🐝 Consulting Skills Mastery Issue 2 - Making Clear Commitments🤝
Welcome to the second edition of Consulting Skills Mastery! This one is all about a foundational aspect of consulting: being clear about what you're committing to doing for your clients.
❔What to expect from me?
My aim with this newsletter is to share my experiences, best practices, and practical guidance for developing consulting skills. I've been a consultant since 2005 and have worked in & with many different firms - from 6 years at Bain & Company, through to advising lots of high-growth boutiques.
These days I specialise in helping consulting firms manage & develop their people in ways that accelerate development & fast-track growth.
I'm also building a new kind of advisory & training business. Calm by design, decentralised and transparent. I'll share some of that journey too.
In this edition
1. Self-aware Consultant: Integrity & Accountability
2. Problem Solver: Defining the Right Question
3. Trusted Advisor: Demonstrating Reliability
4. Communicator: 7 Types of Yes
5. The week in consulting
Integrity & Accountability
Why is it so important for consultants to make clear commitments?
There are lots of reasons but, for me, top of the list is being able to look myself in the eye and know that I've done what I said I will do. Making a clear commitment is the starting point to being in integrity.
In 2018 I was advising a boutique consulting firm owner about his recruitment processes. He was a challenging client for several reasons.
We had set up a piece of work to solve a specific problem - in this case clarifying the decision rights & process steps around their recruitment processes. I'd get going as agreed, working with his team to design improvements to the candidate experience.
Our first update to the owner was challenging. He'd forgotten what we'd agreed and decided we should be working on something else entirely - without telling us. A particularly odious example of the classic 'scope creep' that is the enduring fear of many a consultant!
He didn't hold back his anger. By the end of his rant he'd loudly criticised everyone in the room, just for doing what we'd agreed.
All my life I've found criticism challenging. When I'm off guard, being criticised can make me feel anger and get defensive. Fortunately, these days, I've done the work and that rarely happens now.
A big part of my approach to staying in control is centred in the concept of Integrity:
💡 Integrity: I do what I say I will do. My actions match my words.
It is frequently important in a consulting project to check-in on what you've said you'll do. What was agreed? Are you doing that?
When this particular client was ranting at us I was able to sit there calmly, without anger. I was able to do that because I knew that we'd done what we said we would do.
I was in integrity.
As a result, the criticism washed over me and I was able to re-build trust.
But what about the times when I'm out of integrity? That certainly happens, and it can be damaging.
There are two things that need fixing when you're out of integrity.
The latter is foundational. Being out of integrity is an unpleasant place to be. Often feelings of guilt, shame or fear crop up. That nagging sense that you haven't done the thing you said you would do.
I have a simple process to get back into integrity and fix my relationship with myself. It's called taking Accountability*.
💡 Accountability: I take responsibility for the intended and unintended consequences of my actions
The Accountability Process consists of asking myself 6 questions:
Question 3 is the key to this. Whenever we fail to keep a commitment it's always because we made something else more important. The challenge is that we don't always do that consciously.
To get the big lessons from this process you need to try to get beyond the practical to the emotions underneath it.
Instead of "I had too much to do" maybe the truth is "I was scared that if I asked for help I would be judged negatively".
And then, if you can, dig deeper to the messy stuff that hides in your shadows. To shine a light on those unconscious beliefs that drive our behaviours.
"Why am I scared of negative judgement? Who criticised me in the past?"
💡 Falling out of integrity can be a gift of self-awareness, if you can learn from it.
That's where the gold really is.
* This process is adapted from a version used by The Mankind Project
Want more on this? I recommend the book The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp
Defining the Right Question
A big part of making clear commitments as a consultant is getting alignment on the question you're addressing.
What are you actually trying to answer through the work you're doing?
Note: This mostly applies to consultants at the 'strategy' stage of a project, figuring out what needs to be done. But it is still important for implementation or change consultants - you will come across many problems to solve, and defining the right question each time will make your life easier.
There is a tried and tested method for figuring out the right question: Situation, Complication, Question (often shortened to SCQ).
Let's look at some examples to bring this to life.
A boutique consulting firm had experienced strong recent growth and was approaching 30 people. The team were asking for greater clarity on what the firm needed them to do in order to progress and get promoted. My client was concerned that without that clarity some of their top performers would start looking elsewhere.
They came to me with a question: "What can we learn from the way other consulting firms manage their talent?"
A useful question to think about, but it was quite narrow and didn't really get to the heart of the problem they were trying to solve. To make it focused & relevant we refined it using the SCQ framework:
💡 The precision of that question, rooted in their growth strategy, led us to an entirely different approach to the work than the original question implied. And they got a lot more value from it.
Here's another example.
I was working with a major global consumer products manufacturer. Specifically with their Oral Care division - think toothpaste, toothbrushes, and a bit of mouthwash.
Fascinating industry, especially when you look globally. Did you know that some countries, like the UK, associate fresh breath with cold, minty, flavours whilst others, like Nigeria, go for hot spicy flavours? Or that many Brazilians brush their teeth 5 times a day?
Anyway, back to the strategic problem. When we first engaged with them their strategy was to develop & capture the 'white space' in the global toothpaste market - by going into markets such as Iran and Afghanistan where many people weren't yet using toothpaste.
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The thinking was to educate and encourage people to switch from sticks to toothbrushes, and ideally buy our toothbrushes & toothpaste.
Here's how we changed the question and showed them a different route was necessary:
Reframing the question like that completely changed the game for them. We ran workshops on how to reach rural shoppers in India. Gamed out what competitors might do in Brazil. Developed a detailed brand plan for the heritage Chinese toothpaste brand they owned.
With a new plan in hand they could motivate their teams, by drawing a clear connection from what their ambition to the things they needed to do.
💡 Your clients will often come to you with a question. It won't always be the right one for them. Your first job is to define the right question.
As a consultant you can add a ton of value on day one by getting clear on the Situation & Complication they are facing - and therefore what Question they really need to answer.
As the two examples here show, that question will often come back to what they are trying to do. Their grand vision, ambition or growth strategy. So easy to lose sight of that in day-to-day working life - but you can help them get back to it.
With clarity on the right question, you can both commit to an approach that is going to get the most valuable answer for your client.
Want more on this? The classic book is The Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto.
Demonstrating Reliability
In the first edition of the Consulting Skills Mastery newsletter I introduced Maister's Trust Equation. A foundational concept for consultants who want their clients to trust them (that's you... right?!)
The Trust Equation states that Trust is a function of Credibility, Reliability, Emotional Intimacy, and low Self-Orientation.
Let's focus on Reliability for a moment. Clients experience you as reliable when you are dependable and predictable. Can they trust you to behave consistently?
Anyone can demonstrate reliability - it takes no special knowledge or expertise. It doesn't require you to take a risk by being vulnerable. So it's a great place to start, particularly if you're early in your consulting career.
💡 At the heart of Reliability is making & keeping your promises
If you are in Integrity ("I do what I say I will do. My actions match my words") then there's a good chance clients will perceive you as reliable, and trust you more.
Here's 15 ways you can demonstrate reliability at different stages of a consulting engagement:
Project start-up & first meetings
Mid-project
Project close & post-project
What would you add to this list?
The 7 Types of Yes
On the topic of clear commitments, let's talk about getting to the ultimate goal of many consulting engagements: A client's decision.
You've defined a clear, relevant question. Done the work to develop your recommendation. Told a powerful, compelling story in the final workshop.
The decision-maker is ready to make their decision. To commit themselves and their colleagues to action.
To make that decision they need four things:
💡 To get that all important confidence decision-makers will often turn to their colleagues and ask "What do you think?"
Unfortunately, too often those colleagues will nod and say "Yes, that's the right option" whilst sitting there less than 100% committed. Whether that's group think, confirmation bias, or just a desire to move on to the next topic.
One of the most powerful tools I learned in my time at Bain was also one of the simplest: The 7 Types of Yes
I've used it many times since then and it always resonates with clients (and usually gets some knowing laughs too!)
The 7 Types of Yes helps people feel safe expressing how strongly they really support something. It gets beyond the nodding heads to a more honest response about what someone is really thinking.
When we're closing in on a decision during a client working session I'll often ask around the room - what number Yes are you? When you get a flood of 1s and 2s, you're in good shape.
But people often feel comfortable saying that they are actually a Yes 3 or 4. It makes it safe for them to express the reservations that they have.
More often than not, that sets up the most useful discussion of the day.
Remember, good decision-making is defined by the quality of the decision, but also the speed, effort and yield of those decisions. If you don't uncover the Yes 4s, 5s, 6s or 7s your yield - the return you get from that decision - will be lower than expected.
And you'll be left scratching your head, saying "but everyone agreed it was the right thing to do!"
Best new thinking this week
A beautiful Richard Feynman quote, shared on LinkedIn by BCG Managing Director Konstantinos Apostolatos. Shows the energy & innovation that can be released by framing questions effectively.
Joby Newton sharing his thoughts on the skills consultants need beyond their technical knowledge.
Harvard Business Review on using simulations as a method to upskill employees (something we're looking into as part of Honeycomb's training courses).
Podcast: Deb Zahn's Craft of Consulting podcast is a great listen. In this episode she speaks to data scientist Zack Pike as he reflects on his first year as a consultant.
Thanks for reading! When you're ready there are three ways I can help you:
1. Consulting Skills training courses (9.2/10 average from 300+ ratings)
2. Our Consulting Skill Accelerator toolkit - get in touch at deri.hughes@honeycombps.co.uk to learn more
3. My free ' 'Train the Trainer' practical workshop (limited to 12 people each time)
If you'd like to discuss training needs for your consulting team then feel free to book a no obligation call with me here, I'd love to help.
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Thanks, Deri - this was great. The “scope-creep” client rant definitely resonated for me… Any thoughts on how to keep aligned with the client on scope, especially in the early days of the project? It won’t surprise you to know that I find the Problem Statement Worksheet a great tool for this! I also loved the seven types of “Yes” - which was new to me. I’m sorely tempted to rebrand it as “50 shades of ‘great’” though.