Leadership Lessons: The Responsibility of Management Consultants
Posted by Celia Couture on Tue, Nov 03, 2009 @ 08:04 AM
I've been in business as a management consultant for 10 years. Most of my training evolved from working with and for great leaders and great companies. Today, many business leaders are faced with challenges that go beyond what is taught in business school. Each day, business leaders face both financial difficulties as well as internal difficulties. As a management consultant, it can be easy to simply focus attention on helping clients reach their financial goals, but if that is the only focus, then the consultant really isn't doing their job.
As individuals brought in to companies to assist them, management consultants should also be working with executives on improving their social performance. We can run around letting everyone know that the sky is falling, or we can maintain a sense of decorum that helps workers weather the challenges.
The recent economic crisis continues to cause distrust with business leaders and consumer confidence. How then, should business leaders regain public trust? Peter Drucker, in many of his mangement and leadership books said this about management consultants. "They should think of themselves as diagnosticians rather than technicians." The best way to help a client improve its performance is to build on the strengths of its culture. Help organizations face those things that they are not doing well and create action items with strong accountability to turn poor performance around. This doesn't always mean shying awa from telling clients the truth if their culture needs improving. The management consultant neets to be the omnisicent observer that helps guide a company back to its roots, its mission and its vision for the future.
As we continue to come out of the recession, companies will have to change how they are doing business. Consultants need to guide company leaders to gain public trust and social acceptance. Management Consultants must be change agents. Peter Drucker's sage advice is a roadmap to success!