If you’re thinking about joining the consulting world….

With all the organizational downsizing many people are thinking about starting a consulting practice. I consulted full time for 12 years traveling around the globe working with amazing people and loved it. The skills that work for consulting are very similar to the ones used for effective leadership, especially if you work involves serving other people.

Peter Block is my favorite teacher and author on the art of consulting.  His book, Flawless Consulting, now in its third edition is the bible of the consulting world.  He describes three main approaches to consulting:

·      Expert Consulting: This one is like a doctor patient relationship.  The consultant assesses the situation and writes a prescription (AKA a report). The consultant may or may not be involved in the implementation of their recommendations.

·      Pair of Hands Consulting: This is when an organization hires someone to do a specific task for a specific time period and then leave. For example, hiring someone to design a website or build an anti-racism program for your organization. 

·      Process Consulting: This approach is based on the belief that the skills and knowledge necessary to address a problem or take advantage of an opportunity exist in the organization. So, the role of the consultant is to help them bring their expertise to conscious awareness, organize it, and activate it effectively in service of their objective.  90% of the consulting I’ve done in my career has been process consulting. It’s exciting to watch people figure out how to do what they hired me to do themselves.

This book is a fun read and applying its principles will improve your results.