NEWS
- Is Facilitating part of your role?
- Meet the New Boss!
- The McLeod Report on Engagement
- Sheppard Moscow gets Engaged
- Sheppard Moscow sponsor forthcoming Corporate Research Forum workshop
- The Unwritten Rules; what women need to know about getting on in the corporate world.
- Asia Pacific leads the Way
- Encouraging high potential women leaders in a global organisation
- Sharing Practice through Sheppard Moscow’s Open Programmes
- Sheppard Moscow leads Change for CRF in Barcelona
- Leading in Uncertain Times - A Conversation hosted by Sheppard Moscow Asia Pacific
- Helping a global automobile company accelerate change in the current climate
- Business Partnering: Fad or the Future?
- Global Crisis: A Time for Greatness?
- Leading the Emotional Dimensions of Change
- Leadership in Uncertain Times - thoughts from Sheppard Moscow
- Leading in Uncertain Times – building capability through coaching - Dublin, 4th November 2008
- Sheppard Moscow champions research into business-focused learning and development
- Boosting performance through management development within organisation-wide cultural change
- Partnering for Business Transformation - Open Programme
- Advanced Facilitation Skills – for those needing to change the culture of their organisations
- Refreshing Leadership: Edinburgh 15th May 2008
- ‘Flat world’ video conference brings international teamwork to life
- Refreshing Leadership in Edinburgh
- How to Manage in a Flat World - Sheppard Moscow hosts International Video Conference
- A telling way to make changes
- Executive coaching best practice gets even better
- Helping cement relationships in a new management team at a children's home
- Sheppard Moscow and How to Manage in a Flat World
- Cancer Research UK and Future Search
- Discover Authentic Leadership in Scotland
- Leadership in London
- Directors Positive Power and Influence - Encore in Asia
- Henry Mintzberg - Developing Today's Managers For Tomorrow
- Sheppard Moscow helps HR discover 'The Future Opportunity'
- Sheppard Moscow Scotland assists 'Schools for Ambition'
- The Well in Singapore
- Authentic Leadership in Ireland
- Sheppard Moscow helps HR Focus on the Future.
- Leadership
- Director's Positive Power and Influence
- Whom Can We Trust?
- A different view of resistance to change
- Appraisals - what performance difference do they actually make?
- E-mail - tool or torture?
- Getting high performance with a globally dispersed team
- Influencing when not face-to-face
- Issues facing leaders of remote or virtual teams
- Potential pitfalls for internal consultants
- Putting a man on the moon
- Strategies for cross-functional team leaders
Some thoughts on the things that internal consultants face and how to address them.
"It's easy for you - as an external consultant people listen to you". This is a challenge we sometimes get from internal organisational consultants.
In every internal consulting relationship there are circumstances to beware of - some can be triggered by your client's reaction to you, others will be initiated by the position you adopt with them. While not exhaustive, these are some of the most common.
How your client might react to you
Your client has little respect for your department
Perhaps due to poor past relationships, or lack of trust and understanding, internal consultants can sometimes find themselves being treated as being "guilty by association". While each consultant has to form a productive relationship with their client, this can be made more difficult by unproductive relationships they have had with your department or other consultants in the past.
"You don't know how things really are around here"
You can sometimes get this reaction if you are distanced from your client's operation, either by organisational structure, or because you're unfamiliar with their work. This is a time to build trust and rapport by taking time to listen to your client and their situation. Listening doesn't imply that you have to agree with the client's point of view, yet by listening you will understand it better.
Doing some homework yourself to find out about your client's function, current challenges and successes will also be a valuable use of your time.
"You're in an ivory tower - divorced from reality"
This can be the reaction of line managers to consultants from strategy groups (or those form corporate / head office functions). This is another situation when credibility and trust can be threatened. You may need to be aware of the possible tensions between the strategic direction that you are likely to represent, or the corporate demands of your own function that you are tasked with getting implemented and the demands of operational expediency, represented by your client.
"Just get on with it"
You might find that your client is impatient for results. While it is important to keep things moving, the risk of leaping straight to conclusions before having properly understood the situation is that you might be fixing symptoms rather than cause; working at the surface issues while being ignorant of what is really going on. Conclusions without proper analysis will generally provide short-term remedies at best.
"Oh, I thought you were doing that"
Not having a clear "contract" with your client about what's to be done and how, can lead to situations where expectations are out of line. You might have different understandings of the scope of the work and things might fall between the cracks.
How you might respond to your client
Do as I say not as I do
Giving your client advice or instructions which either you or your department are not following yourselves can have the effect of undermining your credibility. If part of your assignment is to introduce new processes or practices, you should be aware of your own department's adherence to them and be ready to describe and explain this. If your department is not following them, you should be ready to let your client know why this is so and what is being done about it.
Making assumptions about how things are
We all make assumptions. It is generally helpful as a consultant to check out any assumptions you have about your client, their work, their department, etc. Basing your relationship and consultancy on assumptions alone can be risky; not only the risk of souring the relationship by misunderstanding the situation, but also the risk of arriving at faulty conclusions and recommendations.
One assumption that consultants can readily make is that since a solution worked satisfactorily in one area, the same one will work here, where the situation is similar. This may indeed be the case, and it's worth checking out. However, each situation has its own unique circumstances; there will be differences in people, personalities, knowledge and skills, work practices, history and experiences. While a previous solution can provide a good guide, it may not be the appropriate answer for this client.
Treating your client as just a source of information
If you already have a strategic outcome in mind, there can be the danger of only asking the client questions that support this outcome, rather than exploring the issues from their point of view. Taking this approach is less likely to get the commitment of the client to adopt your outcome since they may not see how it relates to their situation and needs.
Coming too soon to conclusions and recommendations
In essence this is similar to "just get on with it", except the rush to make changes and implement things emanates from you rather than the client.
Solutions dreamt up in isolation
If the consultant comes up with solutions to the client's issues in isolation from them, they run the risk of these solutions not being accepted, or more likely not adopted. If you want changes to stick once you have moved on to your next assignment, you will increase your chances by working with the client to formulate solutions which work for them (and they feel some ownership of). If you are not able to do that, (perhaps the client is not available), it is vital to have a checking process with them where they can critique and build on your solutions before they are finalised.
Not treating your client as a client
Sometimes as an internal consultant there is a tendency to assume that internal clients "should" be cooperative, are there to implement corporate policy without needing to be influenced, have the same aims as you. There may be a tendency as a consequence to simply expect them to do things and assume a managerial rather than consultative relationship with them.
Unrealistic expectations you may experience from your boss
- To overcome years of antipathy between your function and your client's function - overnight.
Steve Bridge &
Marian Fryer
© sheppardmoscow 2001