed a c o mb i n a t i o n of f act ors r el ev a n t to
t he a c qu i s i t i o n o f t hei r k n o wl ed g e a n d s k i l l .
A s recogni zed ex p er t s i n t he f i e l d of p er f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t i n g , our
i nt ervi ewees o f f er ed i n s i g ht s c o n c er n i n g t he n a t u r e o f a p p r o p r i a t e e d u -
c a t i o n . Becaus e t hi s g en er a l f i e l d does n o t have f o r ma l l y devel oped c r i t e -
ri a or career pa t hs , each c o n s u l t a n t had come to hi s or her pres ent con-
s t i l t i n g prac t i c e t h r o u g h a s omewha t i d i o s y n c r a t i c c o mb i n a t i o n of f o r ma l
a n d i n f o r ma l e d u c a t i o n a n d exper i enc e, a s wel l a s f o r ma t i v e l i l e ex p er i -
ences.
Aspects of Appropriate
Training
I n r ev i ewi n g t he t r a i n i n g experi enc es of p er f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a n t s , we
c o n c l u d e t ha t a s ol i d f o u n d a t i o n i n ei t her ps ychol ogy or exerci se sci ence
i s es s ent i al , a l o n g wi t h r el ev a n t s u p p l e me n t a l t r a i n i n g . Thi s a d d i t i o n a l
p r ep a r a t i o n ma y i n v o l v e f o r ma l t r a i n i n g t hr o u g h c ours ework o r f r ee-
s t a n d i n g ed u c a t i o n a l programs , i n d o ma i n s where t h i s i s a v a i l a b l e . A
c o mb i n a t i o n o f p er f o r ma n c e experi enc e ( g en er i c ) , i n f o r ma l l e a r n i n g , a n d
u s e f u l l i f e experi enc es c u r r e n t l y p r o v i d e t he a d d i t i o n a l r el ev a n t k n o wl -
edge.
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
FORMAL ACADEMIC TRAINING
The maj ori t y of the c ons ul t ant s ( t he psychol ogi sts i n p a r t i c u l a r ) men-
ti oned t hei r f o r ma l academi c educ a t i on as t he f o u n d a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e f or
devel opi ng c ons ul t at i on s ki l l s . Dr. Fr a n k Fi ske ( b u s i n es s ) , f or exampl e,
suggested t hat the general i st knowl edge base of psychol ogy al l ows for
t r a n s f er of knowl edge f rom one s et t i ng to another.
Dr. Ki ng ( hi g h- r i s k , mi l i t a r y ) emphasi zed the i mport ance of ha v i n g a
t heoret i cal f r a me to gui de i n t er v en t i o n s . He was al so qu i c k to d i f f e r e n t i -
ate between knowl edge and i ts ma n i f es t a t i o n i n practi ce behavi or. Theo-
reti cal u n d er s t a n d i n g s ho u l d be t r ans l at ed i nt o us abl e i deas t ha t are t hen
expressed i n the f orm of p r a g ma t i c t ec hni ques when worki ng wi th the
per f or mer : "They don' t want theori es; t hey want to know i t works. "
The generi c knowl edge base devel oped t hr o u g h psychol ogi cal t r a i n -
i ng was hi ghl i ght ed by those wi th and wi t ho u t a speci fi c psychol ogy de-
gree. Dr. A ndrew A dams, a nonps ychol ogi s t and f ormer professor of or-
g a n i z a t i o n a l devel opment , i s now a hi g hl y s ucces s f ul bus i nes s c o n s u l t a n t .
He observed t hat psychol ogi sts, i n contrast to ma na gement c o n s u l t a n t s
wi t hout a psychol ogy ba c kgr ound, u n d er s t a n d the i nt erpers onal dynami c s
t ha t are an i mp o r t a n t aspect of the "sea change" of the c u r r en t bus i nes s
cl i mat e. Dr. Dean poi nted to the ext ens i ve knowl edge t hat psychol ogi sts
gai n i n g r a d u a t e school: experti se regardi ng i n d i v i d u a l hu ma n needs, as
wel l as t r a i n i n g i n gr oup dynami cs . He asserted t ha t the f u l l range of
g r a d u a t e ed u c a t i o n f r o m social psychol ogy t o devel opment a l ps ychol -
ogy to a b n o r ma l psychol ogy to n o n v er b a l c o mmu n i c a t i o n f o r ms an
u n p a r a l l el ed f o u n d a t i o n on whi ch f u r t h e r speci al i zed knowl edge can be
b u i l t .
Several c o n s u l t a n t s speci f i cal l y ment i oned cogni ti ve- behavi oral t r ea t -
ment as a u s ef u l g r o u n d i n g f or p er f o r ma n c e c ons ul t i ng. Dr. A l i c e A u s t i n
( bus i nes s ) comment ed t hat t he cogni ti ve- behavi oral t reat ment f r a me-
work of bot h qu es t i o n i n g and f i r m but c a r i n g c o n f r o n t a t i o n was an i m-
portant el ement of her present c o n s u l t i n g practi ce. Whereas he recog-
ni zed t ha t ps yc hodynami c , ex i s t en t i a l , or ges t al t t r a i n i n g mi ght be of use
f or certai n perf ormanc e c o n s u l t a t i o n s , Dr. Ja r r et t ( hi g h- r i s k ) noted t ha t
he f o u n d an excel l ent " f i t " between cogni ti ve- behavi oral t r ea t ment and
sport psychology and performance cons ul t i ng.
I n addi t i on to ha v i n g a t heoret i c al f r a mewor k f or assessi ng s i t u a t i o n s
and maki ng deci si ons, those t r a i n ed i n psychol ogy programs t ypi c al l y
l earn pa r t i c ul a r couns el i ng and t her a p y s ki l l s . Speci f i c s uba r ea s of k n o wl -
edge may be v i t a l as wel l . Dr. Br i a n Bel l , who does ext ens i ve c ons ul t i ng
t o f a mi l y busi nesses, said t ha t hi s t r a i n i n g i n f a mi l y t her a py, i n a d d i t i o n
to genera] c l i n i c a l experi ence, has been es s ent i al to hi s c ons ul t i ng suc-
cess.
257
258 WHA T C O N SULT A N T S X E I. D
Dr . i r d wa r d h -'va n s ( bus i n e s s ) m e n -
l i o n e d a n um i )e r o l u- l e va n t s k i l l s a n d
p e r sp e c t i ve s t h a i h e o bt a i n e d d ur i n g h i s
t r a i n i n g a s a be h a vi o r a l c l i n i c a l p syc h o l o -
g i s t : t r a i n i n g i n f un c t i o n a l b e h a vi o r a l
a n a l ys i s , i n d i vi d ua l i n t e r vi e wi n g a n d l i s-
t e n i n g , a n d a n i n t e r n sh i p e xp e r i e n c e i n -
vo l vi n g k n o wl e d g e o f g r o up fun c t i o n i n g
a n d i n t e r ve n t i o n .
T h o se c o n s ul t a n t s wh o se p r i m a r y
d e g r e e wa s i n t h e sp o r t sc i e n c e s o ffe r e d
a sl i g h t l y d i ffe r e n t p e r sp c c i i vc t h a n t h o se
t r a i n e d p r i m a r i l y i n p syc h o l o g y. C o n sul t -
a n t s suc h a s Dr . Li n d sa y ( h i g h r i s k ) a n d
Dr . Be n i o n ( b us i n e s s ) r e c o g m / c d t h e
i m p o r t a n c e o l t r a i n i n g i n p s yc h o l o g y but
a l so sa w t h e d i s t i n c t k n o wl e d g e ba se o f
e xe r c i se a r id ^p o r i sc i e n c e a s e s s e n t i a l t o
be c o m i n g a c o m p e t e n t c o n s ul t a n t . T h e y
sug g e st e d t h a t t h e i d e a l c o n s ul t a n t i s o n e
wh o h a s a n i n t e g r a t e d , s ys t e m a t i c f o un -
d a t i o n o l k n o wl e d g e i n e x e r c i s e sc i e n c e ,
p syc h o l o g y, a n d sp o r t p syc h o l o g y.
T h i s i j r s t e l e m e n t t h a i c o n s ul t a n t s
r e l y o n , t h e i r fo r m a l g r a d ua t e t r a i n i n g ,
p o i n t s t o a c o m m o n c o r e o f un d e r l yi n g
sk i l l s n e c e ssa r y fo r sp e c i a l i ze d c o n sul t -
ing. T h e se a r e t h e l o un d a t i o n a i buil d in g
b l o c k s o l s uc c e s s f ul c o n s ul t i n g . A s
Wi n st o n a n d Se x t o n ( 1 9 9 3 ) n o t e d , t h e
r e l a t i o n sh i p sk i l l s t h a t fo r m t h e ba c k bo n e
o l c l i n i c a l a n d c o un se l i n g p syc h o l o g y
p r o g r a m s a r e t h e n e c e ssa r y but n o t suf-
fi c i e n t c o n d i t i o n s fo r p e r fo r m a n c e c o n -
s ul t i n g . Be c a us e c o n s ul t a n t s ' wo r k
m o ve s be yo n d th i s g e n e r a l i st l e ve l , o t h e r t yp e s o l l e a r n in g se r ve u> a ug -
m e n t t h a t ba se .
A n i n d i vi d ua l c o n si d e r i n g p r a c t i c e e xp a n si o n wh o r e c o g n i /e s p a r -
t i c ul a r d e fi c i t s i n k n o wl e d g e o r e xp e r i e n c e h a s a n e t h i c a l o bl i g a t i o n t o
r e c t i f y t h e se d e fi c i e n c i e s. St r uc t ur e d p o si d e g r e e t r a i n i n g i s e sp e c i a l l y i m -
p o r t a n t l o r t h o se wi t h o ut a ba c k g r o un d i n p syc h o l o g y. It i s a l so use ful i n
d o m a i n s wh e r e fo r m a l t r a i n i n g e x i s t s , suc h a s i n t h e f i e l d s o f busi n e ss
c o n sul t i n g a n d c o a c h i n g . Fo r o t h e r p e r f o r m a n c e d o m a i n s, i t m a y be n e c -
e ssa r y t o e x t r a p o l a t e fr o m e x i s t i n g t r a i n i n g . Mo r e i n f o r m a l m e t h o d
If you c om e fr o m a p ur e l y [in d ustr ia l /
o r g a n iza tio n a l ] ba c kg r o un d with o ut th e
fa m il y syste m s o r ie n ta tio n , yo u m a y n o t
r e c o g n ize th at in a fa m il y busine ss, th e r e
a r e th e p robl e m s o f r e g ul a r busin e ss p l us
a fe w th at fa m il ie s "m a n ufa c tur e ." A n d
th e y are al ways m ixe d up toge th e r.
Som e tim e s th e r e is so m e d e fe n sive n e ss
[in th e c onsul tant]: "We ll, h ow are we
going to wo r k a r o un d th is? I am not
h e r e to take c a r e o f th a t fo r th e m ."
If you h ave wo r ke d a wh il e as a
th e rap ist, you know th at, as in th e rap y,
fa m il y m e m be rs don't a l wa ys want to
so l ve th e p robl e m . Th e y don't a l wa ys
give you th e str a ig h t sc oop , and
so m e tim e s th e y d o tr y to sa bo ta g e you,
or th e y se t it up in a way th a t m a ke s it
ve r y diffic ul t. By th e tim e you fin d out
about som e oth e r ke y fa m il y m e m be r s,
yo u've a l r e a d y sp e nt e nough tim e with
th e m th a t it is r e a l l y d iffic ul t to switc h
[fo c us to inc l ude th e n e w in fo r m a tio n ]
and be be l ie ve d. Fa m il ie s are fa m il ie s.
Th e y som e tim e s do a l ot of h urtful
th ings to e ac h oth e r.
-Dr. Br ia n Be l l
{c onsul tant, fa m il y busine ss)
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice 259
[Cognitive-behavioral training provided
a worldview that connects cognition,
emotion, and behavior], and that has
greatly colored who I am, the way I
operate, and the types of interventions
and ways that I work with performers.
You just cannot be effective unless
you're a good people person with terrific
working skills. Graduate school and
internship training improved rne a
thousandfold as a listener and a
counselor. There must be other factors in
there as well, but getting good training
as a counselor is going to increase the
odds of your being an effective
counselor in the real world. I think it's
enormously important in terms of
performance consulting.
I have had training in a lot of the
other areas of knowledge or expertise as
a postdoctoral professional. I've learned
to understand people's performance
patterns in relationship to their
nutritional habits, their fitness, their
sleep patterns, and so on either from the
__ Center or through some of the sport
psychology and sports medicine training
experiences that I've had. Similarly, a lot
of the training I've had in leadership
studies and teamwork has been
postdoctoral and has been tremendously
helpful in my consulting. I know that I
will continue to seek out new learning
experiences, because that's the only way
to keep improving.
Dr. John Jarrett (consultant, high-risk)
i n c l u d i n g perf ormance experi ence, i nde-
p en d en t s t u d y a nd r ea di ng, a nd l i f e ex-
p er i en c ema y prove v a l u a b l e to some,
as at t es t ed to by a n u mb er of the con-
s u l t a n t s i n t er v i ewed . By d ef i n i t i o n , these
a r e t a i l o r ed t o t he i n d i v i d u a l ' s knowl -
edge, b a c k g r o u n d , and t r a i n i n g needs as
wel l as the perf ormanc e doma i n. We of -
f er several exampl es of postdegree t rai n-
i ng below.
STRUCTURED,
POSTDEGREE TRAINING
For some, f o r ma l postdegree t r a i n i n g has
served to s uppl ement and expand con-
s u l t a n t s ' p r i o r knowl edge base. For ex-
a mp l e . Dr . Ma r c Ma r t i n ( mu s i c ) wa s
o r i g i n a l l y t r a i n ed as a mus i c i an, perf orm-
i n g , c o n d u c t i n g , a n d c o mp o s i n g . Fo r
h i m , t a k i n g c o u r s e w o r k i n n e u r o -
l i n g u i s t i c p r o g r a mmi n g ( NLP) , a n d t rai n-
i n g w i t h V i r g i n i a Sa t i r a n d Mi l t o n
Er i c k s o n were t he p a t hs t o p r o v i d i n g
c o n s u l t a t i o n to others. The ef f ecti veness
of combi ned i ma g i n a t i v e and p r a g ma t i c
i n t e r v e n t i o n s , s uch as those of Sati r and
Er i c k s o n , was al s o noted by Dr. Ki ng,
wo r k i n g i n a n en t i r el y d i f f er en t domai n
wi t h hi g h- r i s k perf ormers . Prac t i t i oners
i n t e r e s t e d i n p r a c t i c e ex p a n s i o n ma y
wa n t to gi ve special a t t en t i o n to these
resources, whi c h appear to have appeal
and di rect appl i c at i on to performers' con-
cerns.
Dr . J a r r e t t ( h i g h - r i s k ) d es c r i b ed
p o s t d o c t o r a l s t u d y i n l ea d er s hi p a n d
t e a m w o r k a s e s p e c i a l l y u s e f u l . Dr .
Ben t o n ( b u s i n es s ) and Dr. Dean ( b u s i -
nes s ) have bot h obt ai ned ext ens i ve t r a i n -
i n g a n d e x p e r i e n c e i n a f o r m a l ,
pos t degree f r e e - s t a n d i n g bus i nes s con-
s u l t i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n . Dr . Dea n com-
2 6 0 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
meri ted t ha t t hi s o r g a n i z a t i o n - b a s ed t r a i n i n g f e l t c ompar abl e t o g r a d u a t e
school . "There i s cl assroom t r a i n i n g , f o r ma l men t o r i n g , obs ervat i on, ses-
si on t a p i n g a nd t hen f eed b a c k t he whol e n i n e yards . "
PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
Several c o n s u l t a n t s c o mmen t ed t ha t t h e i r o wn p er f o r ma n c e experi ence
wa s s i g n i f i c a n t i n p r ep a r i n g t hem f o r t he i r ev en t u a l c o n s u l t i n g rol e. Fo r
some, ea r l i er experi ence i n a p er f o r ma n c e d o ma i n evol ved i n t o pract i ce
l ocus . For ot hers , t he ex p er i en c e of wo r k i n g wi t h el i t e perf ormers i n
hi gh- pr es s ur e s i t u a t i o n s ha s provi ded t he f o u n d a t i o n f o r a p p l y i n g s ki l l s
i n new d o ma i n s .
The most s t r a i g ht f o r wa r d t r a n s f er of p er f o r ma n c e experi ence occurs
when one becomes a c o n s u l t a n t i n a domai n i n whi ch one has perf ormed.
The ma n y years Dr. Donna Des mond spent as a prof es s i onal bal l et danc er
i n f o r ms al l her work wi t h per f or mer s . The experi ence has provi ded i n-
s i ght s i n t o bot h t he i n d i v i d u a l i s s ues t ha t dancers f ace a n d t he s ys t emi c
i ssues of wo r k i n g i n the worl d of pr of es s i ona l dance. Dr. Ma r c Ma r t i n
( mu s i c ) c o mmen t ed on t he rapi d rapport t ha t c an devel op f r o m s uch
hi s t o r y : " I t hel ps i f y o u u n d er s t a n d p er f o r mi n g , u n d er s t a n d t he b a t t l e-
f i e l d c o n d i t i o n s , so t ha t i n a f ew moment s , the p er f o r mer can say, ' Oh
t hey k n o w wha t I ' m t a l k i n g a b o u t . ' "
Dr. Owen Osborne ( t he a t r e ) ci ted a n u mb e r of d i f f e r e n t i nt ers ec t i ons
wi t h t hea t r e p er f o r ma n c e t ha t assi sted i n hi s preparat i on f o r c o n s u l t i n g
wi t h act ors . He p er f o r med i mp r o v i s a t i o n s ! team comedy f or a n u mb er of
years . Through hi s wi f e ( an ac t or), he has been i nvol ved i n t he t hea t r i c a l
mi l i e u , whet her s i t t i n g i n on rehears al s , bei ng i nvol ved i n t hea t r e projects,
or i n soci al i n t er a c t i o n . These experi enc es were i n s t r u me n t a l i n t he de-
vel opment of hi s own c o n s u l t i n g model, one t ha t i nt egrat es el ement s of
p er f o r ma n c e a n d p s y c ho t her a p y .
On the road to bec omi ng a bus i nes s c o n s u l t a n t , Dr. Bel l ci ted the
i mpor t a nc e of hi s bus i nes s exper i enc e as a u n i v e r s i t y dea n. Hi s u n d er -
s t a n d i n g of both bus i nes s and bus i nes s c ons ul t i ng was t hen expanded
when he was asked to c o n s u l t wi t h the u n i v er s i t y ' s board of t rus t ees .
Wi t hi n an i n f o r ma l context i n whi ch he f el t respected and not u n d er
pres s ure t o p er f o r m, i t was possi bl e t o gai n cons i derabl e knowl edge t ha t
now serves as one of the f o u n d a t i o n s f or hi s c o n s u l t i n g pract i ce.
Dr. Cross ( b u s i n e s s ) el aborat ed on the i mp o r t a n c e of knowi ng the
worl d i n whi c h one i s c o n s u l t i n g . He descri bed hi s work wi t h a t hl e t i c
coaches:
At one t i me, I used to coach and t ha t ' s been i n v a l u a b l e.
Co a c hi n g has been muc h more v a l u a b l e t o me i n ma k i n g my
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
connections i ni ti al l y than my sport psychology credentials;
because [the coaches] know I know thei r reality. You don' t
have to know the intricacy or the strategy of the game, but you
have to understand what trai ni ng is all about and how hard it
is, and how someone is tryi ng to move someone out of their
comfort zone, getti ng them to stretch.
Performance experience can also i ncl ude the learning that is acquired
as a performance consul tant. General i zati on provides its own uni que
education, occurring in two ways: appl yi ng what one has learned in rela-
tively easy si tuati ons to more complex ones; and transferri ng knowledge
f rom one domain to another. For example, a sport psychologist typically
refi nes his or her consul ti ng talents and techniques by working with
amateur athletes. Consul tants have to prove their abilities with "low-
ri sk" si tuati ons before they are i nvi ted to work with "the crown jewels"
of performance. As Dr. Gates ( hi gh- ri sk) aptly explained, "I wouldn' t
want to run into a major NASCAR team and kind of fi gure it out as I
went. "
Several consultants whose original training and work was in sport
consultation told of busi nesspeopl e who sought their performance ex-
pertise, even before the consul tant recognized the possible link. Com-
menting on his own transition, for example, Graham Jones ( 2002) re-
cently wrote:
A number of years ago, when I was still a f ul l - ti me university
academic engrossed in research i nto the area of competitive
anxi ety and consul ti ng wi th elite athletes, I was approached by
a senior executive in a large global company. [He] was seeking
a sport psychologist who would give him an insight into the
psychology of coaching and implement a coaching intervention
that would help his al ready successful senior management
team to achieve even higher levels of performance, ( p. 268)
In his current work within the busi ness world, Dr. Cross emphasized
the similarities of role and f uncti on between his athletic experience and
the business si tuati ons in which he consults. He gains credibility by hav-
ing been a university athl eti c director. Businesspeople know that he un-
derstands what it's like to be an administrator and that he, too, has had
to manage staf f , do perf ormance appraisals, and f i re employees.
Dr. Frankl i n Fiske, a f ormer elite athlete, has enhanced credibility in
the business world because of his experience as a high-level performer:
You don' t have to have been a worl d class athlete to be a
successful sport psychologist; you don' t have to have been a
vice-president of a company to be a successful consulting
psychologist; but I thi nk it helps. Actually, I've been hired
261
2 6 2 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
several times because I was a worl d-cl ass ski racer. That
background seems to carry a lot of wei ght because they know
that I know what it's like to perf orm in hi gh- pressure
si tuati ons.
INFORMAL TRAINING
I nf ormal trai ni ng experi encessuch as l earni ng t hrough readi ng; expe-
riencing the domain; or being coached, mentored, or supervisedpro-
vide i mportant opport uni t i es f or gai ni ng prof i ci ency. The expa ns i on,
breadth, and depth of t hi s i n f o r ma l t rai ni ng allow the practi ti oner to
understand commonal i ti es across domai ns and gain specific knowl edge
wi thi n parti cul ar domai ns. A number of our consul tants commented on
the val ue of these experi ences in which they parti ci pated.
"For some, it's been a matter of readi ng. " Dr. Cross ( bus i nes s ) com-
mented. He said t ha t he applies less than 1 % of what he learned in g r a d u -
ate school to his current work, but has f ound it very hel pf ul to read broadl y
across a number of di sci pl i nes. Si mi l arl y, Dr. Dani el Dean( bus i nes s ) has
f o u n d reading to be i nstructi ve: "Just l i ke i n any other f i el d, the more
you work with people, the more you understand and recognize common
themes. Li ke ' Oh, that' s a common theme; that' s not u n i qu e to t hi s
person.' "
For some of his more recent work in hi gh- ri sk sports, Dr. Gates has
l earned i nf ormal l y t hrough using computer games to gain general i nf or -
mation and l earn some of the jargon specific to the sport. Si mpl y bei ng
curi ous and aski ng questions can be a remarkabl e source of i n f o r ma l
l earni ng. Dr. I ngram ( publ i c s af et y) said that "hangi ng out wi th these
people" is one of his pri mary modes of educati on. Dr. Li ndsay ( hi g h- r i s k )
learned i nf ormal l y through observi ng all phases of the t r a i n i n g program
with which he then consul ted.
Informal learning may also i ncl ude developing a network of colleagues
who can serve as a s oundi ng board, resource, or means of "peer consul -
tati on" when the consul tant encounters chal l engi ng si tuati ons. For ex-
ample, al t hough he obtai ned his doctorate 16 years ago, Dr. Fiske ( b u s i -
ness) t urns to two other well-respected practi ti oners "when I' m s t uck or
when I' m scared or when I don' t know what to do or when somethi ng is
a little over my head."
FORMATIVE LIFE EXPERIENCES
Successful consul tati on is more than the appl i cati on of knowl edge and
techniques; it i ncl udes the use of oneselfpersonality, val ues, and per-
spectivesall the things that are essential when one human develops an
aut hent i c rel ati onshi p wi th another. One cannot schedul e, predi ct, or
structure some of the s i gni f i cant l i f e events t ha t mold our bei ng and that
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
appear to be elements essential to the process of becoming an effective
consul tant.
Varying circumstances of f ami l y and development helped shape in-
di vi dual s to thei r current practice. These f ormati ve l i fe experiences com-
prised perhaps the most i nteresti ng category of training reported by our
consul tants. The specifics are varied; it is the commonality of having been
i nf ormed by these experiences that is themati cal l y constant. Consultants
have made use of these experiences in gui di ng their interests and devel-
oping a communi cated empathy with their clients.
For Dr. Bell ( f ami l y busi ness), consulting to fami l y businesses has
been i nfl uenced by havi ng grown up in a f ami l y business as well as his
own i n-depth psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. Dr. Adams ( business)
observed that his own f ami l y and emoti onal stability have been an an-
chor in his work wi th others.
Dr. Kenneth King ( mi l i t ar y) mentioned a number of developmental
i nfl uences that shaped his subsequent comfort in working with the mili-
tary:
I was raised in southern Cal i f orni a on a f arm. I grew up with
guns. I' ve been shooti ng all my l i f e. I hunted when I was
younger. I was born in 1942, so when I was going to school,
there was still all of this patri oti sm. I got a lot of patriotism
instilled in me. I was in the Civil Air Patrol. I was in the
military. I studi ed the marti al arts. So, there is a lot of empathy
for the ki nds of thi ngs that [the mi l i tary] do.
He also spoke of the ways in which he uses his own experience to
empathize and af f i rm others' experience:
I' ve had my own f a i l u r e experiences, so I can certainly
empathi ze with the si tuati ons that people f i nd themselves in.
It's the abi l i ty to draw on those experiences and then generalize
them to what the other person is going through, but to do it in
a way which doesn' t sound l i ke "Oh, I know what you do
because I've done bigger things." Instead, it's doing it in a way
that af f i rms them and yet shows some sensitivity to what they
have to deal wi th.
In a si mi l ar manner, Dr. Colin Cross ( busi ness) deliberately has used
many aspects of his l i f e hi story as a way to connect with people and
increase credi bi l i ty:
The biggest t hi ng t hat has helped me is I have had a very broad
spectrum of experiences in my l i f e. Each of those has provided
me with the background that I need for di f f erent groups and at
di f f erent levels.
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2 6 4 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
You connect with what you have goi ng for you and you
share that. Sometimes I' m in rural areas, and I make it very
clear that I come f rom a rural area. And when I'm in , I tal k
about how I used to live there. My background is worki ng
class. My f a t her worked 42 years underground in mines. I
spent my summers worki ng underground in mines. So when I
have to deliver the mental f i tness materi al to l aborersand I' ve
done this many, many times, in l unchrooms and other places
I'm able to do it in a way that they can accept. I speak t hei r
l anguage.
Dr. I ngram ( hi gh- ri s k) also grew up in a worki ng-cl ass envi ronment
and uses his experience to unders t and and connect with publ i c service
employees in hi gh- ri sk jobs:
I grew up in a bl ue-col l ar fami l y. I grew up usi ng my hands. I
grew up wi th a great deal of respect for entry-l evel personnel of
one ki nd or another. My dad was a plumber. I've al ways
respected the ski l l t hat people have, whether it's an el ectri ci an
or a carpenter or a plumber, a f i ref i ght er or a police of f i cer. I'm
j us t fasci nated by how people do thei r work. I can' t even count
the hours I' ve spent in patrol cars and f i rehouses. I don' t
pretend that I can do thei r job, but I do know enough about
the nat ure of thei r jobs by havi ng actual l y perf ormed those
ki nds of thi ngs wi th thei r help or watchi ng them do it.
Some consultants f i nd that shared character traits can form an entree
for "joi ni ng" and being accepted by perf ormers. In contrast to Dr. Cross
and Dr. Ingram, whose earl y l i f e experiences served as a f oundat i on for
empathi zi ng wi th the perf ormers wi th whom they work, Dr. Norri s ( mu -
sic) described his connection wi th musi ci ans as related to si mi l ar aspects
of personality. Al though he has not had any f ormal i nstructi on i n musi c,
he has a strong sense of creati vi ty. Another characteri sti c is a term he
takes f rom drama: "the abi l i ty to be a ' qui ck study. ' In worki ng wi th any
musi ci an, no matter what the genre, I pick up the nuances of the craf t , of
the art, and then can integrate t hat not only into how I tal k with them
but how I hear them. "
Serendi pi ty sometimes pl ays a major role in shapi ng the i nf or ma l
t r a i ni ng that l ater proves essenti al to performance consul ti ng. Up u n t i l
the age of 35, Dr. Marc Mart i n ( mus i c) was a prof essi onal musi ci an. "[I ]
got bored with pl ayi ng, and the way my l i f e was going. I decided t hat I
wanted to study the other arts. So I studi ed acting, dance, mi me, bal l et,
fenci ng, theatre di recti ngal l the theatre arts. " These broadened ski l l s
and abi l i ti es are central to hi s c urrent consul ti ng work.
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
265
The best preparation for me has been
working in a lot of different fieldsthe
television that I've done, working as a
psychology expert for a national
network for many years. That required
learning how to translate and do things
in different ways. The elected and
appointed positions that I've held in APA
have also involved watching what works
and doesn't in terms of teams and
effectiveness. Really listening and
learning from my clients' experience in
the business world. Modeling successful
behavior that I'm comfortable with in
terms of my own values.
I need to do something more than
just clinical work. I've done it for so long,
I want to do some other kinds of things. I
found that [business consulting] was a
really good application. Although I was
trained analytically, I'm very action
oriented, so it's a better fit for my
temperament to be able to have action
and identifiable results. It is a great
antidote to burn-out, and very
financially lucrative. It's allowed me to
work in partnerships with a lot of other
psychologists who 1 really like, so J don't
feel alone or isolated. We do certain
projects together but we don't have to
be encumbered by a business
partnershipwe are all working
together as independent contractors.
I can't teach anybody efse if I haven't
mastered the coaching skills myself. So
it's challenged me personally, and t like
that as well.
Dr. Claire Crown (consultant, business)
Assessing Competence
One of the ways of determi ni ng the "rel -
evant educati on" and "appropriate steps"
to becoming competent as a perf ormance
consul tant is to look at the ways in which
expert cons ul tants have developed thei r
own expertise. Another potenti al angl e
on the same questi on is to ask a some-
what projecti ve questi on: "How woul d
you assess whether a colleague was com-
petent to provi de such service?"
As the f i el d and practi ce of perf or-
ma n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n bec omes mor e
cl earl y def i ned, standards and gui del i nes
for assessing competence will undoubt -
edly be specified. For the present, our
consul tants suggested a number of meth-
ods of review. These may serve as a start-
ing point for evaluating whether one has
establ i shed competence. They i n c l u d e
f o r ma l trai ni ng, direct observation, out -
come, experience, personal characteris-
tics, and the presence of some f orm of
ethi cal consciousness.
FORMAL TRAINING-
KNOWLEDGE BASE
Formal t r a i n i n g was the most f r equ en t l y
men t i o n ed meas ur e t hat c o n s u l t a n t s
woul d use to eval uate a colleague' s com-
petence. Because consul tants noted t hei r
own f or ma l educati on as the f oundat i on
of t hei r cons ul t at i on preparati on ( men-
ti oned earl i er i n thi s chapt er), i t i s not
s urpri s i ng that they woul d start there i n
assessi ng others' competence. The mi ni -
mal cri teri on most commonl y cited was
ed u c a t i o n t ha t i n v o l v ed ps ychol ogy,
counseling, or psychotherapy.
266 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
The combination of athletic and format
course experience works for me in the
sports world. I was a runner-up for the
Olympic basketball team, Athletes realize
that you have been an athlete and can
relate. The best sport psychologists for
athletes have played competitive sports at
a pretty intense level.
I also had formal education in sport
psychology. I did not train myself [just] by
reading books. I took course work [on]
concentration, relaxation, anxiety, and
stress.
In the business world, f have spent over
ten years now at and that experience,
combined with my education is pretty
powerful.
When people come to our leadership
training program and I introduce myself, I
tell folks that 1 am a sport psychologist
who works in the area of consistent top
performance. Peoples' eyes light up and
they think, "Boy, I can't wait to learn
from her." I tell them, "This week while
you are here 1 hope to share some
techniques with you that will help you
develop yourself at work and teach you
how to develop other people. And if I
can, also help you with your kid's soccer
game."
So many workers ask me how to be a
better parent to their kid who is playing
tee-ball. It's incredible how people call
upon my sport psych in the athletic arena
while they are here for business
development.
Dr. Barbara Benton
(consultant, business)
The pragmati c stance of the l eader-
ship organi zati on where Dr. Dani el Dean
( b u s i n es s ) rec ei ved hi s p o s t d o c t o r a l
t rai ni ng i l l ustrates the importance of for-
ma l t r a i n i n g . Thi s o r g a n i z a t i o n ha s
mostly drawn its trainees f rom those al-
ready licensed in psychology. Al though
the organi zati on has turned to psychol-
ogy to obtai n competent practi ti oners,
Dr. Dean suggested t hat the "i mpl i ci t
prestige f actor" might actual l y be the de-
termi nant: "If you are going to present
yoursel f to corporations and executives,
havi ng those paper credentials can help
sell the product. "
It is si gni fi cant that this f ormal aca-
demic degree, al though necessary, was
not considered s uf f i ci ent. The specifics of
the addi ti onal trai ni ng vari ed, i n terms
of both practi ti oner and domai n. The
most di rectl y rel evant addi t i onal t r a i n -
ing was that of an MBA or its equi va-
lent, as suggested by some of the bus i -
ness consul tants. Even if a person does
not have formal postdoctoral training, Dr.
Dean suggested a consul tant may dem-
onstrate competence by developing some
f o r ma l system of ment ori ng, such as
worki ng wi th and being supervi sed by
someone wi th busi ness knowledge. As
noted earlier, consul tants whose ori gi nal
t rai ni ng was in the exercise and sport
sciences strongly recommended that per-
sons wi th clinical or couns el i ng back-
grounds , i nterested i n becoming sport
psychology consultants, need to demon-
strate mastery of the di sti nct knowledge
base of sport psychology.
R at her t han a specific ki nd of addi -
ti onal trai ni ng, a number of consul tants
spoke to a type of trai ni ng or experience.
For example, wi th a background in ki-
nesiology and c urrent work with hi gh-
risk performers, Dr. Leo Li ndsay empha-
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
sized the importance of the joi nt knowl edge produced by a background
in psychology and some area of appl i ed perf ormance. He cited musi c per-
formance as an example, indicating that it was the focus on performance
application that was key.
For Dr. Fiske ( busi ness), the isomorphism, or consistency, between
training and experience would be one means of measurement. Dr. Gates
( hi gh-ri sk) suggested that the knowl edge base s houl d i ncl ude ei ther spe-
cific knowledge or knowledge about knowledge: "Consul tants shoul d
have a thorough knowl edge of the fi el d and also know enough either to
understand the specific context or l earn about it."
In addition to formal trai ni ng credenti al s, a number of other factors
were suggested for assessing a consul tant' s competency. These include
some combination of direct observation, the consultant' s reputati on with
regard to outcome and experience, and personal characteristics of the
consul tant.
v-
DIRECT OBSERVATION
A number of consul tants i ndi cated that direct observation of the person's
work, perhaps through working together, would be the pref erred mode
of assessing competence. Dr. Marc Marti n ( mus i c) observed:
The best way of course woul d be j us t to watch them work. But
I think if I had a conversation wi th somebody about working
with performers, I woul d be able to get an i dea in a short time
of how they approach it, and how successful they would be,
just by their general at t i t ude.
OUTCOME
Probably the most pragmatic assessment of competence involves looking
at outcome: Does a consul tant' s ef f ort produce the desired results? Dr.
Adams ( busi ness) stated that the l ong-term outcome would be the most
si gni fi cant indicator: "I thi nk ul ti matel y the test is the pragmati c test over
time in the marketplace. "
Several interviewees suggested t hat outcome al one is not s uf f i ci ent ,
however. Dr. Jarrett ( hi gh- r i s k) recommended the combination of ef f ec-
tiveness plus positive feedback over time as critical factors. Dr. Evans
( business) shared thi s perspective and of f ered cl ari f i cati on of the impor-
tance of dua l cri teri a: both outcome measures and comfort with the con-
sul tant:
One kind of feedback is, how comfortabl e were you about the
i ndi vi dual and the person' s at t i t ude, and how the person
approached the client or situation? The other ki nd of feedback
267
2 6 8 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
i s, what were the outcomes? You can have a ni ce c o n s u l t a n t
who was j us t great and f r i en d l y and wo n d er f u l , but you had
t he f eel i ng t ha t n o t hi n g happened. A n a t hl et e I know r ec en t l y
tol d me, "Hel l , the psychol ogi st was okay and i nt er es t i ng, but I
don' t t hi n k I ' ve gone a n y wher e. " A s a r es u l t of t ha t , the
i n d i v i d u a l r ea l l y di dn' t wa nt t o s ee anybody. [ Bu t on t he ot her
ha n d ] , you can get somebody l i k e a Bobby Kn i g ht where
everybody says, "yeah, but l ook at hi s outcomes. " So y o u ' v e
got to deal wi th the other aspect: Not onl y are there
perf ormanc e outcomes, but how c omf ort abl e and how
reasonabl e i s the pers on?
EXPERIENCE
To assess competence, a n u mb er of c o n s u l t a n t s woul d al so wa nt to k n o w
t he a mo u n t of experi ence t he person had i n t hi s p a r t i c u l a r f i e l d wi t h
these p a r t i c u l a r k i n d s of perf ormers . For ex a mp l e, a l t ho u g h f o r ma l , s t r u c -
t ured t r a i n i n g mi g ht be opt i mal , Dr. Al i ce A u s t i n ( b u s i n es s ) suggested
vari ous other routes by whi ch someone mi g ht become a p er f o r ma n c e
c ons ul t a nt . It can t ake two to f i ve years for someone to become a capabl e
and competent o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d ev el o p men t a l psychol ogi st, but a person
mi ght be s u f f i c i e n t l y qu a l i f i e d to engage i n execut i ve c oac hi ng i f he or
she had a bus i nes s background as an engi neer or i n ma r k et i n g and t hen
obtai ned s k i l l s i n c ouns el i ng and coachi ng.
Dr. Desmond ( da nc e) emphasi zed t ha t merel y a t t en d i n g a works hop
or r ea di ng a book wo u l d not be s u f f i c i e n t exper i enc e to g a i n compe-
tency. To d et er mi n e compet ence, she wo u l d r equ i r e a revi ew of the
consul tant' s trai ni ng, background, and experience i n worki ng wi th per-
f ormers and dancers, as well as an i n t er v i ew wi th t hem.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Several c o n s u l t a n t s ment i oned t he i mport anc e of t a k i n g pers onal char-
acteri s ti cs i nt o account when assessi ng competence. Dr. A n d r ew A dams
( b u s i n es s ) , f or exampl e, noted t ha t f o r ma l cri t eri a do not al ways det er-
mi ne competency. I n several i ns t ances , he has f o u n d t ha t s el f - ed u c a t ed
people, wi t ho u t f o r ma l degrees, have been great c ont ri but ors . Dr. Gat es
( hi g h- r i s k ) comment ed on t he rel at i ve mer i t s of bei ng per s ona l l y ac-
qu a i n t ed wi t h prof essi onal s to whom he ref ers others, as compared wi t h
knowi ng t hem on paper onl y: "I woul d muc h r a t her r ef er to a person
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
than I would a certi fi cati on. But I would much rather refer to a person
with certification than one without."
Dr. Dean ( busi ness) suggested that a general assessment of personal
characteristics be a component of eval uati ng competence: "I would look
at some of the personal factors. I'd assess their personal characteristics,
their training, thei r intelligence, their flexibility, their confidence, their
fol l ow-through, whether they respond promptly to e-mail and phone
messagesthings like that."
Given the vari ous routes to working in performance consulting and
the ways in which individuals may decrease cognitive dissonance by ac-
cepting the validity of their own path, perhaps the most honest com-
ment was expressed by Dr. Owen Osborne ( theatre): "I have to say I
really would fi nd it di f f i cul t to know what to look for. I mean, actually I'd
look for somebody just like me."
Additional Ethical Concerns
269
The APA Ethics Code applies to psychologists' practice. Beyond issues of
competence and the maintenance of expertise, many of the other stan-
dards are broadly applicable to the f i el d of performance psychology. That
this is a relatively new fi el d doesn' t exempt the practitioner from these
standards; however, the manner in which the standards apply may di f f er
f rom more established areas, such as clinical psychology, organizational
consulting, or research.
Standards that pertain to scientific professional judgment, the nature
of psychological services, evaluation and assessment, privacy and confi -
dentiality, and avoiding harm may all be relevant. Here, we discuss these
and other concerns in terms of multiple role relationships, i nformed con-
sent, confidentiality, and organizational issues.
MULTIPLE ROLE RELATIONSHIPS
The ethical performance consul tant must be especially aware of the com-
plex area of multiple relationships. Expectations concerning consulta-
tion may vary f rom one performance cul ture to another and even within
performance settings. Where there is potential for blurring of roles, prob-
lems can arise.
This issue of multiple relationships has been discussed in sport psy-
chology (e.g., Ellickson & Brown, 1990; Whelan et al., 2002). Role con-
fusi on may occur because of a variety of circumstances: Sport psycholo-
2 7 0 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
gists may have vari ous roles wi thi n a system or may, because of t hei r
knowl edge base, have several areas of experti se. For exampl e, a sport
psychologist may have expertise i n both perf ormance enhancement and
the treatment of eati ng di sorders. Woul d i t be ethi cal for t ha t person to
treat the eati ng di sorder of a team member whi l e provi di ng services to
the team? The i denti cal di l emma may c onf ront a cons ul t ant to a dance
company. How shoul d the part i ci pant - cl i ent and the cons ul t ant - t hera-
pist relate to each other i n the two s i t uat i ons ?
Or consider the pragmati cs and dangers of the f ol l owi ng s i t uat i on:
Suppose that a performance organi zati on has obtai ned f u n d i n g for a publ i c
relations coordinator. They l earn of the possi bl e benef i t s of worki ng wi th
a perf ormance c ons ul t ant and t hey woul d l i ke to, but t hey have no f u n d -
ing. A performance cons ul t ant has an u n d er g r a d u a t e degree i n commu-
ni cati ons and worked i n publ i c rel ati ons pri or to ret urni ng to g r a d u a t e
school for t rai ni ng as a psychol ogi st. The organi z at i on woul d l i k e to hi re
the person to handl e both p u b l i c rel at i ons and serve as a perf ormance
resource for the organi zat i on. Is i t ethi cal for one person to perf orm both
of these complex roles?
As another exampl e of d i f f er en t norms, agai n us i ng the worl d of sports:
It is common practi ce for a sport psychol ogi st to t ravel wi th a team, of t en
shari ng meals and lodging, wi th consequent f r equ en t i nf or mal i nt erac-
ti ons with the athl etes. Many c ons ul t a nt s descri be these moments of i n-
formal i nteracti on as t hei r most ef f ec t i ve opportuni ti es f or i nt ervent i on.
As the athl ete comes to know the c ons ul t ant on a dai l y basi s and sees the
sport psychologist' s responses to a vari et y of l i f e s i t uat i ons , the c ons ul t -
ant gai ns credi bi l i ty and respect ( Van R aal t e, 1998). How does one bal -
ance the potenti al for role conf us i on i n such ci rcums t ances ?
Psychology has t r a d i t i o n a l l y advocated f a i r l y ri gi d s t andards regard-
i ng mul ti pl e role rel ati onshi ps. The norm f or convent i onal t her a py re-
stricts i nteracti ons to the f o u r wal l s of the consul ti ng of f i ce. I t i s d i f f i c u l t
to i magi ne an ethi cal psychotherapi st s ugges ti ng he or she accompany a
client to a ski resort to observe the cl i ent' s i nt eract i ons and of f er i mmedi -
ate "therapy on the slopes." Li kewi se, i t i s consi dered u n et hi c a l for a
psychologist to act in the dual roles of therapi st and s upervi s or to an
i ndi vi dual ; i t woul d general l y be consi dered unet hi c al to provi de t herapy
services to a f ri end. Suppose t hi s f ri end i s an emot i onal l y heal thy, worl d-
class performer, interested in becomi ng better at the process of audi t i ons .
Would i t be unethi cal to provi de perf ormanc e cons ul tati on? Few i f any
other professi ons expect such a s t ri ngent restri cti on of i nteracti on be-
tween provi der and client.
Newman, R obi ns on- Kurpi us , and Fu qu a ( 2002) have suggested t hat
i n the f i el d of cons ul t i ng psychology, mu l t i p l e rel ati onshi ps contai n the
potenti al for loss of objecti vi ty as wel l as expl oi t at i on of cl i ents. Yet, wi t hi n
consul ti ng psychol ogy, " d u a l r el a t i ons hi ps . . . | may] be more the norm
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
than the exception" ( p. 740). The very nature of extensive interactions
between professionals, each operating within his or her particular do-
main of expertise, may lead to the consultative relationship in the fi rst
place or may be necessary in order for ef f ecti ve consultation to occur.
The issue of the appropri ateness of a dual relationship hinges on
whether it ei ther ( a) i mpai rs a consul tant' s objectivity, competence, or
effectiveness in del i veri ng services; or (b) exploits or harms the client in
any way. The APA ( 2002) Ethics Code is explicit in declaring that "mul-
tiple relationships that would not reasonably be expected to cause im-
pairment or risk exploitation or harm are not unethical" ( p. 1065). In
each of the examples above, the ethical practitioner must weigh the merits
of a given si tuati on against these standards.
Perhaps even more challenging is this question: "Can a practitioner
ethically provide both psychotherapy and performance consulting ser-
vices to an i ndi vi dual ?" As with most ethical dilemmas, the issues in-
volved are complex and del i cate.
For example, consider a si tuati on in which a therapist is working
with an i ndi vi dual who is diagnosed as having a narcissistic personality
disorder. The i ndi vi dual routi nel y encounters di f f i cul ti es in interpersonal
relations both at home and at work. Al though the initial referral and
focus of therapy center on di f f i cul t y in social situations, the client is aware
that the therapist also provides performance coaching and specifically
asks for assistance at work. Can the therapist ethically provide both therapy
and coaching? The answer hinges on whether the practitioner is at risk
of exploiting the client.
The content of services is not at issue. Many forms of therapy, such as
strategic and solution-focused approaches, concentrate on improving one's
performance in social and busi ness settings. If a therapist has the appro-
pri ate trai ni ng and expertise, expandi ng the f ocus of treatment to in-
cl ude f ormal work on performance would seem both appropriate and
prudent . The focus is the same whether it is called "performance coach-
ing" or "an extension of therapy. "
The risk of ethical impropriety occurs, however, if the practitioner
uses a di f f erent fee structure for "consultation. " Consul tants typically
charge higher hourl y rates than do therapi sts. Shi fti ng charges for ser-
vices that might equally be seen as falling under the purview of therapy
can be interpreted as exploitation of the client ( Eri c Harris, personal com-
muni cati on, January 28, 2003)
A coaching rel ati onshi p is typically viewed as a business contract. In
marked contrast, a therapeuti c rel ati onshi p entai l s a special trust on the
part of the client and a corresponding responsibility of the therapist to
protect the client. The vul nerabi l i ty of the client arises from two di f f erent
aspects: the client's emotional f ragi l i ty and imbalances of power. This
i mbal ance of power can leave the client susceptible to undue influence
271
2 7 2 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
by the therapi st. The ethi cal therapi st is commi tted not to take advant age
of that trust. If there is a therapeuti c rel ati onshi p, one can never be cer-
tain if a client' s acceptance of a coachi ng contract is i nf l uenc ed by not
wanti ng to di sappoi nt the therapi st. In such ci rcumstances, the t herapi s t
is advised to ei ther address the perf ormance concerns as a part of the
therapy services or ref er the cl i ent to anot her person for coaching-con-
sul ti ng services.
What about provi di ng psychotherapy to a person for whom one pro-
vi ded performance cons ul t at i on? There woul d seem to be l i t t l e risk of
exploitation i n s hi f t i ng f rom consul tati on to therapy. However, the et hi -
cal therapist mus t consider whether hi s or her f unc t i oni ng woul d be i m-
paired by doing so: If I establish a special therapeuti c rel at i ons hi p wi th
this i ndi vi dual , can I s t i l l f unc t i on wi t h objectivity, competence, and ef-
fectiveness as a perf ormance consul tant? Will the cl i ent be abl e to re-
ceive perf ormance f eedback as ef f ecti vel y once the more i nt ens e t herapy
rel ati onshi p is establ i shed?
Our personal experi ence is t hat havi ng a breadth of s ki l l s and exper-
tise can be an asset in both consul ti ng and therapy. There have been
times when it was d i f f i c u l t to di s t i ngui s h between the process of perf or-
mance consul ti ng and therapy. There have also been ti mes when cl i ents
have cl earl y pref erred keepi ng perf ormance consul tati on and t herapy
separate. When in doubt, therapi sts are urged to err on the side of c au-
tion ( in this case, separation of servi ces).
Whet her t herapy and cons ul t at i on rel ati onshi ps a c t ua l l y d i f f er i s
undoubt edl y a subject for debate among professi onal s. Psychologists are
advi sed that even i f there i s no fee d i f f er en t i a l , engagi ng i n both act i vi t i es
s i mul t aneous l y may put one at risk of bei ng the subject of an ethi cal
compl ai nt by a di s grunt l ed pat i ent . The more vul nerabl e the pat i ent i s,
the greater the risk. This does not necessarily mean that one has acted
unethically; however, the exposure to criticism would be greater.
INFORMED CONSENT, CONFIDENTIALITY, AND
SERVICES PROVIDED TO ORGANIZATIONS
The i ntent of i nf ormed consent is to keep clients f rom f eel i ng betrayed.
When provi di ng any servi cestherapy, assessment, counsel i ng, or con-
s ul t at i onan ethi cal pract i t i oner makes known the reasonabl e ri s ks ,
benef i ts, and expectati ons, so the consumer can make an i nf or med deci-
sion in agreei ng to services. This issue is covered by Standard 3.10.
3.10 When psychologists conduct research or provi de
assessment, therapy, counseling, or consul ti ng services in
person or via electronic transmission or other forms of
communication, they obtain the i nf ormed consent of the
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
i ndi vi dual or i ndi vi dual s usi ng l anguage that i s reasonabl y
understandabl e to that person or persons except when
conducti ng such activities wi thout consent is mandated by law
or governmental regul ati on or otherwise provided in thi s Ethi cs
Code.
The consul tant and cl i ent shoul d be clear as to what services are be-
i ng provided, the f i nanci al charges, expectations regardi ng payment, and
gui del i nes for conf i denti al i ty. By bei ng explicit about expectations, a con-
sul tant establishes the f ounda t i on on which a trusti ng, collaborative re-
lationship is developed. Gui del i nes proposed by the APA I nsurance Trust,
an organi zati on designed to meet the i nsurance and f i nanci al security
needs of APA members, recommend t hat i nf ormed consent i ncl ude a
def i ni t i on of the goals and methods of consul tati on as well as a method
of measuri ng the outcome of these ef f ort s ( Harri s, 2002a).
An addi t i onal complication in consul ti ng rel ati onshi ps is the ques-
tion of who is consenti ng to the services. "A di s t i ngui s hi ng f eat ure of
consulting rel ati onshi ps is thei r t ri adi c nature" ( Newman et al. , 2002, p.
73 3 ). Across domains, many consul tati ve rel ati onshi ps i nvol ve decisions
made by one party or enti ty in power ( e.g., a manager, director, or super-
vi sor) about services of f ered by the cons ul t ant to another person or part
of the system. The specific APA s t andards regardi ng conf i denti al i ty ( St an-
dard 4) most clearly pertai n to rel at i ons between two i ndi vi dual s : the
psychologist and a client or research parti ci pant. In many perf ormance
consul tati on ci rcumstances, however, the "tri adi c nat ure" of the setti ng
and the s i tuati on i nvol ves a del i cate bal ance that necessitates spelling
out the nature and limits of conf i denti al i ty. Furthermore, as menti oned
in the context of mul t i pl e role rel ati onshi ps, d i f f er en t domai n cul tures
may have markedl y d i f f er en t atti tudes , bel i efs, and practices regardi ng
conf i dent i al i t y than those understood by psychologists ( Whel an et al . ,
2002). For example, a mi l i tary of f i cer may expect a cons ul tant to disclose
any condi ti on that might negati vel y af f ect a soldier' s perf ormance and
thereby put other team members at risk, whereas a conductor might be
appalled if any i nf ormati on about consultation with a member of the
orchestra were disclosed. It is cruci al lor the psychologist to cl ari f y the
exact nat ure of conf i denti al i ty pri or to engagi ng in the consul tati on pro-
cess.
The ethi cal practi ti oner mus t consi der compl exi ti es of power di f f er -
ential, payment, and, especially, conf i denti al i ty. Et hi cal practice i n such
ci rcumstances i nvol ves expl i ci t d ef i n i t i o n of the nat ure, expectati ons, and
boundari es of the consul ti ng rel ati onshi p, as stated i n St andard 3. 1 l ( a ) ,
Psychological Services Del i vered to or Through Organi zati ons:
3.11 ( a) Psychologists del i veri ng services to or through
organi zati ons provi de i nf ormat i on bef orehand to cl i ents and
273
2 7 4 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
when appropri at e those di rectl y af f ec t ed by the services about
( 1) t he n a t u r e and objectives of t he services, ( 2) t he i nt ended
reci pi ents, ( 3 ) whi ch of the i n d i v i d u a l s are clients, ( 4) the
rel at i ons hi p the psychol ogi st wi l l have wi th each person and
the organi z at i on, and ( 5) l i mi t s of c onf i dent i al i t y. A s soon as
f ea s i bl e, t hey provi de i n f o r ma t i o n a b o u t t he res ul t s and
c onc l us i ons of such servi ces to appropri at e persons.
ADVERTISING
The i ssue of advert i s i ng i s al so rel evant i n a devel opi ng f i el d . St andard
5. Of p er t a i n s to the Avoi dance of False or Deceptive Statements. In par-
t i cul ar, St andard 5. 01 ( b) states:
5.01 ( b) Psychol ogi sts do not make f al s e, decepti ve, or
f r a u d u l e n t s tatements concerni ng ( f ) thei r t r a i n i n g ,
experi ence, or competence; ( 2) t hei r academi c degrees; ( 3 )
t hei r credent i al s ; ( 4) t hei r i n s t i t u t i o n a l or associ ati on
a f f i l i a t i o n s ; ( 5) t hei r services; ( 6) the sci enti f i c or cl i ni cal basis
for, or resul ts or degree of success of, t hei r services; ( 7) t hei r
fees; or ( 8) thei r publ i c at i ons or research f i ndi ngs .
Thi s s t a n d a r d appl i es to al l areas of practice, al t hough i t may be d i f f i -
cul t to det ermi ne compl i ance i n a f i el d where speci fi c s t a nda r ds have yet
to be es t abl i s hed. From a l egal perspecti ve, psychol ogi sts cannot be ac-
cused of mi s l ea di ng others i f they a c t u a l l y provi de the services t hey cl ai m
to provi de and i f t hei r experti se i s credi bl e.
Dr. Fr a n k l i n Fiske ( b u s i n es s ) expressed concern about t he f l a s hy ex-
ecut i ve coach or the mo t i v a t i o n a l speaker who promi ses a qui ck f i x :
Compani es b r i n g these peopl e i n as moti vators , they t el l great
stori es, t hey ' r e en t er t a i n i n g , t hey get people psyched up, t hey ' l l
be in the room going, "Yes, let' s go, let' s go." The probl em is the
next day the part i ci pant s wake up and then it' s bus i nes s as
us ual because they di dn' t give t hem any tools. You can' t expect
change i n a t wo - ho u r workshop.
APPLICABILITY
Some prac t i t i oners have suggested t ha t because t hei r practi ce i s, f or ex-
ampl e, execut i ve coachi ng r a t her t ha n psychotherapy, the Ethi cs Code
does not appl y to them or t hei r act i vi t i es . In f act , the Ethi cs Code i s ex-
pl i ci t i n di s t i ngui s hi ng not onl y between psychologists' roles but also be-
tween psychol ogi sts' publ i c and pri vat e selves. The second paragraph of
the Et hi c s Code ( APA, 2002) states:
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
This Ethics Code applies only to psychologists' activities that are
part of their scientific, educational, or professional roles as
psychologists. Areas covered include but are not limited to the
clinical, counseling, and school practice of psychology;
research; teaching; supervision of trainees; public service; policy
development; social intervention; development of assessment
instruments; conducting assessments; educational counseling;
organizational consulting; forensic activities; program design
and evaluation; and administration. This Ethics Code applies to
these activities across a variety of contexts, such as in person,
postal, telephone, Internet, and other electronic transmissions.
These activities shall be distinguished f rom the purel y private
conduct of psychologists, which is not within the purview of
the Ethics Code.
By vi rtue of being licensed and members of APA, psychologists are
subject in all of their professional actions to the Ethics Code, even if, in a
parti cul ar role, they are not referri ng to themselves as psychologists. This
does not mean that psychologists must refer to themselves as psycholo-
gists. They can describe themselves, for example, as performance con-
sultants. The Ethics Code, nonetheless, applies to them and thei r activi-
ties. As there is variability among insurance companies, consultants should
careful l y review their practice l i abi l i ty policies with regard to coverage
for their coaching and consulting practices.
Putting It All Together
275
To f ul l y explore training, competence, and ethics in this chapter, we have
partitioned these di fferent aspects of performance consulting into sepa-
rate components. Al though this yields a clearer understandi ng of the
di f f erent parts, it is in f act the gestalt, the totality, that creates the trai ned,
competent, ethical practitioner.
To end thi s section, we share vignettes of specific work done by three
of our consultants. Each brings his own background and trai ni ng to work
with diverse populations. Each i l l ustrates the diverse ways in which prac-
titioners are moving f rom their al ready established areas of expertise into
new arenas of performance consulting.
Dr. Gates exempl i fi ed a sports sciences professor whose expertise as a
sport psychology consul tant led to work in hi gh-ri sk sports. In his "day
job," Dr. Norris provided therapy in a university counseling center. He
also consulted with rock bands. The trai ni ng staff of a few organizations
with high-risk professionals pursued Dr. Jarrett, trained in psychology
2 7 6 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
with a subsequent career in sport psychology consulting, to apply those
ski l l s to thei r domai n.
With a doctoral degree in sports sciences and training in counseling
techni ques, Dr. Gordon Gates has extensive experience in both research
and practice. Uni versi ty- based, he has consulted with elite athl eti c teams,
i ndi vi dual s , and organi zati ons for nearl y 20 years. About seven years
ago, he began worki ng with aut o raci ng dri vers and pit crews. His prag-
matic, nonpretenti ous style and recognition of his l i mi tati ons have been
central to his success. He provi ded the following example of the i nterpl ay
of these el ements f rom his consul tati on with a NASCAR team whose
dri ver had d i f f i c u l t y perf ormi ng af t er hi s wi f e l ef t him:
We went to di nner one ni ght and we ki nd of tal ked about it. I
said I am not a cl i ni ci an, blah, blah, bl ah. At one point he went
off to the restroom. He came out with wet handsthere were
no towel sand he di dn' t know what to do. And he ended up
f i na l l y gi vi ng up and j us t wiped them on hi s jeans. And I made
a comment to them l i ke, "Oh, we can dress him up, but we
can' t take hi m anywhere. " He l ater told the other guys that the
reason I got hi red was because I treated him l i ke j us t a normal
guy and he f el t pret t y comf ortabl e wi th that.
I worked real l y hard wi th hi m, and I thi nk I was ef f ecti ve.
We practi ced t hought stopping. We did af f i rmat i ons . Centeri ng.
And I was pretty scared because at t hat poi nt I hadn' t worked
in auto racing. I j us t had these visions of him hitting the wall.
But I was pretty smart wi th it. I tal ked to him about it and for
i nstance when we did thought stoppi ng, I would tell him the
techni que, but then I woul d ask him "Coul d you do t hat in the
car?" And then we tal ked about i t and then he tri ed i t, j us t
t aki ng it for a few laps. Then he tri ed it in a time tri al . Then he
tri ed it in a race.
We did a pilot testi ng protocol for almost all of the s t uf f we
did in the car. We did most of the s t uf f that you do with a
normal at hl et e who was havi ng t as k- i nt erf eri ng thoughts.
I di dn' t have any i l l us i ons t hat we were solving the
problem. We were doi ng triage, Band-Aidsbut he owned the
team and he coul dn' t qui t, or 50 people woul d have been out
of work. We had to hel p him get his head right in the car.
He was able to get in the car and not ki l l anybody. I got him
past the i mpasse of deal i ng with his wi f e. There is no doubt in
my mi nd t ha t I hel ped him there. But I coul dn' t help him on
the bigger i ssue. I ended up getti ng him back in counseling
wi th a marri age and f a mi l y therapi st.
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
Dr. Nick Norri s obtai ned a doctorate in counsel or educati on 30 years
ago. Professi onal l y, he is based in a uni ver s i t y counsel i ng center, but over
the years he has been i nvol ved in outreach to the musi c department of
his uni versi ty. Through his i nvol vement in presentati ons at musi c con-
ferences, he has also become known to a network of musi ci ans:
If you get beyond the i n d i v i d u a l perf ormer, whether it's a f l ute
section or any mus i cal group, you' ve got to take a look at "How
do we gel mus i cal l y?" and t hen "How do we gel professionally,
f rom a busi ness perspecti ve?" because those two go hand- i n-
hand if you' re goi ng to be successful out in the real musi cal
world. I t ake ki nd of a goal -setti ng, probl em-sol vi ng,
communi cati on approach. And then as I work with a group
along those l i nes, I start to see all thi s other s t u f f . I ndi vi dual ,
personal, mental heal th probl ems of a wide variety. I n d i v i d u a l
personal perf ormance problems, stage f ri ght , and so on.
One of my better consul ti ng jobs has been wi th a Grammy-
wi nni ng group. That' s j us t somethi ng that' s evolved over time.
It real l y has always been focused on hel pi ng them as a band, as
a f unc t i oni ng musi cal perf ormi ng group, l earn how to i dent i f y
goals, and how to do problem solving, and how to be a commun-
ity, on an organi zati onal -busi ness, as well as creati ve, level.
I haven' t worked with them as a group now probabl y for a
year. But there' s i ntermi ttent contact. Just last night I probably
spent 20 mi nut es on the phone wi th one of their major players,
hel pi ng hi m, coachi ng hi m. It's l i ke a corporate coaching
concept: coaching him as to "okay you' ve got thi s
communi cat i on probl em, how i n the hel l are you going to
solve it?" We brai ns tormed, and he came up wi th a way to
approach the rest of the group. But I also recognized t hat he
was really in a depressive ki nd of crisis. And knowing his long-
term hi story and s t u f f , I was abl e not only to help him
personally but also to help him f i g u r e out how to take thi s
perf ormance i ssue, busi ness- rel ated, back to the group where
he was j us t stopped solid.
What I f i nd really sati sf yi ng is seeing them take what I've
coached them on and put it into practice wi t hout me. So it
mi ght be about communi cat i on, whi ch gets all the way down
to paraphrasi ng and "I" statements and no assumpti on making.
Or goal setti ng. Or problem solving, in whi ch you coach them
on the process, and they put t hat i nto acti on in thei r rehearsals
or busi ness meetings or perf ormances. And to know that
they' re also becoming i ncreasi ngl y more sensitive about the
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2 7 8 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
i n t er p er s o n a l s t u f f t ha t goes wi th bei ng a mus i cal group, where
they can be sensi ti ve to each other, not j us t as musi ci ans, as
band- mat es , as bus i nes s partners, but also as people.
Shortl y a f t er obt ai ni ng hi s doctorate i n counsel i ng psychology 1 5 years
ago, Dr. John Ja r r et t became one of the f i r s t of the current wave of psy-
chol ogi st prac t i t i oners hi red f or a p er ma n en t posi ti on worki ng wi th el i t e
at hl et es . Approached by a d mi n i s t r a t o r s i n hi g h- r i s k prof essi ons to adapt
some of his sport psychol ogy work to t hei r areas, he has now developed
experti se i n worki ng wi t h ai rl i ne pi l ots, SWAT teams, and nuc l ear en-
ergy workers:
I' ve been f oc us i ng on getti ng nuc l ear energy techni ci ans and
engi neers ready for an exam t ha t i s pretty ri gorous i n terms of
the qu a n t i t y of the ma t er i a l t hat t hey s t udy and the qu a l i t y of
t hei r knowl edge. They' ve been a dopt i ng a d i f f er en t perspecti ve
where certai nl y the content i s s t i l l of p a r a mo u n t i mportance,
but al so a l ot of a t t ent i on i s pai d to t r a i n i n g t hem for the exam
process.
They have t r a i n i n g f aci l i t at es at these pl aces t ha t are j u s t
unbel i evabl e. They coul d s i mul a t e the control room; t hey had
complete mock re- creati ons of the room t hat the nuc l ea r
engi neers si t i n when they are moni t or i ng the pl ant. I t goes
ri ght down to the same i ndi cat ors and vi s ual f eedback
mechani sms and al l t he di al s and knobs and but t ons , t hey' re al l
there. In t erms of s i mu l a t i o n , it' s even better t han what we
woul d u s u a l l y have avai l abl e even f or el i te at hl et es . We d i d n ' t
have to rel y nearl y as muc h on i magery work; we could j u s t
wal k i nto these re- creat i ons .
What was real l y i nt eres t i ng to me was t hey have these
f a nt a s t i c resources f or concent rat i ng upon the emoti onal ,
cogni ti ve preparat i on of the i n d i v i d u a l s , but t hey di dn' t use i t
f or t hat . They used i t f or two purposes: They gave them as
compl i cated scenari os as they coul d to chal l enge them al l the
ti me, to keep t es t i ng t hei r knowl edge. Also, there was supposed
to be a general u n d er s t a n d i n g t ha t "Let' s make i t as s t r es s f ul as
we can; the more stress we put t hem under, the better t hey wi l l
be prepared for the exam. " But wi t ho u t the connecti on of: Let's
give t hem coping ski l l s as well, so t hat wi th the hi gh level of
stress we' re p u t t i n g t hem under, we' re also teachi ng t hem how
to handl e i t.
A l ot of my work has real l y i nvol ved c ha n g i n g t hei r
t r a i n i n g program. It's someti mes not as i mmedi at el y g r a t i f y i n g
as the sport psychology work, because you have to know the
s i t u a t i o n i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n f a i r l y wel l bef ore you can s t art
A Good Fit: Training, Competence, and Ethical Practice
being effecti ve. But the work I' ve done over the years with the
nucl ear energy i ndustry is somethi ng that I've f el t really good
about. I certai nl y know they' ve been extremel y pleased with
the results.
Recommendations
to Consultants
279
Based on the comments of our expert consul tants, our expert performers
( as described in earlier chapters), and our own experience, we would
make the fol l owi ng speci fi c observati ons and recommendations with re-
gard to trai ni ng, competence, and ethics in perf ormance psychology:
I Successful performance consul tants i dent i f y the fol l owi ng elements
as central to becoming competent in the f i el d: f ormal academic
training, structured postdegree trai ni ng, performance experience,
i nf ormal trai ni ng ( e.g., reading, being mentored, peer consulta-
tion or vol unteeri ng i n the perf ormance domai n), and f ormati ve
l i fe experiences.
i Unti l the advent of specific graduate programs in performance psy-
chology, it is unl i kel y that any current graduate trai ni ng will pro-
vide the breadth of knowl edge requi red for competent practice.
Individuals shoul d assess their areas of competency and seek supple-
mental trai ni ng to remedy any defi ci ts.
I Performance experience, whether in the relevant domain or trans-
f erred from a di f f er ent domai n, i s hel p f u l .
I Knowledge of the rel evant domai n, whether t hrough experience
or learning, is essential.
I At present, no f ormal standards exist for assessing competence in
performance consulting. I nf ormal s t andards by which others weigh
competency and credi bi l i ty i ncl ude one's f ormal academi c and
postdegree trai ni ng, direct observati on of one's work and interac-
tions wi th others, the outcome of one's consul ti ng ef f orts, the ex-
perience and personal characteristics that one bri ngs to the con-
sul ti ng context, and prof essi onal af f i l i at i on with an organi zati on
that mai nt ai ns a code of ethics for practice. It is especially impor-
tant to recognize the l i mi ts of one's abilities and not to practice
beyond one's area of competence.
i Documentati on of trai ni ng and the means by which one estab-
lishes competency are i mportant, not only to ensure qual i ty of
service, but also for effecti ve risk management. Substanti ated train-
i ng and knowl edge can set the context for recogni zi ng the
consul tant' s competence.
2 8 0 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
Un t i l s peci f i c g u i d el i n es f or per f or ma nc e c ons ul t i ng a r e es t abl i s hed,
t he reasonabl e steps and rel evant educ at i on r equi r ed are d ef i n ed
by the " pr eva i l i ng prof es s i onal j u d g men t of ps ychol ogi s t s engaged
i n s i mi l a r a c t i v i t i es i n s i mi l a r c i rc ums t anc es " ( APA, 2002, p. 106 1) .
I n t hi s regard, the experi ence and educ at i on of other p er f o r ma n c e
c o n s u l t a n t s , not mer el y one' s g en er a l i s t peers, wo u l d f o r m t he rel -
evant ref erence g r o u p .
I nt eract i on between p er f o r ma n c e c o n s u l t a n t s and c l i ent s may oc-
cur i n a v a r i et y of setti ngs o t her t han an of f i c e. Pr a c t i t i oner s are
advi sed to be p a r t i c u l a r l y a t t u n e d to i ssues of c o n f i d en t i a l i t y and
mu l t i p l e rol e r el a t i ons hi ps . I n consi deri ng a change of v en u e, s h i f t
i n f ocus , or any v a r i a t i o n of i n t er a c t i o n s t hat may al t er t he rel a-
t i ons hi p wi t h t he c l i ent , one mu s t ens ure t ha t t he change n ei t her
( a ) i mp a i r s or d i mi n i s hes one' s prof es s i onal f u n c t i o n i n g nor ( b)
possi bl y expl oi t s or harms t he c l i ent .
Engagi ng s i mu l t a n eo u s l y i n ps ychot herapy and perf ormanc e con-
s ul t at i on wi th an i n d i v i d u a l i s not unet hi c a l as l ong as the above
condi ti ons are met. Nonethel ess, practi ti oners s houl d be a dvi s ed
that such acti on may put t hem at greater ri sk for a c ompl a i nt by a
di s cont ent ed c l i en t . The a mo u n t of ri sk i s di r ec t l y rel at ed to the
emot i onal v u l n er a b i l i t y of the cl i ent.
Perf ormance c ons ul t ant s s houl d prepare wri t t en ex p l a n a t i o n s of
practi ces, fees, and pol i ci es to c l i ent s as a ma t t er of i n f o r med con-
sent.
When c o n s u l t a t i o n i nvol ves t hi r d parti es , such as a r ef er r i n g ma n -
ager or s upervi s or, t he g u i d el i n es f or c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y s houl d be ex-
p l i c i t l y d ef i n ed and c l a r i f i ed wi t h al l part i es pri or t o c ommenc i ng
servi ces.
As practi ti oners vi e l or busi ness i n thi s new and s t i l l evol vi ng area,
special a t t en t i o n i s r equ i r ed to ac c urat el y represent one' s s k i l l s ,
abi l i t i es , and experi ence.
Whet her t hey provi de c ons ul t at i on, coaching, or t herapy, psychol o-
gists are subject to al l aspects of the APA Ethi cs Code, i n al l aspects
of t hei r prof es s i onal work.
T h e C o n s u lt a n t
a s P e r f o r m e r
It is not what you know t hat is import ant ; it is what people do wit h what
you know.
Old gr andf at her saying
hroughout the process of interviewing part icipant s and t hen writing this
book, we have reflected on the ideaboth metaphor and act ualit yt hat
the consult ant is a performer in his or her own right. As we came to
underst and the experiences of bot h performers and consult ant s, we were
increasingly aware that the informat ion which focused on those we des-
ignated as performers was equally applicable to those who t ake on the
role of performance consultant. In this f i nal chapter, we at t empt to syn-
thesize and reflect on some of the primary observations t hat have been
gathered t hrough the course of our work.
Successful performance consult ing poses a special challenge. As an
evolving field, it requires t hree levels of knowledge (Terenzini, 1993):
foundat ional or basic knowledge; specific knowledge of the performance
domain; and cont ext ual intelligence.
These levels of knowledge to some degree move from general to spe-
cific competencies. Among t he f oundat i onal skills, we have ident ified
five essential areas of knowledge t hat consult ant s learn t hrough formal
coursework and t raining: relat ionship skills, change skills, knowledge of
performance excellence, knowledge of the physiological aspects of per-
formance, and knowledge of syst ems consult at i on. Domai n- speci f i c
knowledge must be built on this f oundat i onal knowledge. One also must
have "contextual intelligence" to underst and the systemic principles and
interactions within a specific consult at ion sit uat ion.
Knowledge and skills in these t hree core areas are not sufficient , how-
ever; consultants must also have a number of the performance skills and
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2 8 2 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
competencies t hat we have discussed in the preceding chapters: They must
be able to present themselves effect ively and efficient ly to apply the knowl-
edge that t hey have. They must be excellent performers themselves.
Foundational Skills
The five f oundat i onal skills described below are gained t hrough gr aduat e
t r ai ni ng or supplement ar y lear ni ng. Lear ni ng can occur t hr ough f or mal
classroom lectures, readings, or on-line resources. Some of the skills should
be act ively pract iced under supervision in order for t he consult ant t o
become compet ent .
BASIC RELATIONSHIP OR COUNSELING SKILLS
Relat ionship skills are essent ial to develop rapport . It is import ant to be
able to list en and convey empat hy and support . Research has indicat ed
t hat the qualit y of counselor-client relat ionship is the best single predic-
tor of out come in counseling and t her apy (Whist on & Sexton, 1993). We
conclude t hat these skills are critical t o effect ive consult ing as well.
One of the most succinct descript ions of t his issue t hat we heard was
from Dr. Jarret t . He reflect ed on si t uat i ons in which he had been called
in, following unsuccessf ul work by anot her consult ant :
Sometimes I get caught in sit uat ions where anot her
psychologist has alr eady been in t her e and f ai led. A common
t hread of why t hey failed of t en seems to be t hat they di dn' t
establish a human relat ionship wit h people. They were aloof or
noncommunicat ive or unresponsive to the needs of the people
whom t hey were wor ki ng wit h. I've usually heard, "Oh, such a
smart person; he really knew his st uf f , but we just couldn't
work wit h him."
A successful consult ant must be able t o i dent i f y bot h t he st rengt hs
and t he nat ure of di f f i cult i es t he client want s t o address. In some si t ua-
t ions, t his assessment may require f or mal evaluat ion, i ncludi ng t he use
of a bat t ery of inst rument s. For others, observat ion and i nt er vi ew pro-
vide adequat e informat ion for t horough assessment. In all cases, t his evalu-
at i on should be rapid, t horough, and ef f i ci ent . Depending on t he par-
t i cular area of performance, it will be crit ically import ant to di f f er ent i at e
between di f f i cul t i es caused by basic limit at ions (e.g., anat omy or abi l i t y)
and those relat ed t o ment al or emot ional fact ors.
Basic counseling skills are a cornerstone of consult ing. Three skills
are especially import ant : being able to successfully est ablish a positive,
The Consultant as Performer
t rust ing relat ionship; being able to accurat ely assess a given sit uat ion;
and being able t o design i nt er vent i ons t o help bring about change.
SKILLS FACILITATING CHANGE
The combination of basic counseling skills and accurat e assessment pro-
vides a f oundat i on for designing and implement ing int ervent ions. Con-
sult at ion is premised on t he assumpt i on t hat an i ndi vi dual or group in-
t ends to ef f ect change in order to improve. Under st andi ng the processes
of change (Prochaska, Norcross, & DiClement e, 1994) provides the con-
sult ant a f r amewor k for assist ing ot hers. Alt hough it is not impossible for
a performance consult ant to t hi nk in psychodynamic terms or use a non-
direct ive style, feedback f r om successful consult ant s and performers alike
suggests t hat direct ive, solut i on- or i ent ed models fit more readily with
the needs of per f or mance consult at ion. Training in cognit ive approaches
is especially helpf ul, as is a grounding in the principles of positive psy-
chology.
KNOWLEDGE OF PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE
Our interviews suggest t hat the knowledge base of li t er at ur e, research,
and principles of applied per f or mance enhancement int ervent ions wit h
athletes is widely applicable to nonat hlet ic areas of performance. Alt hough
sports analogies may not be appropriat e in every domain and venue, t he
core concepts and the ext ensive and syst emat ic research in applied sport
psychology are simply too valuable to ignore. Hist orically, t his knowl-
edge base has not been part of the t r ai ni ng of psychologists. Psychology
has focused more on the diagnosis and t r eat ment of psychopat hology.
This deficit focus provides both a mar kedly di f f er ent i nf or mat i on base
and perspective f r om t hat of at t endi ng t o and nur t ur i ng excellence.
Knowledge of per f or mance enhancement has evolved pr i mar i ly in
depart ment s of kinesiology, physical educat i on, and sport and exercise
sciences. Rat her t han at t empt ing t o "re-invent t he wheel," or worse, in-
appropriately apply pat hology-based concepts, consult ant s are advised
t o do t heir homework and become f ami l i ar wit h t he available li t er at ur e.
Not to do so is at best naiveand more likely, inappropriately arrogant.
KNOWLEDGE OF PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
OF PERFORMANCE
Psychology as well as t he ot her counseli ng professions typically mai n-
t ains t he Cart esian mind-body dichot omy. Knowledge of relevant as-
pects of the physiology of performance is a critical skill for consult ant s.
Maslow (1968) recognized t he hi er ar chy of needs on which human f unc-
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2 8 4 W H A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
t i oni ng rest s. As we have described here, nei t her a surgeon nor a t alk
show host can per f or m opt i mally wi t hout s uf f i c i ent sleep; issues such as
t he gr i p on one's vi oli n or t he possi bi li t y of correct " t ur n- out " in ballet
are rooted in our anat omy. A compet ent per f or mance consult ant should
have a basi c wor ki ng knowledge of physi ology ger mane t o t he per f or -
mance set t i ng and seek addi t i onal c ons ul t at i on as needed.
KNOWLEDGE OF SYSTEMS CONSULTATION
Per f or mer s do not act in i solat i on. I t is t he i n d i v i d u al in t he cont ext of his
or her p ar t i c ul ar per f or manc e mi li eu t hat is of relevance t o t he consult a-
t ion i nt er act i on. Cons ul t ant s may gai n a gener al under s t andi ng of t he
i nt er act i on bet ween t he i n d i v i d u al and t he syst em t hr ough knowledge
of f ami l y syst ems, or t hr ough t heories and pract ices of c ons ul t at i on or
coaching.
Recent ly, per sonali t y t heor i st s have begun t o address t hi s complex
area as well. I n par t i cul ar , Mischel and Shoda ( 1 9 9 5 ) developed a f r ame-
work, t he c ogni t i ve- af f ec t i ve per sonali t y syst em ( CAPS ) , t o describe t he
i nt er ac t i ve q ual i t y of person and syst em. They suggested t hat t here are
pr edi ct able element s t o i ndi v i dual s ' percept ions, expect ancies and be-
li ef s, af f ect s, goals and val ues, and sel f - r egul at or y processes. This "i f - t hen"
i nt er ac t i on of Person x S i t uat i on allows for a par t i cul ar "behavioral sig-
nat ur e. " Sport psychologist Ronal d S mi t h ( 20 0 2) has looked at t he CAPS
perspect ive in r elat i on t o t he sport envi r onment . He has consi der ed ap-
pl i c at i ons t hat per t ai n t o sport per f or mance anxiet y, b ur nout , achi eve-
ment goal t heory, and under s t andi ng of t he i ndi v i dual at hlet e. The CAPS
model of f er s anot her f r amewor k f or c ons ul t ant s at t empt i ng t o navi gat e
t he i nt r i caci es of per f or mance set t i ngs.
Domain-Specific Knowledge
Domai n- speci f i c knowledge is acqui r ed in a var i et y of ways: t hr ough one's
own act ive i nvol vement in t he domai n or t hr ough absor pt i on of t he cul -
t ur e by means of f or mal or i n f o r mal l ear ni ng. Knowledge of consul t at i on
ski lls i n speci f i c domai ns varies widely: Consi der able i nf or mat i on exist s
about execut i ve coaching, wher eas i nf or mat i on on consult i ng wi t h mod-
ern dancer s is at best nascent .
Among t he people we i nt er vi ewed, t here was not a consensus as t o
how muc h knowledge of a specific per f or mance domai n is r equi r ed in
or der t o est abli sh cr edi bi li t y. Most per f or mer s, t hough not al l , would want
a consult ant who had act ual l y worked eit her in t heir specific domain or
The Consultant as Performer
a comparable performance domain. On the other hand, some of our con-
sult ant s felt t hat performance was universal and that domain-specific
knowledge was not necessary. Having participated in a part icular perfor-
mance domain may not be required, but three things are critical:
First, an effect ive consult ant must at the very least have an apprecia-
tion for and int erest in the part icular performance domain. A pacifist
attempting to consult with the military, or an individual who finds ballet
a waste of time, will have a short -lived career consulting in those areas.
Second, the consult ant must have respect for performers in the spe-
cific domain. Respect moves beyond appreciation and int erest . It means
acknowledgement of the challenges and difficult ies that the performer
faces on a daily basis. This is a cornerstone of being able to develop empa-
thy with any individual. Respect also encompasses an understanding of
the domain in addit ion to the person.
Third, for success it is critical to be able to speak the language of the
specific domain. Each domain has a history, language, and cult ure. Con-
sulting can be considered an experience in cult ural immersion. The ef-
fective consult ant makes the ef f or t to learn the language and t ake re-
sponsibilit y f or ef f ec t i ve communi cat i on, rat her t han expecting t he
performer to learn the consultant's language.
285
Contextual Intelligence
Successful consultation involves more t han knowledge of technical skills
and techniques. It includes knowledge of the implement at ion of change
wit hin a given system. It requires an underst anding of the context in
which one operatesknowing what works with which persons in what
sit uat ions. It is more t han knowing what to do; it is knowing how to get it
done. Cont ext ual intelligence is both a sensitivity to the uniqueness of
the particular situation and an acquired skill.
Inst it ut ional researchers (Terenzini, 1993) and contemporary intelli-
gence theorists (Davidson & Downing, 2000; Sternberg, 1985, 1997;
Wagner, 2000) have associated cont ext ual intelligence with "practical
know-how t hat rarely is formally described or t aught directly" (Wagner,
1987, p. 383). It is the skill t hat is most closely associated with wisdom
and practical knowledge, and it has been shown to be the best predictor
of success in act ual performance situations (Sternberg, 2000). It reflects
"organizat ional savvy and wisdom" (Terenzini, 1993, p. 6).
Successful consult ant s recognize the importance of knowing both the
formal and informal st ruct ure of an organizationthat is, knowing who
has the power to influence decisions and "the way the system works."
2 8 6 WH A T C O N S U L T A N T S N E E D
Understanding the system is critical for interventions, whether with in-
dividuals, groups, or systems.
An example of the applicat ion of cont ext ual intelligence relat es to
the issue of domain-specific i nf or mat i on. The savvy consult ant t reat s each
domain as uni que and goes t hr ough a process of i nqui r y and l ear ni ng.
Even if lit t le or no new i nf or mat i on is ant i ci pat ed, it is st ill i mpor t ant to
go t hr ough the process, because performers generally believe it is impor-
t ant . Regardless of whet her new i nf or mat i on is gai nedand usually, it
will bethe per f or mer will be more recept ive t o feedback and sugges-
t ions if he or she feels t hat the uni que aspects of the si t uat i on have been
f ully considered and appreciat ed.
Gaining cont ext ual int elligence has oft en been considered a t acit pro-
cess, learned indirect ly t hr ough experience. Systems t heory ( Bat eson,
1972; Brown & McDaniel, 1995; Wynne et al., 1986) of f er s a model for
assessing organizations and developing cont ext ual "maps," t hereby has-
t ening the learning curve. A consult ant is well on the way to developi ng
cont ext ual int elligence if he or she lear ns t he language wi t hi n t he sys-
tem; t he st r uct ur e, processes and pat t erns; t he means of i nf l uenc e wi t hi n
t he system; and basic at t i t udes and values.
You 're On
Merely having knowledge is not necessarily equi valent t o good consult a-
tion. A consult ant must be able to engage the client and deli ver advice in
a f ashi on such t hat t he client want s t o par t i ci pat e in t he process. When a
consult ant ent ers t he arena, he or she is essent ially an unknown q uan-
tity to whom at t ribut es will rapidly be ascribed. The client is likely to
imput e certain charact erist ics on the basis of prior concept ions or exper i -
ence wit h consul t ant s. These assumpt i ons usual l y ar e r e- ev al uat ed
t hr oughout t he i ni t i al cont act . They can easily make or break t he con-
sult.
As superficial as it may seem, one's physical appearance and presen-
t at ion set t he stage for eit her ef f ect i ve or i nef f ect i ve consult at ion. Of t en,
init ial appearance creat es an i nst ant aneous impression r elat ed t o t he
client's assumpt ion of credibilit y. A casually at t i r ed consult ant may bomb
in a business setting. Wearing a conservative three-piece sui t can be equally
disast rous for consult ing in t he creat ive world of r adi o. Dr. Gates's i nf or -
mal, humorous put - down of a stock car racer created the oppor t uni t y for
effect ive, t rust ing consult at ion. A per f or mer f r om anot her set t ing might
feel of f ended and "dissed."
Other consultant characteristics also were considered import ant , at
least in terms of i ni t i al impression. The per f or mer s we i nt er vi ewed uni -
The Consultant as Performer
versally agreed t hat older consult ant s are generally perceived as more
experienced and more credible. Having a "good voice" is important. Atti-
t ude is a crucial factor, as one want s to be alert, attentive and listen with
respect. Being able to "speak" the language and engage in a collaborative
fashionfundament als of good consult at ion methodwere highlighted
by performers. Our interviews indicat ed t hat it is important to present a
pragmat ic at t i t ude t hat dispels the t radit ional image of a psychologist. An
action and solut ion-orient ed at t it ude is a plus; psychodynamic interpre-
tations, solicit ous "mmm-hmms", and nondirective reflection may be of
little benefit or even damaging.
It is import ant to come across as knowledgeable and confident, yet
equally important to admit what one does not know. It is far more ac-
ceptable to confess ignorance than attempt to bl uf f , deceive, or "oversell"
one's knowledge and abilit ies. The client will soon recognize the decep-
tion, at which point all credibility is lost.
Int egrit y is essential for credibility and, hence, effect ive consultation.
This means behaving in a fashion t hat is isomorphic with the principles
and models t hat one proposes. This pointpracticing what one preaches
was recognized and emphasized by consult ant s more often than by per-
formers. If you advocat e applying specific mental skills for peak perfor-
mance, you want to have clear goals and a specific game plan. You will
use imagery to prepare for the consult at ion, practice relaxation tech-
niques to manage your own physical activation, notice and direct your
concent rat ion, and assess and manage your self-t alk. If you advocate
balancing work and personal life, your life should reflect a comparable
equilibrium. Business consult at ion oft en focuses on the style of interac-
t ions t hat t he client has wit h co-workers or subordinat es. Thus, t he
consultant's isomorphic behavior may be especially crucial for business
consult ant s.
Engaging the client is the essence of your performance as a consult-
ant . It is a dance in which all of your knowledge, all of your skills, and
the essence of being int ermingle arid interact within the encounter with
your client. It is the moment when you' re on, consulting for peak perfor-
mance.
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