Moving Into Consulting 101 - Part 2 - The Tact of a Consultant

Beware of landmines in your discovery (see previous), and when you find one, try to disarm it without creating an enemy inside the client organization. Never ask "who did this?" or "who set this up wrong?" in fact, avoid trying to identify "who did what" as much as possible. Just focus on the what. 

If someone admits their mistake: "I set this up this way because I thought..." turn the lesson to be learned to the whole group. Don't single out people for correction, don't make someone the culprit or the martyr. Always use that first person plural: "So what we need to do is..." 

Should a client need to know who is to blame, they'll figure it out well enough without your help. If they insist you point a finger, do so in your documentation, not in person, and do so by referring to a job role, not a name. 

Show me a client employer whose server admin wasn't doing database index maintenance, and I'll show you an IT Manager that wasn't staffing tasks to skills, or properly investing in training for their employees. 

Unless you've been brought in explicitly to be the executioner, a consulting engagement is not the time to put yourself in the middle of that existing conflict.

Root cause analysis doesn't always have to name names for innocent mistakes and oversights. Again, the client will do all the executions needed with or without your help.

I was onsite at a client when one of their employees in a group asked me what I thought about guns. (Insert your own hot-button political topic here.) I casually turned away and said something like, "Nahhh, hey, let's get back to this database." In hindsight I was glad. Their beliefs got shared aloud anyway (of course), and their beliefs were extreme. 

This occurred many times to me, actually. It was much better that I maintained that professional distance and a productive client relationship in each case. 

Don't engage in political or religious conversation with clients. Don't talk about how to raise kids, what to do with your money, or the outcomes of elections. Don't screen-share your browser bookmark toolbar or personal email inbox. Don't mention what news sources you follow. Today's world is extremely polarized, that's not your fault, but you must be aware. We have less and less in common with our political opposites. Don't let that invade perfectly good projects and business opportunities. 

I've watched conference calls devolve when the right kind of arrogance catches wind of a political polar opposite, it's not pretty. I've had perfectly fine business relationships and project success with folks who I later learned had politics incompatible with my values. That's ok. I'm not asking you to compromise your morals or ethics — I never had to — but you can prioritize the project over stumbling into a minefield.

I'm also not asking you to cover. Bring your whole self to work. Covering — hiding parts of your identity that don't fit into a mainstream in order to avoid negative bias — is a completely different topic. What I am suggesting is that for this short engagement, stick to business while being proud of yourself and being memorable. Let's be frank - consultants need to be as business-focused as possible. There is a time and place for clients to get to know you better, if they deserve to.

I'm not telling you to "read the room" and blend in with the attitudes and tempo of the clients. If you can, great. But "reading the room" and "dressing the part" too often means "be a straight white male or an unusually intelligent oddity, please." I did most of my consulting in the American deep south, and this is what most rooms looked like. 

Certainly, you should try to find a consultancy that aligns with your personal and career goals, and that allows you to bring your whole person to work. When collaborating internally and not on client sites, I hope you find executive leadership and management that holds high standards of ethical and moral behavior, as well as inclusive policies and practices. Perhaps your consultancy builds trust by matching donations to your favorite non-profits and charities, or partnering with and hosting your community involvement. You can't always ask the same of your clients.

I know this topic doesn't seem like breaking news in today's divisive politics-as-creed society. But now, as a consultant, more than it was when you were an in-house employee, your restraint against delving into personal conversations is required.

 

One team = If you've ever worked in a restaurant, you know that the wait staff blaming a chef or a chef blaming the manager looks bad for the whole restaurant. Similarly, blaming other colleagues or teams in your consultancy, blaming your PM, or blaming sales won't buy any credibility. It might feel good to absolve yourself from personal accountability, but it's not a win. To clients, you represent a company with a contract, not a set of individuals. Your consultancy will probably succeed or fail on this project (and the next contract) as a team. You'll need to practice accountability and acting in the client's best interest while keeping some conversations internal. There may be key moments that will test your resolve when deciding who to include on an email or chat message. As we discussed, be solution-focused and 86 the blamestorming.