When researching for my thesis on the self-directed learning of farming couples I came across an article by Alan Rogers, called Adult Education and Agricultural Extension: Some Comparisons (International Journal of Lifelong Education, 1993, vol. 12, no 3, pages 165-176). Rogers notes that both have similar traditions and practices. Both use professional people to advise clients (adult learners, farmers and other rural people) in the development of personal, business and community behaviour. In reviewing adult education and agricultural extension, Rogers discusses the evolving communication patterns between consultants and clients both fields are experiencing almost simultaneously. The emphasis of consulting is no longer on information transfer, but helping clients address their own learning needs. Our understanding of what is appropriate behaviour for consultants to meet these needs is shifting.
The original approach for passing information from the researcher to the farmer through the consultant is known as Technology Transfer. Generally, it was the only technique used up to the 1960s. At a broader level, technology transfer is simply the passing of facts, figures and methods from research to the market place. A classic example is a field day where ideas are presented by experts to a gathering that behaves much like a class at school. It is a directive approach where the consultant's role is to simply to pass the information on to the client. The result is a linear flow of information between researchers and farmers through consultants.
An underlying theme of this approach is that only the experts know best;
their training and documents prove it. Clients remain unaware of the
appropriate options for their businesses or lifestyles and therefore they
must be swayed to adopt new and improved ways. However, in agriculture
problems emerged with this directive approach. Often farmers did not
want the information from these presentations because it didn’t always address
their current individual learning needs. These motivational issues
changed farm consulting from a top-down to a bottom-up model. Consultants
began analysing farmers' situations. They then went away for the solutions
and solved their client's problems. What developed from these circumstances was a new communication model, Meeting Clients’ Needs. Consultants became responsive by allowing clients to set the agenda. Consultants began watching what farmers did, listening to their concerns, examining their situations, and diagnosing their problems. Information became personalised to specific businesses and properties instead of industries within agriculture. This responsive approach lead to personalised consulting and is arguably the backbone of most consulting services today. Examples of this model would include discussion groups and management clubs where the group discusses members’ problems, with the consultant introducing additional information when requested. It results in a cyclic communication pattern with the consultant as the middle person.
Meeting Clients’ Needs shifted the focus of consulting from intervention
and attitudinal change to helping farmers do better what they already do.
Through facilitation, clients are assisted in what they want to learn.
Communicating this way recognises learning occurs by doing and reacting.
However, only information can be transferred from one person to another,
knowledge cannot. People themselves generate knowledge.
Furthermore, there are similarities to Technology Transfer. As seen in the model, answers come from the researchers and consultants, not the farmers themselves. Although a responsive rather than a directive approach, it also assumes clients cannot solve their own problems. They only learn and make decisions with the advice of a consultant. This can lead farmers to develop a dependency on their consultants, either unwilling or unable to make decisions without professional advice. Cynically, this may be termed the "con" in consulting where uncertainty and rapid change perpetuates a professional service. The consultant and their advice becomes the overriding factor in farm decision-making. Although the farmer may make a decision, the degree of ownership of that decision will not be theirs 100%.
When faced with these dependencies, research explored further the everyday circumstances of farmers and the activities they engage in. Again consultants require a different attitude. They must recognise that farmers make complex and important decisions nearly every day. This change in perception moved consulting from focusing on transfer of information to actively generating knowledge through understanding how adults learn and grow. As Rogers states, learning is not understanding what others know but questioning, thinking and testing solutions until they are part of our lives.
Independent learning approaches are the new frontier for consultants. These approaches emphasise the developmental perspective where the consultant is seen as one of many resources available to the farmer. The purpose is to help farmers become self-reliant with their decision-making, problem solving and learning in their own situation. Therefore, the emphasis is no longer on effective communication from the consultant to the farmer but on mutual listening, learning and change through genuine and meaningful dialogue. Holistic Management epitomises this model. The decision-making framework that underlies it alters the relationship between farmer and consultant. Through using this framework farmers identify their own needs. The consultant becomes one of a number of sources for opinions, examples and ideas. The resulting communication pattern is completely different from the other models.
The communication pattern between the consultant and the farmer differs
as the emphasis is on farmers developing processes and habits for themselves.
These activities create an awareness of the resources available to farmers
within their own circumstances and the opportunities that could be pursued.
As a result, the consultant doesn't need to be present to solve a farmer's
problems. Farmers using the framework understand what they need and
why they need it. They then direct their attention to appropriate information
sources. All three models have a role in modern consulting. However, the evolution of these communication models represents a shift in the process of helping people do what they do better. Where the first two models are directive and responsive (experts providing information), the last model is developmental (assisting people to create their own knowledge and actions). Directive and responsive consulting supplies facts and recipes to be copied whereas developmental approaches use processes that allow people the flexibility to take greater control and create direction themselves. Developmental approaches improve the client’s self-direction, self-determination and self-discovery. As a result, clients take greater responsibility for their decisions and actions rather than passing those responsibilities on to consultants and experts whom they later blame for any failure.
All three models are used in the promoting and training of Holistic Management too but the emphasis of Holistic Management is to develop and empower individuals and groups. This occurs in two ways: through the nature of Holistic Management; and the role of the Holistic Management® Certified Educator.
The nature of Holistic Management is about how to think rather than what to think. In using the framework clients confront themselves about how they conduct their business and lifestyle rather than have the consultant question it for them. Clients learn to structure their decision-making. The Holistic Management® decision-making framework provides a systematic way for people to plan and progress towards futures they themselves describe. Yet within these workings lies incredible flexibility to cope with the fluid circumstances of modern living.
The self-direction of the client is generated through the holistic goal. Because the holistic goal is values based, it assists clients in understanding why they take the actions they do and the resources they need to sustain their actions. The Testing Guidelines and the Feedback Loop are two processes within the framework that organise thoughts, learning, analysis and actions. At the same time they encourage lateral thinking, challenge traditions and conventional ways, and explore the social, financial and environmental impacts of decisions. These processes develop the logic and reasons people themselves need to justify and initiate actions toward a future they describe for themselves. The overriding theme throughout Holistic Management is to ensure flexibility for people to get to their future in a direct and appropriate manner while taking into account their present situation.
During training clients learn to make all necessary decisions and develop their own expertise at practicing Holistic Management. As their expertise develops, so their circumstances will change as well as their vision. They develop an understanding of the lifelong learning associated with Holistic Management, reducing the need for the certified educator to maintain its use. The certified educator becomes a process consultant by assisting them in tweaking their decision-making skills and abilities.
By developing the client’s skill, the Certified Educator allows clients to create their own circumstances. The Certified Educator’s task is to guide them in identifying the entity they manage and to discover their own solutions through supplying the necessary technical and material support. From a developmental perspective, the Certified Educator's role is one of facilitation, encouragement and stimulation. By drawing on clients’ attributes, abilities, interest and concerns about their own situation, Certified Educators inspire people to work together, to share values, beliefs and experiences, and to work toward lives of greater meaningfulness. Collaboration with others is essential for Holistic Management to work. This is why people are encouraged to attend training with those they live or work with so they can develop a rapport with Holistic Management together.
Professional consulting is evolving as we learn more about adult growth and development. The three communication models illustrate this evolution. Directive and responsive approaches are used widely but through the developmental approach of Holistic Management there are opportunities for farmers and others to gain more independence in their decision-making. Holistic Management confronts the “con” in consulting by challenging farmers' dependency on consultants. As farmers improve their decision-making abilities they develop ownership of their decisions and a greater sense of control. This independence is the reason why many are learning to manage holistically.
Note: John King lives in Nelson. Trained and experienced in adult and rural development, he is establishing a business to help conventional farmers convert to Holistic Management®. John acknowledges the suggestions made by Roger Wilkinson (formerly Landcare Research, now Centre for Land Protection, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia) and Jody Butterfield (Savory Centre for Holistic Management, Alburquerque, New Mexico, USA).