Achieving The Best Consulting Assignments
Navigating the corridors of consultancy power can be exceedingly complicated
. The prevailing corporate behavior of each organization differs, and you need to fit in yet stand out at the same time. And it is no good behaving like a chairman when you get your first major consulting role."Organizational politics" is the unspoken process whereby some consultants achieve greatness, while others lust unproductively after power. If you are unprepared to graduate in this obscure science, then you can forget the walnut paneling and the Rolls Royce; they will never be your natural environment. You would in all probability be unhappy and insecure if you did achieve such power. Without the qualification or the desire, you would be far more suited to a more modest consulting position where you could use your talents and not worry about the "politics".
Appointing a top consultant or a "core consultant" is a most sensitive decision, yet few organizations consistently operate a thoroughly efficient procedure for "growing" their own senior consultants. The benefit of promoting consultants from within is recognized by behavioral analysts and business schools, but people in power within client organizations may tend to resist internal consultancy appointments which could bring change. Ostensibly there to serve the shareholders' interests, some company directors are primarily concerned with continuing to be company directors. Hence the furious desperation with which some takeover bids, clearly in the shareholders' interest, are opposed. Reluctant to relinquish power, such opponents are unlikely voluntarily to help an advocate of change, especially if they may suffer personally as a result.
As an aspiring senior consultant, therefore, you must present such people with a clear political message. On the one hand, they must see you as a way to keep their power, but on the other they must realize you are no threat to them. In some organizations, there may be a consulting streaming process intended to identify talented consultants and expose them to a breadth of experience appropriate to a career in the upper levels of consulting. Membership of this "elite" gives you no immunity from politics; rather it exposes you to more. For not only will you experience the "acceptability barrier" with each step up the consulting ladder but you will also be competing with others of similar ambition. So you must know the culture of your client's organization and the effect it has on those around you - especially those in positions of power. But do not conclude that successful politics alone will bring you success - top consultants are political but they also deliver.
You should see your route to the top like branches of the consulting tree. You should be aware which directions will lead to a dead end and you should be aware which department or team are climbing up the trunk of your client's organization. Always work with successful teams. Working in departments with problems, may make it easier for you to justify your existence initially, but you will struggle to genuinely achieve anything. Working with successful departments can be more of a challenge initially, but you will have far more chances of success with ultimately much less effort, because you will be adding value.
Make sure that you have a clear vision of how far you should climb and which route you need to take in order to get to where you want to be. Like any journey, this route may change while you are on the move, but you should always be aware of your options. Is all of this effort worth it you may ask? Well a good strategy consultant should be earning at least $1m USD annually if they are operating independently. Strategy consultants operating in a core capacity will earn at least double this amount.
by: Dr. L. Phillips DPC CPC DBA MBA The Need For Tangible Consulting Services Independent Consulting The Academy Of Business Strategy - Reactive Career Management The Academy Of Business Strategy - How Consultancy Can Be Developed As A Product Consultancy Jobs Assignments And Projects - Supply And Demand Associates Of The Academy Of Business Strategy (aabs) Earn While You Learn - The Associate Service Vemma Mlm Business - Your 3 Step Guide To Success With Your Vemma Business Using Public Relations To Market Your Business Startup Affiliate Marketing - Step One Learn To Get Free Targeted Traffic From The Top Search Engines Plow Business Advertising Plow Business Promotion Promoting A Plow Business