consulting skills
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Consulting Skills. Kecia Stevenson Rome September 26, 2007. Teaching Objectives. To provide class with an overview of key consulting skills, the basic model of the consulting process, and exposure to the following: Ethical issues in consulting Career opportunities in consulting. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Consulting Skills
Kecia Stevenson Rome
September 26, 2007
Teaching Objectives
To provide class with an overview of key consulting skills, the basic model of the consulting process, and exposure to the following:
• Ethical issues in consulting
• Career opportunities in consulting
What is a Consultant?
Someone who provides his or her unique expertise to an organization or to someone else.
Internal Consultant
A professional who is employed full-time by an organization and who reports to a general manager or other senior management. He/she works exclusively within the domain of the employing organization and at the request of the manager to whom he/she reports.
External Consultant
A professional who does not work within a parent.host company. A professional who has an expertise in a specific area and offers his/her services to the public and/or private sector.
Consultant’s Objectives
To establish a collaborative relationship
To solve problems so they stay solved
To ensure attention is given to both the technical/business problem and the relationships
Key Consulting Skills Technical
– Time management– Team work– Software application
Interpersonal– Open minded– Support– Respect
Consulting– Listening– Building Trust– Balancing Directness
Practical Applications
Bain & Company seek applicants who possess:
– Big picture thinking– Problem solving logic– Focus on value– Depth and breadth- business intuition– Results orientation
Consulting Process
Entry & Contracting
Discover & Data Collection
Feedback & Decision to Act
Engagement & Implementation
Recycle, Extension, & Terminate
Entry & Contracting
Negotiating Coping with mixed
motivation Exposure and
control Contracting
– Triangular
– Rectangular
Discovery & Data Collection
Layers of analysis Political climate Resistance to share
information Interview as a joint
learning event
Feedback & TheDecision To Act
Funneling data Presenting data Managing the
feedback meeting Focus on here and
now Don’t take it
personally
Block’s 10 Step Feedback
Restate original contract
Structure of meeting
Present findings Present
recommendations Ask for client’s
reaction
Ask client did they get what they wanted
Decision to proceed Test for client
concerns-control/ commitment
Did consultant get what they wanted?
Give support
Engagement & Implementation
Bet on engagement over mandate and persuasion
Design more participation then presentation
Encourage difficult public exchange
Change the conversation
Recycle, Extension, Termination
Evaluate what happened in “Engagement and Implementation”
Decide on next step– Recycle– Extension – Termination
APIE Change Model
Assess the need for change
Plan the change
Implement the change
Evaluate the change process and results
Consultant Roles
Expert
Service
Collaborative
Expert Role
Class: Describe what behaviors are exhibited by the client and the consultant?
Client: Inactive participation
Consultant: Determines need, gathers data, make decisions, plans and implements change
Service Role
Class: Describe what behaviors are exhibited by the client and the consultant?
Client: Determines need, gathers data, make decisions, plans and implements change
Consultant: Inactive participation
Collaborative Role
Class: Describe what behaviors are exhibited by the client and the consultant?
Client and Consultant: Actively participate to determine needs, gather data, make decisions, plan and implement change
Consulting Styles
Stabilizer
Cheerleader
Analyzer
Persuader
Pathfinder
Ethical Issues
Boundaries of competence
Conflicts between ethics and company demands
Explaining assessment results
References Bain & Company (www.bain.com) Block, Peter. (2000) Flawless Consulting: A guide to getting
your expertise used (2nd Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Pfeiffer.
Harvey, D. & Brown, D.R. (2006) An experimental approach to organization development (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Nelson, B. & Economy, P. (1997) Consulting for dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Books.
Schein, Edgar H. (1988) Process Consultation, vol.1: It’s role in organization development . Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.
Q & A