If you think that you have never acted as a consultant to anyone, you may well be totally mistaken. The moment you offer advice to someone who is in a position to make a choice or decision, you become a consultant. Often it is only when someone else breaks the process involved down, that we realize but yes, indeed we do have consulting experience - at least at some level within our circle of influence or work environment.
Flawless Consulting is the second two-day workshop within the Partners for Possibility (PfP) programme for school principals and their business leader partners. Although quite intense and involving a lot of role play scenarios, the element of fun is never too far off either. And it’s amazing how one misses some of the elements while at the same, also trying your utmost best to actually remember exactly the latter. If you practice consulting as a profession, most of the elements will, in time, become part of your consciousness and second nature. It would be wise though to check yourself ever so often as comfort zones can be deadly for any business.
Our facilitator, Anita Moerman van Blankenburg moved effortlessly between three flip charts taking us through all the various and important elements that will enable us to engage in and applying our skill to ensure a flawless consulting process. This, irrespective of whether you act as an internal consultant within the company you works for, or as an external consultant.
She’s a brave lady - I thought! She shared many a personal experience, even involving her own family at times, to illustrate the consulting process also within our personal lives. It was appreciated though as it demonstrated her authenticity as a facilitator, consultant and teacher.
The long and the short (in my opinion) of flawless consulting is this: when you apply the various processes correctly, identify and address resistance, concern yourself with the concerns of your client at every step, and of course yours also, it will expand the possibilities to elevate and expose solutions to both technical and people challenges. The process also puts great emphasis on the benefits of being emotional intelligent.
Allow me to share with you just some wisdom from the book Flawless Consulting by Peter Block:
“Every business or technical problem has a component where the way the problem is being managed is part of the problem.”
“Resistance is an emotional process, not a rational or intellectual one.”
“We built capacity when commitment and accountability are chosen.”
This workshop has made me even more mindful of the value of emotional intelligence, taking time to think and listening with the intent to truly understand instead of just listening to respond. I have no doubt, that as this learning experience become more integrated within my intellectual understanding and consciousness of the process, I will become even more effective, not just in what and how I do it, but also in my total beingness.
