“We need someone to sort out the tensions in the management team, why don't you get onto one of those brokers or check the Yellow pages and find the right consultant”.
My heart sank, why was my boss calling for an outsider to do what I had studied and trained for over the past 3 years?
Well, if I must. How should I go about getting the right sort, who will do the best job, suit our culture and let me get involved and learn from them? So, I checked a few contacts and phoned the one they recommended.
“Hello, we need a consultant to develop our top team, stop the in-fighting and get them working effectively together, is that what you do?”
The consultant said it was and began to question me closely about: who was involved; what the issues were; who was for and against the proposed assignment; what outcomes were anticipated and whether my boss would be prepared to meet her to see if his expectations and comfort zone were compatible with her skills and style?
This was the only proposal she made at this stage apart from suggesting that she send advance information on her background, experience and fee basis, to assist him with the initial, to meet or not to meet decision.
I persuaded my boss to let me sit in and observed closely how the consultant handled the contact. For thirty minutes she encouraged him to talk about the situation, asking a range of open-ended questions which scoped the issues and explored the options. I noted particularly how she absorbed his aggressive delivery and put him at his ease through good active listening and entered his world with brief reflective references to similar situations she had encountered and possible causes and consequences.
This seemed to energise him and obviously won his confidence because of its demonstration of relevant experience and perceptions that were spot on. After a while she asked what he wanted and then countered neatly and almost coyly by asking whether he would like her response. I was surprised and a little alarmed by the forthright manner in which she insisted on access to all the players before conducting any workshop action and especially when she warned him that he would need to display courage and commitment by accepting that his style would come under review by the team.
But, his famous temper did not erupt, maybe because she seemed to read his style and followed each proposal with a series of practical reasons based on experience that showed uncanny appreciation of what was really going on amongst team members. To my surprise, he assented, even though it would extend the time and cost and as if in anticipation of his need for clarity and certainty, she moved to the whyteboard and began to sketch out the possible outcomes of the data gathering exercise, how she would ensure accuracy and confidentiality and what various forms the resultant workshop might take.
Then he dropped the bombshell - “we did that sort of thing last year with another consultant and it was a disaster. How can you ensure this will work?”
To her credit she didn’t flinch but moved smoothly back from proposal mode to questioning him closely about who the consultant was, what he did and why the participants had problems. She was careful not to criticise her colleague but clearly differentiated her approach from him without giving my manager a categorical promise that she would succeed. But, she did throw out a challenge that there would hove to be honesty and goodwill on out part, otherwise no process would work and she would not take the job. Then she softened her commitment to tell things as she saw them with a reference to her duty of care towards him as a leader. This was his kind of language and afterwards he confided “she’s got balls!”. He concurred with this proposal and we left.
Before we parted she sought my review of how the meeting went, whether there were issues he had not mentioned, how the other players were likely to react to her arrival and what I wanted to get out of this exercise for the organization and myself. It was reassuring to hear her say she had been in my situation and related to my frustration at not being given credence in my own territory.
We agreed how the communication should be handled with team members and I undertook to set up her meetings with them. She even promised to bring me a relevant article on the process she was using and to keep me informed at all stages of the job.
This left me with a lot to reflect on. Perhaps there is more than I had appreciated in this business of when? with whom? why? how? and to what effect? a consultant should call...