| | By Mick James
One of the saddest
things I find about
consultants is that they
rarely get to associate
with other consultants
outside their own
practices, or if they're
independents, any
consultants at all,
except sometimes when
they run into each other
on client projects –
which can be a little
fraught. Personally, I
always enjoy talking
with consultants –
there's nothing like a
bright person with a
butterfly mind and a
head full of ideas to
keep you entertained for
an hour or so. It's also
amazing how often I find
myself seeing a link
between the ideas I've
heard from separate
consultants – yet these
people rarely get to
meet and take things to
the next level. How sad
is that? So what happens
when you do get a bunch
of consultants in a room
together?
Consultancy Skills
Training has been
running open consultancy
courses for some time
now, and its recent
'Summer School' brought
together over 50
consultants from various
backgrounds. I talked to
course organiser Calvert
Markham and some of the
attendees about their | |
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| | again for a long time –
this can make it
fresher, help you
reapply it."
Leggett also
appreciated the chance
to try things out in
front of peers in a
‘risk-free environment’.
"You don't want to
screw up in front of
other consultants, but
at least you're not in a
client environment," he
says. "It gives you the
opportunity to
experiment a bit more."
The opportunity to
watch other consultants
‘at work’, even in role
play can be highly
instructive.
"Many of the cases
that we discussed when
learning about theories
or solutions, were real
life examples that
consultants brought to
the group," says Anita
Prabhu, senior
consultant at Impact
Plus. "We found that the
issues and dilemmas that
we face were relevant
for many others in the
industry. Because of the
number of people
involved, there were
lots of varied
perspectives on how best
to deal with situations
- it was useful to
debate the different
perspectives."
As a member of the
IMC, independent
consultant Avril Lucas | |
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| | has a commitment to
professional development
and also contributes to
networking groups such
as the Richmond Group
and Women in
Consultancy.
"It's good to meet
colleagues in an
informal environment,"
she says. "I was very
aware of people's
different experiences
based on their different
ages and skills. You
don't often get the
chance to mix with
people who work with
different industries and
skill sets – it opens up
questions on how one
does things in one's own
industry and
professional area."
So why don't
consultants do more of
this sort of thing?
"It's a dilemma,"
says Lucas. "You're
giving up fee earning
time to do something
developmental."
This, of course,
creates a vicious circle
– consultants are
reluctant to give up
their time, and any
space marked out in the
diary is always
vulnerable to urgent
client requests. Setting
up open courses for
consultants is thus a
big commercial risk, and
this in turn limits the
opportunities.
Nevertheless, CST has | |
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| | been encouraged enough
by the response to the
Summer School to repeat
the exercise in January.
Markham is convinced
that the simple act of
getting consultants
together in a room is of
value, even before you
add the course content.
"Consultancy can be
very lonely," he says.
"If you're off on a
project by yourself very
few people see you at
work."
It's quite easy for
consultants to get stuck
in a rut as a result.
Markham insists that
the schools are not a
‘silent retreat’ -
something that's
practically impossible
to organise with
consultants anyway.
"Consultants are
stimulus junkies and we
need to recognise that,"
he says. "What are the
results - new ways of
looking at things, ideas
you wouldn't have had."
But as the poet said:
"What is this life if
full of care, we have no
time to stop and stare?"
I'm all in favour of a
bit of reflection now
and then, and as for
consultants sharing
ideas - who knows where
that might lead?
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| | experience.
"It isn't a one way
flow," says Markham.
"People get a lot from
each other. For example,
we have a fairly big
client which elects to
send people on public
courses because it likes
the networking aspect,
the notion of getting
ideas from other
practices."
While the School is
aimed at experienced
consultants, the actual
level of experience
among attendees varies
from one to 20 years.
"The variety can make
it difficult for the
course organisers, but I
don't mind sometimes
going over stuff I'm
familiar with," says
Graham Leggett,
principal consultant at
Troika. "The dynamics in
the group are always
different. As a strategy
and change consultant
you can often use a
technique and then not
get a chance to use it | |
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