Helping : How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help

by SCHEIN, EDGAR H.

• ISBN13: 9781605098562
• ISBN10: 1605098566
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-02-07
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Summary

"With the emphasis on teamwork in contemporary society, Schein's model has the potential to improve the collaborative process. A theoretical book based on Schein's extensive teaching and consulting, this is a useful, important resource. Summing up: essential; four stars." --M. Bonner, University of Maryland University College (Choice)Helping is a fundamental human relationship. From a mother feeding her infant to a friend or spouse helping to make something happen, to a group member playing his or her role to help the group to succeed, to a therapist helping a patient, to an organizational consultant or coach helping to improve individual, group or organizational functioning, helping is the basic relationship that moves things forward. Yet, paradoxically, we know relatively little about the social and psychological dynamics of that relationship. In this seminal book on the topic, corporate culture and organizational development guru Ed Schein analyzes the dynamics of helping relationships, explains why help is often not helpful, and shows what any would-be-helper must do to insure that help is actually provided. Many different words are used for helping -- assisting, aiding, advising, coaching, consulting, counseling, guiding, mentoring, supporting, teaching, and many more -- but they all have common dynamics and processes. Schein exposes and shows how to resolve the inequities and role ambiguities of helping relationships, describes the different roles that helpers can take once the relationship is balanced, and explains how to build a balanced relationship and how to intervene as that relationship develops. In this short but profound book Schein examines the social dynamics that are at play in helping relationships in order to better understand why offers of help are sometimes refused or resented, and how to make help more useful and effective.

Author Biography

Edgar H. Schein is currently a Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus and continues at the Sloan School part time as a Senior Lecturer. He is also the Founding Editor of "Reflections" the Journal of the Society for Organizational Learning devoted to connecting academics, consultants, and practitioners around the issues of knowledge creation, dissemination and utilization. He has made a notable mark on the field of organizational development in many areas, including career development, group process consultation, and organizational culture. Schein has been a prolific researcher, writer, teacher and consultant. Besides his numerous articles in professional journals he has authored fourteen books including Organizational Culture and Leadership (over 153,000 sold) and The Corporate Survival Handbook (over 34,000 sold). He is generally credited with inventing the term corporate culture

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xv
What Is Help?	p. 1
Economics and Theater: The Essence of Relationships	p. 11
The Inequalities and Ambiguities of the Helping Relationship	p. 30
Helping as Theater: Three Kinds of Helping Roles	p. 48
Humble Inquiry: The Key to Building and Maintaining the Helping Relationship	p. 66
Applying the Inquiry Process	p. 85
Teamwork as Perpetual Reciprocal Helping	p. 106
Helping Leaders and Organizational Clients	p. 128
Principles and Tips	p. 144
References	p. 159
Index	p. 161
About the Author	p. 167
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