Achieved Strategies

I’m not a big fan of Dilbert. Sure it’s witty. But I think its snarky storyline does nothing but reinforce the disillusionment of employees. I’ll stop here the commentary for risk of making a big deal out of nothing.

Despite my dislike for the cartoon, one zinger of a storyline resonates with me. I don’t recall the exact storyline, but it involved consultants. And the consultant was called “consultick.” It lingers in my mind as a reminder of how not to partner with clients in the manner characterized by Adams.

So here’s the deal.  I believe that as management consultants we have a responsibility like a doctor has for his patients.  We work to identify the problem, prescribe treatment, and partner during the treatment with the intention that we’re not needed in the future.   And in some cases, follow-up treatments are required, but that is on a case-by-case basis.

Over the years, I’ve developed a list of responsibilities that are at the heart of my work as a consultant. I share them here as a reminder to all my fellow consultants: It is not our work to burrow under the “skin” of our clients and suck them dry to make a profit; It is our work to facilitate people to be impossibly good at their jobs.  It’s a difference of intent and integrity.

Here are three highlights from my list of responsibilities:

I am responsible for helping to resolve what my work surfaces.  It doesn’t matter if we’re coaching a person, facilitating a meeting, leading a training class, or structuring some type of organizational change, some people will struggle to accept or adapt to what they are presented.  If I am aware of the struggle or suspect a struggle, I cannot look away and dismiss it.  I need to address what my work surfaced directly with the person and most likely his or her immediate manager.  It may be outside of my scope of work, but at the very least I must make the struggle be known.  Turning away is ordinary.  And consultants should not do ordinary work.

I don’t own the client’s vision.  It’s not uncommon to work with an executive or a project sponsor and not have a vision people can relate to. We’ll work with the executive or sponsor to articulate a relatable vision or we align our solutions and approach to help the vision become a reality if one exists.  An awkward relationship develops, though, when we are positioned to make decisions against the vision.  This is what I mean by owning the vision.  As consultants, it’s our role to understand the business issue or need, develop appropriate recommendations, present the pros/cons and tradeoffs to the executive.  He or she must have all available information to help him or her make an informed decision.  In the end, it’s the executive or sponsor who decides the best course of action against the desired vision.

People don’t need to be “fixed.” People need to be heard, understood.  When we give them the opportunity to see/hear how the present themselves at work, that’s when shifts in behavior can begin.  Fixing someone assumes the person is broken or is wrong.  I’ve learned over the years that if I interact with people believing they need to be fixed, my approach triggers their defenses and we go nowhere fast.  Relating to them as a human being who needs to be heard, they are more open to hearing me.  This helps them see what’s blocking them from making changes and improving their performance.  An important underlying principle to this belief is that people do want to make a difference, want to be a contribution.

Not all are responsibilities but beliefs.  And each could be a blog post.  I’d like to hear what you’d add to the three items listed.  What additional responsibilities would you add?