Dialogue with the client system: use of the “working note” in organizational consultancy

Reflects how relatively little has been written about the “working note” as a tool of consultants involved in organizational change. Shows how such notes are used to feed back preliminary findings and working hypotheses as a basis for dialogue with and within the client system. Grounds their use in the action research and psychodynamic approach of The Tavistock Institute. Compares the practice with that of the formal report of the “expert” consultant, showing how the working note engages the client more actively in diagnosis and in design of changes, often surfacing underlying resistances which can be worked at ahead of implementation, and also promoting a culture of dialogue more widely within the client system.