Organizational consultants should attend to several issues when consulting as change agents for organizations. The client will have explicit ideas about the need for help and implicit expectations and fears about the role of the consultant. The consultant must probe, understand, and often change the client's preconceptions and expectations about consulting. In establishing a consultant-client relationship, the consultant needs to be aware of possible defensive reactions, including denial, immediate action demands, and control attempts. Three primary tasks faced in the preliminary phases of consultation are: (1) establishing a trust relationship; (2) making an assessment of the client system; and (3) sharing a futuristic image of the organization. Ideally, organizational consultants should be trained in settings in which they receive intensive supervised experiences in consultation, multiple opportunities to increase self-awareness and individual growth, and exposure to the diversity of organizational types and phenomena. (Author/NRB)