Self As Instrument

Self As Instrument (SAi) is the title of a skill set that the organization change profession commonly refers to. Skillful practitioners use these to organize a multitude of dynamics that can enhance change processes. The skill set is based on systems theory that asserts that the productive use of the self has the capacity to effectively influence the larger system.

It is an especially important skill set for change practitioners to possess because they guide the client and the group through the unavoidable turbulence that organization change creates. Skillful use of the self can improve change processes in the design, implementation and sustaining processes of organization change. The specific skills that make up this concept, SAi, are vast. It includes both intra-personal and inter-personal skills as well as cognitive and affective skills.

What skills you believe are essential for SAi? Feel free to share.