Introduction
Virginia Satir is famous for the development of a management strategy model. According to Wretman (2015), the Satir change process model is essential because it impacts lives. The management framework stressed the significance of change based on individual case scenarios. The Satir change process model incorporates the aspects of thinking, feelings, physiology, and performance to analyze the transition from one stage to another.
Satir System
As a 5-change model, Satir’s change process toolkit solves organizational and individual problems. The management strategy model defines the performance effects from stage 1 to phase 5. The first component of the model is the late status quo; the stage represents the reception of bad news by affected parties. The second phase of the Satir system is resistance. Thirdly, Chaos is a vital force in the process change toolkit, after which integration and new status quo persist.
Key Concepts of Satir System
Satir Change Process Model (SCPM) encourages leaders to make changes; According to Wretman (2015), the objective of SCPM is to improve the mentality of firms or individuals regarding the change. Transformation is one key element of the model, meaning SCPM concentrates on enhancing the possibilities of change through a proper change management strategy.
Visual Mapping of Stripe’s Transformation
Individuals adopting SCPM in solving problems must undergo the five stages to attain change effectively. The possibilities of improving individual performance originate from understanding the five stages of SCPM. The late status quo is where people receive bad news regarding their curet position to a particular challenge. Secondly, the resistance stage exposes people to return to their previous positions in the initial step. However, the force of resisting change creates a dilemma. Thirdly, the lack of stability in the resistance stage of SCPM leads people to chaos. Integration arises. Finally, the new status quo completes the SCPM because individuals begin to make necessary changes at this stage.
Late Status Quo
Satir’s change process model addresses the negative issues caused by change. Stripe is one such character whose life experiences were mapped on the model. The first stage of the Satir change model explains the bad news about transformation in character. First, the late status quo of the Satir change model prevails through his choice to acknowledge his current problem. The trait accepted that he loved eating; much of his time depended on the feeding of tree leaves. Once the caterpillar was hatched, it grew, feeding much on leaves than thinking more about growth (Paulus, 1972). The change occurred when the character challenged himself to take a journey to the neighborhoods. He stopped being contented with food only.
Resistance
After setting the journey, Stripe met a pile of caterpillars who were busy climbing. Unlike other butterflies, the pile of caterpillars concentrated on what they were doing. Eating was not part of their schedule. According to Paulus (1972), Stripe joined the group to challenge himself. The character desired to transform his life into a more responsible individual. The second stage of the Satir change model involves a few elements of resistance. The protagonist of the story wished to return to the previous status quo; at one point, he opted to resist change. Stripe convinced himself he would return home and continue eating tree leaves because the rest of the caterpillars refused to show him how to climb. The caterpillar responded at last, but he said he knew nothing about climbing and how to reach the top as other people did. Thanks to Yellow, a new face in the pile of caterpillars.
Chaos
Chaos is the third stage of the Satir change process model. Paulus (1972) adopted the concept of SCPM to explore the protagonist’s characters. Stripe faced several battles after running away from home to seek transformation. The journey to change was not as easy as he presumed. First, all other caterpillars were busy climbing when the character questioned the reasons behind the journey and how to reach the top. Unfortunately, nobody replied to him; he did not give up. Stripe continuously visited the site with the hope of meeting new friends who could guide him in climbing. However, realizing the dream became hard based on the silence of the pile of caterpillars. Before he gave up, Stripe met Yellow, who replied. Although yellow talked to Stripe, he did not know about the journey. The chaos in the story developed when the two characters joined hands in research on transformation. At this point, the lack of status quo highlights the possibilities of chaos, a third phase change initiator in SCPM.
Integration
Integration is the fourth stage used by Satir’s change Process model to explain the impacts of change in an individual’s life. Similarly, the narration about the hope for the flower incorporated a few aspects of the SCPM to highlight transformation and the efforts needed in change-making. Integration maps the traits of Stripe in achieving change. Although the process of bonding with other caterpillars was complicated, he decided to accept his fate. Stripe looked for Yellow, who encouraged him never to quit the race until they achieved the objective. Integration help individuals understand their strengths and weaknesses. It is visually vivid that Stripe had lost hope in life until he met Yellow.
New Status Quo
Stripe depicted interesting characteristics throughout Paulus’s Story. The New status quo can be addressed through his choice to listen to the pieces of advice issued to him by the grey-haired caterpillar. After accepting fate and having difficulties meeting his lost friend Yellow, Stripe was advised to die first to achieve the desired change. Yellow decided to be part of the pile of caterpillars to learn and get to the top through climbing; however, Stripe fled back home to continue eating while yellow remained to struggle with other busy individuals. The grey-haired caterpillar convinced Stripe to transform into a butterfly to return to the pile of caterpillars and find Yellow.
Hope for the Flowers
Hope for the flowers was first published in 1972. Trina Paulus wrote the book, which talks about the philosophy of idealism associated with the counterculture of an ancient period. Hope is driven in the story through the characters of Stripe. The character’s life evolved from hatching an egg, and Paulus (1972) exposes her audience to hop through the transformation from eating leaves to leading a valuable and impactful life.
Stripe’s Life Experiences
Stripe transformed from an egg to a better and fully developed Caterpillar. Stripe’s life experiences connects to the concept of Satir change process model. He transformed from an egg to a fully grown caterpillar who could find food alone.
Stripe’s transformational Journey
The late status quo in the stair change process model began with the ominous message of getting life through an egg. The stair change process model began with the bad message of getting life through an egg. An egg is a delicate object that can break anytime if not correctly handled. The resistance stage of the SCPM was evident when Stripe realized that life was better than eating alone.
Aspects of Helping Relationship
The relations between consultants and clients during consultations are essential for the prolonged existence of consulting companies. In order to formulate a good relationship from the start that will last ages, a consultant has to be real, compassionate, wise, trusting, and accepting of the client’s situation at the moment.
Compassion
In a client-consultant relationship, curiosity is not enough to help one’s client. However, the best thing that a consultant can do is to understand the issue and have compassion for their client who goes through the problem on a daily basis. According to Paulus (1972), compassion was observed when Stripe and Yellow hugged each other before going to bed to show that they understood each other’s struggles in life. The same applies to a client-consultant relationship, in which a client needs a tap in the back and an understanding consultant who will fit in their problems and show them that they matter and they care a lot about their wellbeing. Compassion as a form of helping relationship is portrayed in many ways in the book of “Hope for the Flowers.” Stripe and Yellow hugged each other just before bedtime after finishing their day-to-day activities. Secondly, the bond created between the two friends allowed them to enjoy each other’s company. Through the joy experienced from being together, Stripe and yellow were able to comfort each other away from the crowd’s crushing that they went through on a daily basis, which reminded them that they still had each other.
Wisdom
While reading the story of “Hope for the Flowers”, it is clear that as living beings develop, wisdom tends to transform them into its own image and similarity. For instance, Stripe’s wisdom knocked in when he immediately realized that there is more to life than just food alone, which failed to add in any value. Wisdom relates to “helping” when in the consultation business. For instance, the only thing that one desires, is to have their clients coming back to them for ages to come. The only best way of achieving this, is through being wise when responding to a client’s crisis formed during the interaction phase (Paulus, 1972). By being wise not to offend or to trigger the client’s emotions, wisdom helps a consultant gain a prolonged favor with their clients. Upon meeting up with the Yellow Caterpillar, although both of them wanted to be part of the other crawler’s movement to the top, wisdom made them realize that they wanted more in life than just being part of a crowd that did not know their destination. Lastly, The two friends could fly and be part of a bigger operation in life despite Stripe not being around for them to transform together.
Trust
In any given interaction, trust is needed for both parties to move forward. A consultant has to be willing to include three social practices, just like Paulus (1972), did when formulating the trust relationship between Yellow and Stripe. The three practices include; demonstration of a likability, clarification procedures, and signaling capacity that help in inaugurating an operative relationship. To thrive in life, one must be able to trust in themselves and make the bold step. Stripe was so used to eating that he had nothing else to do, the moment his instincts started to question his life choices, he trusted them without a doubt that he was destined for something bigger. Besides, Yellow’s trust in the grey-haired caterpillar helped him in becoming a beautiful butterfly that could spread out love in the entire world. Stripe’s trust in his instincts although he enjoyed Yellow’s company as a friend, helped him to go back to the entire pile of caterpillars and turn into a butterfly after reaching at the top.
Acceptance
Although Stripe and Yellow had grown fond of each other deeply, when Stripe decided to return to the pile, Yellow accepted to let him go without any objections. Consultants must display integrity when handling a client by placing their best interests ahead. The acceptance that everyone had a different desire enabled them all to follow their destiny and arrive to their destinations. A client whose interests are considered and catered to without leaving any outside, feels accepted always. Stripe’s acceptance of suffering in order to achieve a higher calling helped him in becoming a beautiful butterfly despite the obstacles they went through. According to Paulus (1972), Stripe’s acceptance of suffering allowed him to arrive at his destiny despite the hardships along the way. The same acceptance applies when dealing with a client, a client that feels involved and accepted in the whole procedure, will for sure help in the success of the consultation procedure. Yellow the notion that life had to be transformed for him to achieve what he was meant to become.
Realness
Realness refers to the state of saying things as they actually occur. Despite Yellow and Stripe’s relationship, according to (Paulus, 1972), Stripe had to be real with himself and choose a different path that did not include the two of them. The manner in which a consultant places together all the consultation procedures influences the association between a client and their conceivable imminent employment. Although Yellow and Stripe Loved each other, their relationships were destroyed with realness. Stripe allowed Yellow to remain behind as he did not enjoy the struggle at the pile.
A good consultation process is one that remains true to the core just like Stripe and Yellow’s relationship when dealing with critical life issues (Paulus, 1972). By being real, both parties are able to contribute to the accomplishment of a consulting venture. The grey-hared caterpillar was real with Yellow upon their first encounter, which helped Yellow to see life from a different angle.
Lessons Learned from Client-Consultant Relationships
A strong client-consultant relationship exists when a consultant demonstrates depth of experience. I learned that listening to clients’ individual needs helps consultants develop multiple skills and experiences. First, a robust client-consultant relationship works for consultants with a depth of experience in communication skills. To effectively hold a meeting with a client Ashurst (2020) illustrated that consultants must have the courage and expertise in interactions. Insights into various problems characterize the associations between clients and consultants. Therefore, an effective and strong relationship needs the experience of problem-solving skills and flexibility of such professionals to handle organizational challenges.
The bonding between clients and consultants prevail in businesses based on value and trust among partners. Strong client-consultant relationships enhance trust among partners with common business goals. Ashurst (2020) stressed the benefits of faith in developing adequate working spaces. According to the report, the bonding between clients and consultants creates alternatives to trust-oriented issues. A productive consultant must show character to what is correct over problems that are easier to achieve. Moreover, claiming accountability for all financial, managerial, and technical issues within workspaces can promote trust between consultants and clients. A consultant must take responsibility for all the decisions made during consultancy. Consultants must also accept every assignment completed and actions taken during such events. Clients assume the rights of customers; they are ever right. Clients feel prioritized if consultants listen to every single contribution listed by such people. I have learned that a strong client-consultant relationship boosts the self-esteem of clients to trust consultants.
Effective working relationships develop in businesses with the creation of strong client-consultant relationships. The success of every organization leans on the choices of such entities in creating effective working relationships. Schein (2011) indirectly addressed the issue of organizational performance through the lenses of “helping.” In the research, it was evident that the bonding between clients and consultants projects the failures or success of any firm. I learned that a solid client-consultant relationship aids adequate working spaces because the active framework promotes open communications among the partners. Secondly, good working relationships between clients and consultants occur with the desire of every party to participate in organizational exercise programs.
The relationships between clients and consultants help firms to create better working environments. The mentor-mentee relationship describes junior and senior employees’ interpersonal and professional bonding. Ashurst (2020) suggested that mentors work differently; they do not assume the roles and responsibilities of coaches. However, mentors offer productive and realistic guides to their mentees. In addition, client-consultant solid relationships promote the development of team-member bonding. According to Ashurst (2020), teams aid healthy competitions within corporations; therefore, training members to understand a team’s cultures requires the qualities of effective client-consultant relationships. The difference between a servant leader and a dictator originates from the knowledge of co-worker relationships built by client-consultant bonding. Clients and consultants can become lifetime friends based on their associations within business contexts. Initial poor bonding impacts such relationships negatively.
References
Ashurst, A. (2020). Developing effective working relationships with external healthcare services. Nursing and Residential Care, 22(6), 1-3. Web.
Paulus, T. (1972). Hope for the flower Paulist Press.
Schein, E. H. (2011). Helping: How to offer, give, and receive help. Berrett-Koehler Pub.
Wretman, C. J. (2015). Saving Satir: Contemporary perspectives on the change process model. Social Work, 61(1), 61-68. Web.