Consulting Goals

Establish a Collaborative RelationshipPromises maximum use of people’s resources

Spreads the responsibility for success or failure

Do it! Don’t just talk it!

Solve Problems So They Stay SolvedCan act in a way to get problem solved and not learn anything about cause

Alternative is to find out cause and deal with it

Consultant may be doing the job of the manager – be careful!

Consulting Goals (cont.)

Ensure Attention Is Given to Both the Technical/Business Problem and the Relationship

Technical/business problem

Way people are interacting around that problem

Consultants have unique opportunity to urge attention to the process issues and be listened to

Building Internal Commitment

Key to consultant leverage and impactCan’t order client to take action

Process of removing obstacles

Consultants believe their thinking is clear and logical, wording is eloquent and convictions are solid, arguments are strong

Client and colleagues will have doubts and dilemmas that block commitment!

Roles Consultants Take

Expert RoleManager plays and inactive role

Decision on how to proceed are made by the consultant

Information needed for problem analysis gathered by consultant

Technical control rests with consultant

Collaboration is not required

2-way communication is limited

Manager’s role is to evaluate after the fact

(cont.)

Pair of Hands RoleConsultant takes a passive roleDecisions on how to proceed are made by the managerManager selects methods for data collection and analysisControl rests wit the managerCollaboration is not necessary2-way communication is limitedManager specifies change procedures for the consultant to implementManager’s role is to judge and evaluate from a close distanceConsultant’s role is to make the systems more effective by the application of specialized knowledge

(cont.)

Collaborative RoleConsultant and the manager work to become interdependentDecision making is bilateralData collection and analysis are joint effortsControl issues become matters for discussion and negotiationCollaboration is considered essentialCommunication is 2-wayImplementation responsibilities are determined by discussion and agreementConsultant’s goal is to solve problems so they stay solved

Staging the Client’s Involvement

Define the initial problemDeciding to proceed with the projectSelecting dimensions to be undertakenDecision who will be involved in the projectSelecting the methodData collectionFunneling the dataData summaryData analysisFeedback of resultsMaking recommendationsDecision on actionsAssessing the balance of responsibility

Assessing the Balance of Responsibility

Take the previous list and draw a line beside it. Then make 2 columns – one for client and one for consultantPut a mark on the line showing who has the responsibility for each of the items – client vs. consultant – 50%/50% should be the midpoint.Where do you believe the point in the line should be for each item?

Completing the Requirements of Each Phase

ContractingNegotiating wants

Coping with mixed emotions

Surfacing concerns about exposure and loss of control

Triangular and rectangular contracting

(cont.)

Discovery and data collectionLayers of analysis

Political climate

Resistance to sharing information

Interview as a joint learning event

(cont.)

Feedback and the decision to actFunneling data

Presenting personal and organizational data

Managing the feedback meeting

Focusing on the here and now

Don’t take it personally!

(cont.)

Engagement and ImplementationBet on engagement over mandate and persuasion

Design more participation than presentation

Encourage difficult public exchanges

Put real choice on the table

Change the conversation to change the culture

Pay attention to place

If I….

Know my area of expertise (a given),

Behave authentically with the client,

Tend to and complete the business of each consulting phase, and

Act to build capacity for the client to solve the next problem on their own….

I can legitimately say I have consulted flawlessly!

Your challenge:Can you say that?

Did you hold yourself accountable for your own actions and were you aware of yourself?

Then I….

Contracting

How do you set up a project?How do you measure consulting effectiveness?Can you act as an umpire and helper at the same time?What do you do to elicit client expectations?How do you establish trust?What are consulting skills anyhow?When do we break for lunch?….and on and on.

What is a Contract?

Explicit agreement of what the consultant and client expect from each other and how they are going to work together

Contracting Skills

To contract flawlessly is to Behave authentically, and

Complete the business of the contracting phase

You should be able to:

Ask direct questions about who the client is and who the less visible parties to the contract areElicit the client’s expectations of youClearly and simply state what you want from the clientSay no or postpone a project that in your judgment has less than a 50/50 chance of successProbe directly for the client’s underlying concerns about losing controlProbe directly for the client’s underlying concerns about exposure and vulnerabilityGive direct verbal support to the clientWhen the contracting meeting is not going well, discuss directly with the client why this contracting meeting is not going well

Elements of a Contract

Boundaries of your analysisObjectives of the project

To solve a particular technical/business problemTo teach the client how to solve the problem for themselves next timeTo improve how the organization manages its resources, uses its systems and works internally

The kind of information you seekYour role in the projectThe product you will deliverWhat support and involvement you need from the clientTime scheduleConfidentialityFeedback to you later

Ground Rules for Contracting

Responsibility for every relationship is 50/50Should be entered into freelyCan’t get something for nothingAll wants are legitimateYou can say no to what others want from youYou don’t always get what you wantYou can contract for behavior, you can’t contract for the other person to change their feelingsYou can’t ask for something the other person doesn’t haveYou can’t promise something that you don’t have to deliverYou can’t contract with someone who’s not in the room, such as clients’ bosses or subordinates – must have agreement directly with themWrite down contracts when you can. Most are broken out of neglect, not intentSocial contracts are always renegotiableContracts require specific time deadlines or durationGood contracts require good faith and often accidental good fortune

Navigating the Contracting Meeting

Personal acknowledgementCommunicate understanding of the problemClient wants and offersConsultant wants and offersReaching agreementAsking for feedback about control and commitment

Ask client: is this project something that you really want to see happen? Are you satisfied with the way we have agreed to set it up?Ask client: Do feel you have enough control over how this project is going to proceed?

Give supportRestate actions

(cont.)

Getting stuck on wants and offers When you hear yourself explaining something for the 3rd time

When you notice the client diving into the third explanation of the same idea

Your body will give you clear message that you are getting stuck

You eyes give you the best cues that a contracting process has bogged down

(cont.)

Think/Recess

New wants and offers

Stuck again

Process how we are handling this discussion

Re-discuss wants and offers

If still stuck-terminate/minimize your investment

Planning a Contracting Meeting

What imbalance do you expect in the responsibility for this project?What do you want from the client?What are you offering the client?What do you think the client might want?Are the key clients going to be in the room?

Who can make a decision on proceeding with this project?Who will be strongly affected by this project?Who is missing from the meeting?What are their roles?

What resistance do you anticipate?What are the conditions under which it would be best not to proceed?

Reviewing the Contracting Meeting

How would you rate?Balance of participation?Who initiated?Who had control?

What resistance or reservations did the client express

Which did you explore directly, in works, with the client?Which did not really explore?

What reservations do you have about the contract?

Which did you put into words with the client?Which did you express indirectly or not at all?

How did you give support to the client?

(cont.)

Who were the client's concerns expressed:Silence?Compliance?Attack?Questions?Giving answers?Directly, in words?

What facial and body language did you observe?How would you rate the client’s motivation to proceed?How would you rate your own motivation to proceed?What didn’t you express to the client?Did you skip any steps in navigating the contracting meeting?What would you do differently next time?