--- title: What is the significance? description: When we listen architecturally, we listen with the client and can understand the significance of the larger problem. image: https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hubfs/Cover%20Photo%20WA%20(1).png --- ![www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI Logo (New)DGI Logo - Landscape-1](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/social-suggested-images/www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png?width=200&height=93&name=www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png) ![www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI Logo (New)DGI Logo - Landscape-1](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/social-suggested-images/www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png?width=200&height=93&name=www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png) ![www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI Logo (New)DGI Logo - Landscape-1](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/social-suggested-images/www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png?width=200&height=93&name=www.designgroupinternational.comhs-fshubfs_DGI%20Logo%20(New)DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape-1.png) - [ABOUT US ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - What is Process Consulting? - [MEET US ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Areas of Specialty - Meet Our Process Consultants - Meet our Partners and Senior Consultants - Meet our Consultants - [Maestro-level leaders](https://www.maestrosuiteadvisors.com/) - [Society for Process Consulting](https://www.maestrosuiteadvisors.com/) - [Culture Change Leadership](https://www.acausegreater.org/) - [BE A CONSULTANT ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Explore Process Consulting - Community of Practice - Shared Platform - [BE CREDENTIALED](https://linktr.ee/MaestroSuiteAdvisors) - [RESOURCES ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Blog Library - Books - Podcasts - Cohorts - Case Studies - [ABOUT US ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - What is Process Consulting? - [MEET US ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Areas of Specialty - Meet Our Process Consultants - Meet our Partners and Senior Consultants - Meet our Consultants - [Maestro-level leaders](https://www.maestrosuiteadvisors.com/) - [Society for Process Consulting](https://www.maestrosuiteadvisors.com/) - [Culture Change Leadership](https://www.acausegreater.org/) - [BE A CONSULTANT ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Explore Process Consulting - Community of Practice - Shared Platform - [BE CREDENTIALED](https://linktr.ee/MaestroSuiteAdvisors) - [RESOURCES ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/javascript;) - Blog Library - Books - Podcasts - Cohorts - Case Studies Get Started # What is the significance? ![Shannon Weston](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/0602f4403ccbf5204784191684c3e5f6) by [Shannon Weston](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/author/shannon-weston) March 01, 2023 ### Listening: Architectually I can still hear Dr. Ong’s booming voice echoing in the small, dark classroom of the School of Music at the University of Louisville. “What is the significance of the C SHARP?!?” he asks again.  I was sitting in Music Theory III, and we are discussing [Beethoven’s Symphony no. 3 in E flat major "Eroica](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTbesxdLwo8)."  I looked down at my book, a portion of the score to the symphony printed in it, and looked back at Dr. Ong. I had no idea. “It was a mistake?” I guessed. “No!” he exclaimed. It was not unusual for Dr. Ong to ask questions that no one in the room had answers to, and he was the type of teacher who would just wait until someone answered correctly. Usually, we got out of it because I had a secret weapon. I had my sister’s textbook. My older sister, by exactly 18 months, had the pleasure of having Dr. Ong the year before and took amazing notes in the class—most of them in the very book that now sat on my desk. So when this would happen after an appropriate amount of silence, I would jump in with the answer and save the class or pass along the answer to one of my friends so Dr. Ong didn’t catch on.  This time, I look down again at the score—nothing about the C-sharp, how could there be nothing??  So we just had to sit there in silence until one of us figured it out. I learned to listen, to deeply listen, when I became a musician. More than any other command yelled at me in band, choir, or orchestra over the years, “LISTEN!” was number one on the list.  We listened for our pitch and if it matched others. We listened for our own voice or instrument. Were we blending with the others when appropriate and finding our way to the forefront when appropriate? We listened for who had the melody, for the harmony, and for the rhythm. All the while having one eye on the music and one on the conductor.  When something wasn’t quite right, it was usually a result of us not listening. How’s that for a life lesson? The third core competency of Process Consulting is Listening Architecturally. This builds from the first two ways of listening, where we listen to the client and for the client. When we listen architecturally, we listen with the client. ![DGI - Core Competencies_Listening Architecturally](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DGI%20-%20Core%20Competencies_Listening%20Architecturally.png?width=390&height=390&name=DGI%20-%20Core%20Competencies_Listening%20Architecturally.png) Here are a few highlights of the competency: - Encompasses all the Process Consulting questions of who, what, when, where, and how. - Shifts from right brain to left brain thinking - Identifies underlying issues - Gives context to which underlying issues will be addressed  - Shows the readiness to engage and fosters alignment within the client organization - Leads to Action steps and accountability All of that from listening *with*. I’m sure you can see why I think of a symphony when I think about this competency. Or why this kind of listening is referred to as “architectural." This is the scaffolding on which the work will be done. These are the melodies, harmonies, and rhythms upon which the music will be built. Every piece, every note, is essential.  In the 7th measure of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, he places a c-sharp, and Dr. Ong wanted to know its significance. Now let me tell you Beethoven is everything you think he is and more. He was an absolute genius, but to a music student in her second year of college, I’m telling you, there is no reason, none whatsoever, for that c-sharp to be there. None. It makes no musical sense; the first listeners probably thought it was a mistake.  Except, Beethoven didn’t see it as a mistake, and so it happens again. And again. C-sharps all over the place. My class all stared at our scores in silence until finally, Dr. Ong, disappointed in all of us, explained. The c-sharp that looks like a mistake was a clue. It was, in fact, the cornerstone of the whole symphony. It added depth and texture. It creates a feeling in the listener that something was unresolved, that there is more here, and keeps you listening with more depth. Finally, in the end, we all realize that the thing that felt wrong: out of place, a mistake, and turns it into the key to resolving the whole thing. It’s genius.  How many times have you heard someone in a meeting that thought: - That person just isn’t “getting it.”  - “That came out of nowhere!” - “What are they talking about?” - “Can’t we just move on? This is so uncomfortable.” When these thoughts occur, what would it look like for you and your team to lean into the uncomfortable feeling and *listen with* each other without judgment but with genuine curiosity, like a member of an orchestra? Possibly asking some variation of: - What is the significance of this to the larger problem?  - What does this say about the way they think? - What’s going on with the energy this comment creates? - How might this information be helpful to us as we move forward? When we listen architecturally, we are really going to start getting somewhere, and sometimes, that brings what we can perceive as trouble.  Organizational change is hard, and anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you something. It might get painful, or people may start acting out because disrupting the status quo is, at best, a little unnerving and, at worst, going to expose incompetence.  Yet, we should not shy away from the difficulty; we should listen for it repeatedly, seek to understand its significance, and not let it deter us from the forward movement because it just might be the key to resolving the whole thing.  If you’d like to know more about using listening to move you forward in your work, please feel free to e-mail me at [shannonw@designgroupintl.com](mailto:shannonw@designgroupintl.com) or you are welcome to [schedule a time to talk](https://meetings.hubspot.com/shannon-weston). You don’t have to do this alone.  Keep up the good work; you’re doing great,  ![shannon signature](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/shannon%20signature.png?width=232&height=58&name=shannon%20signature.png) [![Shannon Weston](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Shannon%20Weston.png?width=86&height=86&name=Shannon%20Weston.png)](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/about-shannon-weston)Shannon Weston *Design Group International* *Senior Consultant *   To Dig Deeper: Read: [Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant](https://bookshop.org/p/books/think-again-the-power-of-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-adam-grant/15174400?ean=9781984878106) Listen to: [Brene Brown’s interview with Harvard Professor Dr. Sarah Lewis on Dare to Lead Podcast](https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-dr-sarah-lewis-on-the-rise-the-creative-process-and-the-difference-between-mastery-and-success/) Watch: The West Wing: Season 3 Episode 15, “Hartsfield Landing,” watch this scene: [See the Whole Board.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMUFP3x-cno&t=50s)   The core competencies of process consulting have been developed and are taught by the [Society for Process Consulting](https://www.societyforprocessconsulting.com/). If you are interested in receiving your credential in process consulting please visit our website.     ###### Tags: [process consulting, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/process-consulting) [listening, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/listening) [helping, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/helping) [learning, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/learning) [accountability, ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/accountability) [Walking Alongside Blog](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/tag/walking-alongside-blog) ![Shannon Weston](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/0602f4403ccbf5204784191684c3e5f6) Post by [Shannon Weston](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/listening-helping-learning/author/shannon-weston) March 1, 2023 Shannon Weston is a Leadership Coach and Trainer with over 20 years of leading organizational change. Since 2017 she has seen the power of coaching transform leaders' lives. She is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation and a Certified Process Consultant. She has been a Lead Trainer with CAST since 2021. [Follow me on my website](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/about-shannon-weston) [Follow me on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/UnburdenedInc) [Follow me on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonmpweston/) ### Comments ![Copy of Listening Helping Learning Blog Logo](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Copy%20of%20Listening%20Helping%20Learning%20Blog%20Logo.png?width=2000&height=1714&name=Copy%20of%20Listening%20Helping%20Learning%20Blog%20Logo.png) ### Subscribe Now! #### Listening, Helping, Learning... At Design Group International, our core values in process consulting are listening, helping, and learning. We use these competencies as we work alongside our clients to co-design solutions that support leaders and their organizations. Through our process consulting communities' writings, they will share insights on what they hear, how they help, and what they learn. [![Design Group International](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/hs-fs/hubfs/_DGI%20Logo%20(New)/DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape%20w_%20Tagline_White.png?width=325&height=153&name=DGI%20Logo%20-%20Landscape%20w_%20Tagline_White.png) ](https://www.designgroupinternational.com/) - ABOUT US - MEET US - BE A CONSULTANT - [BE CREDENTIALED](https://linktr.ee/MaestroSuiteAdvisors) - RESOURCES © 2022 Design Group International. All rights reserved. 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