The model expresses three dimensions of the competent consultant.  The point reached in each category hinges very much on the experience gained over time.  This recognises that consultancies recruit at varying levels: from recently graduated students, to managers with years of experience moving into consultancy.  What the model is not saying is that the list of competencies is exhaustive, or for that matter, that a given consultant should be competent in all the areas outlined.  What it does, is it delineates the competency territory within which consultants can develop in a myriad of ways.

In the same way, the CMC designation is only a stage in the professional development for the accredited consultant.  A move to FCMC would thus require further evidence of competencies asked for at the time of CMC evaluation.  The body of knowledge outlined here encompasses all these levels at a basic degree and it is up to the individual’s curiosity and experience to take any aspect further through professional development.

As an overview, consultants should have knowledge to an appropriate degree in the following fields (details of each follow on subsequent pages):

1. Development of Consultancy

• origins of consultancy

• important factors in its evolution

• current range and scope of consulting

• current trends

• future prospects for consultants and consultancy

1. Consultancy as a Profession

• knowledge of existing professional associations

• knowledge of current requirements established by ICMCI

1.   Definitions

• Management Consulting is the provision of independent advice and assistance to clients with management responsibilities.  This advice can take several shapes, as consultants can be external, internal and may take on one or more of a whole array of roles, including being an outsourced function for the client organisation.

• Management Consultant is an individual who provides independent advice and assistance about the process of management to clients with management responsibilities.  The individual can be a generalist or a specialist and may approach an assignment with, for example, a purely financial point of view, as required by the client.

• A Certified Management Consultant is a management consultant who views management consulting as a profession and meets certain requirement pertaining to character, qualifications, experience, independence and competence as defined by the professional body issuing certification.

• A Certified Practice is an organisation that, having been evaluated by IMC UK as providing training at a suitably high standard, can recommend employees for certification by IMC UK.  

 

A.  Growth in Consulting Competence

Outlined here are the types of elements that consultants should be competent in.  Tracking the stages of the client-consultant relationship, which is a useful guideline as to the generic path that assignments follow and, therefore, provides the most inclusive scenario, identifies these.  Clearly, certain project may not require (e.g.) implementation, and others may not require Phase 1, or 2, due to the nature of repeat business.

1. The client-consultant relationship

Phase 1

• marketing of services

• exploring opportunities

•  impressing from first contact

Phase 2

•  understanding the client

•  recognizing a client need

• clarifying the client need

• exploring potential for success of project

• providing estimates and billing strategy

Phase 3

•  selecting method of intervention

• isolating the problem

• understand scope o f problem

•  exploring client’s readiness for change

• hypothecating

•  interviewing

• exercising fact-finding methods

• applying analytical methods

• applying diagnostic tools

• identifying benefits

• dealing with client managers

Phase 4

• applying solution development methods

• validating recommendations

• implementing

• relating back to expectations

•  applying contingency plans (if necessary)

• evaluating

•  closing

Phase 5

• maintaining the relationship

1. Effectiveness in consulting

• diagnostic ability

• solution and implementation skills

• general and specialised knowledge as defined in PESTLE and Management

• communication skills

• managerial skills

• marketing and selling skills

B.  Management/Organisational Competence Breadth

i) The following are core managerial activities that consultants should be competent in.  They are equally important for understanding clients’ activities as they are for consultants to manage their own teams.  Clearly, in the latter case, some of what is outlined below may not apply unless as a team leader or more senior member of the team.

1. Planning:

• assessments of demands and needs

• setting corporate (or consulting) objectives and targets

• communicating

• setting business controls

• using Management Information Systems

• human resource planning  

1. Organising:

• setting objectives and targets

• human resource organising

• delegating 

• influencing

• time management

1. Leading:

• styles: directive vs. ‘light hand on the wheel’

• influencing

• inter-personal skills

• intra-personal skills

• communicating

• motivating

• directing

1. Controlling:  

• regulating objectives

• monitoring plans, policies and procedures

• delegating responsibilities

• measuring and reviewing performance

•  taking corrective action

• using Management Information Systems

1. Directing:

• defining corporate (or project) vision

• defining corporate/strategic values

• determining strategic (or tactical) choices

ii) The following are managerial processes that consultants should be aware of to varying degrees of depth and breadth depending on the project.  Projects may be highly specific requiring a specialist’s perspective, but it may also be highly strategic in nature, in which case broader knowledge of these items would be beneficial.  Some may even apply to the management of consulting work specifically:

1. Organisation Analysis:

• understanding Organisational structures

• measuring Organisational performance

• evaluating mission statement and comparing with core values and purpose

1. Organisational Development:

• establishing need for change

• team building

•  T-groups

• force-field analysis

1. Project/Process Management:

• client focus

• simple vs. complex teams

• identifying intended outcomes

• identifying expected outcomes

•  time management

• scheduling techniques

• setting milestones

• maintaining documentation

• reporting

• managing the end of the project: closure

• Management Information Systems

• budgeting and financial control  

1. Change Management:

• understanding the nature of change

• identifying change

• internalising change

• application of different approaches

• leadership

• innovation

• experimentation

• openness

• the change agent

• communicating

1. Strategy:

• innovation

• regeneration

• directing

• leading

• ‘re-inventing the future’

 

C.  Specialist Technical/Professional Competence Depth

Specialist competencies are important because they reflect the fragmented consulting market that exists today.  Specialist competencies are a consultant’s entry point upon which they can build professional depth.  Consultants range from the stereotypical McKinseyite, with a general management approach, to the specialist IT consultant or senior executive facilitator and coach.  They all require core competencies that form a part of every consultant worth his/her salt, but specialist approaches require specialist knowledge without which the client will remain unimpressed.  This is also a growing trend, as clients are becoming more aware and demanding of what they purchase.  They expect the firm to do  training, not them: as would be the case when buying a consulting team with several junior constituents.  The specialisation hereunder can be broadly categorised as either functional or sectoral.

Functional

•  IT

•   HR

• Strategic planning

• Production

•  Marketing  

Sectoral

• Financial

• Governmental

• Charitable

• Public

• Private

• Internal

D. Underlying Understanding of PESTLE

Knowledge of the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental situation is imperative for a successful consulting intervention.  These are macro-forces that act upon an organisation and shape its strategic and operational approaches in order to be successful.  This implies that these forces will also shape how the consultant will have to intervene to help the client-organisation achieve its success.

1. Political:

• national

• organisational

• industrial relations

• influencing and lobbying

1. Economic:

•  macro economic factors

• micro economic factors

• market wealth

• resource allocation

1. Social:

• national culture

• organisational culture

• ethical culture

• business ethics

• inter and intra personal capabilities

1. Technological:

• awareness

• needs, wants and possibilities

• infrastructure

• communications

1. Legal:

• legislation

• business regulations

• contract and liability

• insurance

• intellectual property rights

• taxation

• anti-trust laws

1. Environmental:

• environmental law

• environmental responsibility

 

E. Underlying ACT Abilities

Acting, communicating and thinking are inherent personal abilities, or competencies, that we have at our disposal, but that a consultant must strive to refine through experience.

1. Acting:

•  professional attitude/behaviour

• professional conduct/ethics

• dealing with client culture

• managing conflict

• motivating and developing people

• leading

• facilitating

• mentoring

• coaching

• selecting appropriate role

1. Communicating:

•  written communications

• oral communications

• using available technology

• preparing proposals

• appropriate reporting

• enhanced presentations

1. Thinking:

• ‘empathising’

• lateral thinking

• ‘seeing the end from the beginning’  

• contingency planning

• flexible approaches

 

CONSULTANCY: A BRIEF HISTORY AND CURRENT PURPOSE

It is important for Certified Management Consultants to have a working appreciation of the historical antecedents of the profession, which closely follows the evolution of general management thinking.

Some aficionados of consulting history delight in tracing its origin to Aaron, the brother of and adviser to Moses, which emphasis's the ambiguity of the need for wisdom, counsel and guidance being available to those in responsible leadership positions.

In practical present day terms, it is necessary for practitioners to be aware of the roots of contemporary business improvement initiatives in the ‘scientific management’ inquiries of the early Industrial Revolution, when pioneers such as Frederick Winslow Taylor at the Bethlehem Steel Works sought productivity enhancements through measurement and management of the sub-elements of the workers’ tasks.  This tradition can be traced through the work of the Gilbreths and the wartime munitions performance management lessons, and the post-war productivity improvements of Deming, Juran and the latter day Quality Movement.  The influence of military developments on subsequent civilian endeavours cannot be overestimated.

This is also true of the second wave of management thinking and consulting developments: the Human Relations tradition, which dates back to Elton Mayo and the Bank Wiring Observation Room and Relay Assembly Test Room Experiments at the Hawthorne Electric Plant of the General Electric Company.  Mary Parker Follett is often seen as the Mother of this school of thought which has always been in a state of dynamic tension with the scientific management tradition.

These two traditions, respectively,  build upon the focus on the task and the human process in industry business endeavours to achieve commercial results.  The job of the general manager and the management consultant is to help draw those foci together in order that the eternal triangle – of structure, task and people/process – is balanced for a business result.  That is the core purpose of the consultant today as it was through the whole history of the profession.

A. Growth in Consulting Competence

The client-consultant relationship

Phase 1

This phase is the initial stage at which the consultant markets his/her services and explores market opportunities.  Promotional activity will form an important part of this phase, but direct methods such as telephone calls or mailing.  This will eventually lead to the identifications of a client and the making of first contact.  Currently, and increasingly so, the Internet is a powerful marketing tool that should be carefully considered as it can open many potentially fruitful markets.  The consultant should impress the potential client by, amongst other things, his/her professionalism and track record.  Assuming there is a sense of compatibility and vision of success on behalf of both parties, the relationship will continue to develop.  Direct methods will be needed less by those organisations with such a reputation that they would be sought out by the client rather than the converse.  It is these organisations that typically benefit from a large proportion of repeat-business.  (21, 24)

Phase 2

The continuing relationship will serve to explore the client’s needs and further defining them.  They client and the consultant must come to some understanding on what the desired procedure and outcomes will be, although flexibility should be integral to the discussions.  The desired outcomes will generally revolve around the concept of a real added value to the bottom line: a measurable difference.  This stage will culminate with a formal proposal from the consultant that delineates some idea of time scope and fees.  Equally important will be an understanding of a client’s political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental. (14, 15, 24, 26, 27, 30)

Phase 3

Once an agreement has been reached, the consultant will explore which method of intervention would best fit the situation.  Amongst the choices would be anything from reflector, through collaborator, and advocate.  Note that the interpretation of the consultant as a shadow director should be avoided at all times.  A modern trend, though, is the utilisation of the consultant as an outsourced function, reflecting the need for organisation’s to streamline their operations.  This phase implies exploring the client’s readiness for change, as the client may be an individual, but the effects will be felt by the whole organisation.  It will be important to manage relationships with key individuals and recognising whom the particular dissidents might be.  Interviews, fact-finding procedures, diagnostic and analytical methods to assess the company’s position will become important at this point. Eventually this should lead to a clearer isolation of the problem and the task at hand which could formulate the basis for a hypothesis.  Benefits will be identified and these range from strategic guidance and direction, to greater competitiveness, to the identification of market opportunities.   (22, 16, 42, 23, 44, 25, 17, 43, 47, 48, 45)

Phase 4

A plan for a solution will begin to emerge and the consultant may begin to prepare a set of recommendations.  These can be derived from brainstorming sessions, linear problem-solving or lateral thinking, amongst other means.  This will need to be validated, which requires an understanding of the client’s values and objectives, as well as culture.  Rarely will an assignment succeed if it is not supported by, at least, the most senior people.  Increasingly, consultants are finding that their recommendations will also require implementation.  This latter stage requires many different skills which may force the consulting team to change somewhat by introducing members of the organisation who are more experienced and better equipped.  It is also during this stage that evaluations will need to be scheduled in order to monitor progress of implementation and, if necessary, introduce contingency tactics.  The project will have to come to an end and this phase will include specific steps that need to be taken in order to achieve proper closure.  (31, 49, 50, 51, 52)

Phase 5

Finally, the consultant must never forget that the end of a project does not signify the end of the relationship.  It is much less expensive to handle assignments on a repeat-business basis than it is to be continually marketing oneself and trying to attract new clients.  This means that the maintenance of the relationship is extremely important. (20)

Effectiveness in Consulting

The numerous factors that lead to potential effectiveness in consulting can be enhanced as much as they can be left to decay.  It is usually assumed that a good education will be the basic building block of much that the consultant will be capable of.  But also of great importance will be the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) undertaken by the individual.  Many of the large practices generally have their own training programmes that serve this very purpose.  Many consultants also ‘swing back and forth’ between consulting and industry and thus continue to learn.  But it is of paramount importance for a sole practitioner to incest in CPD for his/her own benefit as well as that of the client. (9)

B. Breadth in Management/Organisational Competence

Planning

It is the initial stage in the process that will eventually achieve an objective.  It is the stage at which assessments of needs and demands must be made.  In relation to these factors the planner must begin to foresee the future and thus visualise the structure of the team and the project.  This will all be set out in a plan that will also define how all the components will be organised, led, controlled and directed in order to achieve maximum benefits.  Communication is therefore an imperative, regardless of whether the planning is strategic, tactical, operational or project in nature. (60)

Organising

This will follow the planning phase by systematically allocating resources to tasks or activities.  These will be in accordance with set objectives and targets and will therefore rely on crucial time management.  Organising requires clear delegation and, at times, influencing, in order to ensure pursuit of a common goal. (61)

Leading

Leadership is necessary for the successful accomplishment of any group-driven task.  This ability is important at all these stages as it provides the impetus for the rest to strive for the common goal.  It requires a great deal self-awareness and certainty to enable the leader to motivate, persuade, communicate and direct according to his/her convictions.  There are different styles that range from the ‘light hand on the wheel’ to the more directive approach.  It is important to know when to employ which.  (63)

Controlling

It is the continual monitoring of progress in order to ensure that the direction is appropriate.  If this were not the case, corrections would have to be made, but never without further evaluation.  The use of Management Information Systems (MIS) is particularly effective for this, as statistics are a powerful tool for the measurement of performance.  (64)

Directing

It involves the adoption of a strategic point of view.  The corporate vision is the imperative as are the steps that should be taken in order to achieve it.  (65)

Organisational Analysis

It is a process of management that aims at understanding what the organisation’s structure is, as well as the measurement of its performance.  Results would be compared to the mission statement of the organisation and rated according to appropriateness. (66)

Organisational Development

It follows on from analysis in that it takes the evaluation and either carries forward the current strategy or implements a more appropriate one according to need.  This is an ongoing process that occurs due to the dynamic nature of markets, technologies and, therefore, challenges to achieving success as an organisation. (66)

Project/Process Management

There should always be a strong client focus when engaging a project.  Mile-stoning and time management techniques will be of utmost importance, therefore, use of Gantt charts and similar applications are recommended, especially in complex assignment, when more advanced techniques such as the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) or Critical Path Method (CPM) might be more useful tools.  Teams can also be complex and it is necessary for the individual members to have reached a uniform understanding of purpose and objective.  MIS will benefit any project because it can aid in the meaningful selection and representation of data: financial, performance, or otherwise.  Other important aspects to consider will be timing and format of reporting procedures and the management of the project’s closure.  (69, 32, 33, 34, 41, 35, 65, 67, 70, 29)

Change Management

All consulting assignments to some degree involve the management of change.  The nature of change lies in nature itself: it is the most basic function of any kind of development.  What has augmented the rate of and complicated change is basically attributable to technology.  Organisational change occurs because it either is reactive or proactive to the surrounding forces that can be summed up by the umbrella term ‘environment’.  The management of change requires accurate appraisal of what change is required, who and what will be involved, and the presence of effective leaders who can innovate and experiment with full use of communication skills and open approaches.  People must identify with and internalise the meaning of a change if it is to succeed in the long run.

Strategy

Strategy as a process of management is the continuous eye on the future opportunities and threats to what an organisation is to achieve.  Strategy is about innovating, directing and leading an organisation forward: ‘re-inventing the wheel’.  Consultants aid with strategic focus because they are lateral thinkers and are often more capable of interpreting the future by careful observation of the client, competitors and markets at present.

C. Depth in Specialist Technical/Professional

Most consultants enter the professional practice of consultancy through the route of a functional specialism such as marketing, finance, HR, or production.  Some remain deep specialists, either in an organisational function or process; or in the methodologies and applications of a particular proprietary philosophy or approach.  Others rely more on greater management breadth in organisational competency (‘B’ above), but all must be able to relate their deep technical professional expertise to the client organisation.  As a tertiary level qualification, the CMC does not test for expertise in functional specialisms, although it does require evidence of having obtained the necessary level of competency, frequently through the qualifications and CPD of a recognised professional body, such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Marketers and HR in the member countries.

D. Underlying Understanding of PESTLE

Political

When considering political structures and forces, the consultant must be aware of national and organisational politics, to mirror the growth in international consulting.  Nations have different forms of politics, different agendas, much in the same way as individuals struggle for control, power, promotion, etc within an organisation. (59)

Economic

There are both macro factors that affect inflation, unemployment, exchange rates, trade balances, etc.  Micro factors affect supply and demand, competition, the labour market and wages, amongst many others.  Market wealth is an important consideration, as it will determine the possibility for growth. (57)

Social

It is under this heading that national as well as organisational culture fits.  Failing to recognise that culture is a core definition of who people are will lead to inaccurate understanding of the problem, its scope and the best consulting approach.  High levels of interpersonal as well as interpersonal skills are called upon to understand and best handle social differences.  Culture encompasses all that is intangible in the form of people’s values, beliefs, tradition, language and taboos, as well as organisational ethics.  It is important for a consultant to gain exposure to different cultures and thus become conscious at one level and tolerant at another. (59)

Technological

This is undoubtedly one of the greatest drivers of the century, as it has enabled cultures to merge, business and communications to become more powerful, efficient and global.  For the organisation, this has meant being able to locate anywhere in the world; transfer funds from any one place to any other in real-time; restructuring to focus on core tasks and thus outsourcing the rest; telecommunications are now practically real-time in that five people in five different continents can video-conference instead of having to travel to meet; the Internet allows instant access to a low-cost wealth of information; emailing is commonplace and much quicker that standard mail.  These are just a few of the social and economic benefits that have affected nations and organisations through technology.  The trend is set to continue as organisations will wish to handle ever more complexity and volume.  The effect this has had on consulting has been the expansion of I.T. consultancies into the sector, and a general increase in I.T. assignments for consultants.

Legal

Laws are formal rules and procedures that define the appropriate behaviour of a particular society or organisation.  There are many laws at national level that play an important part for businesses such as anti-trust legislation and corporate taxation, incentive grants and allowances.  Similarly there are very specific rules that are applied to certain types of organisations.  For example, charities, or non-profit making institutions, function within very specific and very different legal parameters.  It is important for the consultant to be aware of legal discrepancies between nations and sectors in industry when engaging a particular assignment to ensure sound advice is given. (58)

Environmental

There are environmental considerations for the consultant to bear in mind when engaging in an assignment.  There are strict rules that organisations need abide by in order to protect the environment from certain damage and this may prevent the implementation of a potential solution.  Organisations and consultants have a responsibility for the environment, which falls within social and business ethics.

E. Underlying ACT Abilities

Acting

There exist multitudes of ways in which a consultant may act: objective observer, fact finder, coach, technical expert, etc.  They should all be according to professional and ethical norms of attitude and behaviour.  It is important for a consultant not to over-stretch and try to be all things to all people.  There are certain criteria to consider when selecting which guise to adopt: the client culture; the consultant’s knowledge, experience and personality; the nature of the problem that the consultant has been called in to deal with.  Facilitating, mentoring and coaching are three distinct options available to the consultant in order to motivate and develop people, but there are many more – and within each of these exist types of (e.g.) facilitating.   It is important to consider that although different forms of acting are at a person’s disposal quite naturally, the consultant should aim at refining them through experience and conscious efforts.  The management of conflict is a good example of when different approaches may be validated in different circumstances by either stimulating or resolving the conflict to achieve a desired result. (3, 46, 18, 68, 10, 11, 28, 19)

Communicating

There are two main ways of communicating: oral and written.  It should be noted, however that listening is another form of communication, as is body language.  Each of these is an important element to the overall impression that a consultant will give.  The tie with culture is inextricable as in some countries even a hand-gesture could be misinterpreted.  Many clients may prefer regular oral communications rather than written reports, or conversely, might prefer to receive updates by email.  These aspects of the relationship should be defined from the outset to minimise inconveniences.  Nonetheless, consultants will need to know appropriate proposal and report-writing techniques and demonstrate good oral presentation techniques.  Each should be properly adapted to the respective audience.  (56, 54, 53, 55)

Thinking

It may seem obvious, but thinking is the single most important and fundamental competence that a consultant must be extremely good at.  The consultant’s mind should be capable of nurturing thoughts and ideas on several different planes simultaneously to enable flexible and contingent thinking.  Lateral thinking and the ability to look into the future, ‘to view the end from the beginning’ are also important.