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OD Immersives Humble Consulting

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Overview

Video Run Time: 10:45
Facilitation Time: 1hr 19m

The Humble Consulting immersive simulation draws participants into the consulting experience of Ed Schein, one of the foremost pioneers in organizational psychology and consulting, as detailed in his book Humble Consulting. Participants step into Ed’s shoes as he engages with the leadership of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and faces the challenges of fostering more effective communication, collaboration, and decision-making within the company.

The simulation highlights the core tenets of Humble Consulting, which focuses on building Level Two relationships—trust-based, personal relationships between consultant and client—and helping clients address their challenges by asking the right questions and facilitating reflective, co-created solutions. Participants will experience firsthand how to balance inquiry and humility, becoming a true partner in the consulting process rather than a distant expert.

Humble Consulting emphasizes humility, genuine curiosity, and a co-creative partnership with clients. Ed Schein's approach challenges consultants to step back from a position of control and expertise, instead fostering environments where clients can surface and address the root causes of their challenges collaboratively. Participants will learn how to build trust, ask clarifying questions, and foster an open dialogue that leads to meaningful change.

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Humble Consulting refers to fostering a relational process built on genuine curiosity, where the consultant seeks to understand the client’s context by asking open-ended, non-judgmental questions. This approach encourages deep listening and exploration, allowing the client to surface their own challenges and insights. Rather than providing solutions, the consultant creates a safe space for inquiry and reflection, helping the client clarify their thinking and arrive at their own conclusions. This process of humility and inquiry builds trust, empowers the client, and leads to more sustainable and meaningful solutions by tapping into the client’s inherent wisdom and knowledge.

Facilitation

Part 1

In this part, Ed Schein meets with Ken, the CEO of DEC, who seems more focused on personal distractions and off-topic conversation than the company’s organizational challenges. Ken’s lighthearted attitude signals that there may be deeper issues he is reluctant to address, particularly with regard to internal communications and team alignment.

Part 1

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Starter Question: When Ken deflects serious conversation and focuses on personal matters, how do you feel about his approach? Reflect on your natural impulse in this moment—are you tempted to steer the conversation forcefully toward the task, or do you see value in letting the dialogue unfold at its own pace?

Follow-up Questions:

What are your first instincts when a client seems more interested in personal matters than discussing the organizational issues you’re there to address? What does that say about how you define your role as a consultant?
How comfortable are you with not having control over the conversation in this initial meeting? Does a part of you feel uneasy, perhaps wanting to take charge? Why might that be?
In what ways might Ken’s casual, deflecting behavior actually offer you clues about the deeper dynamics at play in the organization? Could what feels like avoidance also be an invitation?

Part 2

In this part, Ed Schein sits in on several meetings as an observer, watching how the leadership team struggles to prioritize their agenda and make decisions. Critical topics are repeatedly pushed to future meetings, and the team lacks structure and clarity in their discussions.

Part 2

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Starter Question:
As you sit quietly, watching the team struggle to make decisions, how does it feel to simply observe rather than jump in and offer guidance? What does that tension between wanting to help and waiting patiently stir up inside you?

Follow-up Questions:

How do you handle situations where you see dysfunction but are unsure of the right moment to intervene? What fears arise when you're asked to sit back and let others struggle?
Why do we often feel compelled to ‘fix’ things right away? Could holding space for discomfort be a more powerful approach than immediate problem-solving?
What assumptions do you hold about your role as a consultant when observing without action? Do you fear being perceived as passive or ineffective, and how does that align with your deeper understanding of helping?

Part 3

The team begins to experience more open conflict, particularly between Pete and Jackie, as tensions rise over marketing priorities and supply chain issues. Ed Schein must navigate this interpersonal conflict with humility and patience, helping the team move from confrontation to collaboration.

Part 3

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Starter Question:
When conflict erupts between Pete and Jackie, what is your initial reaction? Do you feel a pull to mediate, to calm the room, or to offer a solution? What is it like to resist that pull and instead stay present with the tension?

Follow-up Questions:

What does the conflict between Pete and Jackie reveal about your own discomfort with confrontation? How does it challenge your ability to stay neutral and open in moments of heightened emotion?
Why do we often want to resolve conflict quickly? What does it take to see conflict as a necessary and even healthy part of the consulting process?
How does your anxiety about ‘keeping the peace’ influence your approach to these situations? What might happen if you allowed the conflict to play out more fully?

Part 4

Ed Schein helps the team bring structure to their disorganized discussions by encouraging them to clarify their goals and organize their conversations more effectively. The team starts to make progress as they agree on a more structured approach to their meetings.

Part 4

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Starter Question:
When you finally introduce a bit of structure to the chaotic meeting, how does it feel to know that you’re guiding the group without taking over? What internal balance are you striking between giving direction and staying humble?

Follow-up Questions:

What assumptions do you have about structure in consulting? Does the desire to ‘impose order’ come from a need for control, or can it be done with humility and lightness?
How do you navigate the tension between providing direction and letting the group find its own way? How do you know when you’ve struck the right balance?
What does it feel like to witness the group moving toward consensus without needing to be the source of every solution? How does that challenge your assumptions about expertise and authority?

Part 5

In this part of the simulation, the team is finally starting to engage in a more structured and productive conversation. Ideas are being shared openly, and the group is discussing, critiquing, and refining these ideas. The use of a flip chart focuses the discussion and moves the team closer to consensus.

Part 5

Play Video

Starter Question:
As the group begins to share ideas, how do you feel knowing that your role is to guide, not direct? How do you manage the urge to push for faster solutions, knowing that true change often comes through collective discovery?

Follow-up Questions:

What does it mean to you to be in the background as a consultant, facilitating but not leading? How does that challenge your perception of your value?
How do you balance offering insights with letting the group find its own path? What does it feel like when your contribution is more about asking the right questions than offering the right answers?
When the group finally reaches consensus, do you feel a sense of satisfaction, or does part of you wish you had played a more central role? How do you reconcile these feelings with the principles of humble consulting?

Purpose

In this simulation, participants will practice the art of humble inquiry, guiding the leadership team at DEC through discussions on operational challenges, misaligned priorities, and internal conflict. The focus will be on helping the participants (in the role of Ed Schein) recognize the underlying dynamics at play and encourage team members to work together more effectively through mutual understanding.

The purpose of this simulation is to immerse participants in the key principles of Humble Consulting, particularly focusing on the development of Level Two relationships where trust and mutual respect form the foundation of collaborative problem-solving. Participants will explore how to create a safe, open environment that encourages clients to speak candidly about their issues, and how to use inquiry rather than expertise to guide clients toward discovering their own solutions. Participants will:

Understand the significance of Level Two relationships and how building trust is essential for addressing complex challenges within organizations.
Develop the skill of inquiry, where the consultant uses genuine curiosity and thoughtful questions to help clients reflect on their own problems and solutions.
Explore the balance between humility and guidance, learning how to introduce structure while maintaining a posture of listening and co-creation.
Learn to navigate power dynamics within leadership teams and manage interpersonal conflicts with humility and patience.
Apply the principles of Humble Consulting to foster environments of psychological safety where meaningful and sustainable change can occur.

Debrief

Humble Consulting is a relational, process-driven approach that emphasizes creating genuine, trust-based relationships, fostering inquiry over expertise, and allowing space for clients to discover their own solutions. Throughout the simulation, these concepts surface repeatedly as participants experience the tension between knowing and not knowing, leading and facilitating, and acting versus listening.

Building Trust and Personal Rapport:

In Part 1 of the simulation, Ed Schein’s initial meeting with the CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) emphasizes the importance of relationship-building. Instead of diving directly into the problem-solving mode, Schein engages in casual conversation, discussing personal topics like canoe choices and family vacations. This seemingly off-topic dialogue is a key principle in Humble Consulting—understanding that strong working relationships begin with mutual trust and personal connection, not immediate problem analysis.

Observing Before Intervening

One of the most counterintuitive aspects of Humble Consulting is holding back—resisting the urge to jump in with solutions or recommendations. In Part 2, Ed Schein (as played by participants) watches the team repeatedly fail to get through their meeting agenda, observing frustration and inefficiency. However, rather than stepping in to ‘fix’ the issue, Schein remains silent, asking himself what questions can help the team uncover their own problems.

This approach exemplifies process consulting, where the consultant’s role is to guide inquiry, not impose solutions. The art of asking simple, even ‘dumb’ questions helps the group surface their deeper issues, rather than having those issues defined for them by the consultant.

Conflict as a Revealer of Underlying Issues

In Part 3, as conflict erupts between Pete and Jackie, Schein’s role as a consultant is once again to refrain from immediately solving the problem. By allowing the tension to play out, Schein helps reveal the underlying frustration within the team—a core part of the work of Humble Consulting. Through their argument, participants see how Pete and Jackie’s clash over priorities reflects a larger issue of communication breakdowns within the organization.

Instead of quelling the conflict with quick fixes, Humble Consulting teaches that sometimes the best intervention is no intervention at all. Allowing the team to confront their frustrations head-on often reveals deeper insights into what’s truly at play.

Structuring Without Taking Control

In Part 4, Ed Schein introduces some light structure to the chaotic meeting, suggesting the use of a flip chart to help the team organize their thoughts. However, rather than taking control of the conversation, Schein allows the team to retain ownership of the process. His subtle intervention—asking questions and encouraging the group to clarify their thinking—shows how a consultant can help clients think more clearly without dictating the direction of the conversation.

This illustrates one of the key elements of Humble Consulting: facilitation over leadership. Schein doesn’t need to impose his expertise or dominate the room to help the group. Instead, his inquiry-driven approach leads the team toward self-discovery and better decision-making.

Guiding the Group Towards Consensus Without Owning the Outcome

Part 5 of the simulation showcases the team’s growing ability to work together, thanks to Schein’s patient guidance and subtle interventions. The participants, playing Schein, witness how the group starts to share ideas more openly and critically. The team’s eventual movement toward consensus is not because Schein took over, but because he empowered them to find their own way.

This is the essence of Humble Consulting—creating a relational space where clients feel safe to explore, experiment, and ultimately come to their own conclusions. By not asserting expertise, Schein allows the group to develop a sense of ownership over the decisions they make, which leads to deeper, more sustainable change.

Resources

Email Invite

Set expectations for your participants with this email invitation.

Syllabus Snippet

Introduce the theoretical and practical benefits of this experiential learning tool. Copy, paste, and edit the following description into your course syllabus or workshop description.

Key Readings

Give discerning participants the chance to dive deep into the literature with these key readings.

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Certified Facilitators

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Wesley Dorsett

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Kathryn Satoh

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"My favorite thing about OD Immersives is the quality and intentionality of the content combined with the insightful dialogue that unfolds with brilliant people across the globe. My thinking has been sharpened and my knowledge has been expanded all while growing my network of international OD rockstars."

~ Wesley Dorsett

"OD Immersives are like welcoming playgrounds of OD practitioner skills; a rare and fabulous find in the professional world. Unpacking complex situations somehow becomes shockingly effortless and enjoyable."

~ Kathryn Satoh

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