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Internal Consultancy John Evans
MSc Dissertation
1999/2001
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Internal Consultancy John Evans
Contents
Preface
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Internal Consultancy John Evans
Preface
The central concerns of this dissertation came into focus in early Spring 2000. A
number of issues had been at the top of my agenda for a while and these eventually
Organisationally, I was becoming increasingly concerned that the HR training team (of
which I am a part) was not, in my view, moving fast enough in responding to the
business needs of "sections" of the Firm. The traditional concentration upon the design,
delivery and evaluation of training programmes was changing but not, I thought, fast
enough or even in the right ways. We were moving to use different delivery methods
(e.g., using information technology in creative ways to make training available at the
desk top in smaller modules) and addressing the need for accredited learning but this
did not seem to be enough. Sections, which I had always thought of as our internal
A number of observations underlined, for me, how curiously unresponsive our training
had become. One will illustrate the point. As a professional services Firm we had no
agreed process for costing projects and pricing them in tenders and proposals to
clients. As a result, "fee write downs" were a cause for concern. These "write down"
situations typically arise because the costing and pricing of the project (or client
assignment) has not taken into account all of the costs involved in meeting the client's
needs.
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Internal Consultancy John Evans
The Firm's integrated time recording and billing system has enabled the, relatively new,
Finance Director to see what is happening and he has contributed to the development
The first group of course appraisal forms from this programme noted the quality of the
theoretical frameworks, applauded the quality of the delivery of the programme itself
but pointed out that the practical application of the learning would be immensely
difficult because the delegate's sections (indeed the whole Firm) still had no agreed
approach, system or process in place which would allow them to operationalise the
What had happened here, I thought, was that a need (too many fee write downs) had
been identified and one part of a possible solution had been developed and delivered
A more rounded and complete response to the problem would, I thought, have
to other forms of intervention. I tend to believe that consulting is a richer, more subtle
when this takes the form of largely undifferentiated courses delivered at pre-set times
for people across the organisation with little current training needs analysis to support
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Internal Consultancy John Evans
the design and much less follow through. I have also come to believe that the new
renaissance manager in today's knowledge rich corporation may, increasingly and quite
significantly because the "do as I say because I am the boss" approach will not wash
with highly skilled, educated and motivated people. In many organisations individual
worth and contribution is becoming, or has already become, the basis for power and
reward rather than position and status. I perceive this trend increasing. It is a
movement that requires a new form of management. What, I speculated, could models
technological or social change or the increasing emphasis placed upon being close to
and networking. Not only did I believe that, in these situations, individual managers
might gain from the appropriate adoption of a consulting style but, also, if they
perhaps, be almost inevitable. The particular roles where this might be most
pronounced (roles which some writers, particularly Americans, refer to as "staff roles")
are those associated with support functions (finance, audit, HR, marketing, business
development) which have often been outsourced and where the organisation often has
It is almost commonplace now to affirm that management does not control but enable.
A decent case could be made that the primary function of management is to provide
the conditions and support needed to enable highly skilled and knowledgeable people
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Internal Consultancy John Evans
to perform at their maximum capability. The particular interest I had developed, and
which I wanted to investigate, in this context, was in relation to the proposition that
internal consultancy and the skills of consulting would both become very much more
critical and valued (within organisations) than they had been previously.
Did, for example, consulting have the power to make a more powerful, sustained and
significant change in organisations than training? Was it true that many of the
technologies, empowering people, helping to create self managed teams, more rapid
and effective learning transfer, etc) required that they develop the skills of internal
consultants?
consultancy in the financial sector using predominantly actuarial skills, and the HR
training team provide a number of consulting skills courses, no-one had spoken to me
about HR training staff "modelling" consulting skills in their internal client liaison
work. Indeed, my own suggestion made some months before, that developing internal
consulting skills to a higher level within the HR training team would be a valuable and
sensible response to many of the issues we faced was rather frowned on. This puzzled
me because I was aware that the internal consulting model appeared to be being used
successfully elsewhere and "internal consultancy is an operating style which aligns itself
the assumption that our central services sections (what the Americans would call the
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Internal Consultancy John Evans
much the same way as we expected external or client facing staff to use them.
So, in this dissertation I aim to attempt to assess the proposition that internal
writers such as Thomas and Elbeik right in making such striking claims for the value of
• "[We] firmly believe that these skills represent the start of a new business
order."3
Phillips and Shaw, writing seven years before Thomas and Elbeik, in 1989, had
suggested that trainers might move into consultancy as a response to the increasing
premium that, even then, organisations were placing on the following capacities4:
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Internal Consultancy John Evans
• Teamwork
• Consulting skills
awareness
• Interpersonal skills
• Sensitivity
• Ability to motivate
9
Since the late 1980's the perception that these skills and attributes – and other related
competencies – are what divides a world class management team from the rest, seems
to me to have grown. Phillips and Shaw claimed that these capabilities would be better
approach.
These are not insubstantial claims. My aim in this dissertation is to investigate internal
consultancy and explore the extent to which it may provide a highway to effective
people and organisational development. Thus, as I set out on the journey into this
arena, some of the key questions I wanted to address might be summarised briefly as
follows:
• What is consulting?
• What is the scope and what are the skills of management consulting?
• What might be done to help colleagues become more effective through the
• What particular insights, benefits and advantages does the consulting approach
10
Chapter 1: Towards a definition of "consulting"
"A consultant is a person who takes your money and annoys your employees while
tirelessly searching for the best way to extend the contract." – Scott Adams5
to be clear about what consulting is. So, in this first chapter, my aim is to seek to
understand the nature of consulting. In doing so, I will explore the contrast between
the executive function (management) and the advisory function (consultancy). I will
consider the idea that the contrast between these two functions is only sustainable if
one considers an older management paradigm and compares that with more recent
definitions of consultancy. I will consider the goals of the consultant – what, very
broadly, they aim to achieve. I will discuss the contention that consultancy must,
consider, the claim that this external locus is central to our understanding of
perspective), the tests of professional status and the associated claim to a body of
knowledge together with the ethics of consultancy will all be reviewed in this initial
overview.
"All people who have professional expertise, limited direct authority over the use of
their expertise and the desire to make some impact", he says, "may act as consultants".
11
A manager, by contrast, according to Peter Block, is someone who has direct control
over the action. The consultant is a person in a position to have some influence over an
Block considers that much of the disfavour associated with the term consultant comes
from the, ever present, temptation for the consultant to act as a surrogate line manager.
Once a consultant accedes to this temptation they stop truly being consultants.
not. It is clearly not the complete planning, directing, controlling and reviewing
function that would have been recognised as classical, scientific managerialism in the
management, is that management is reinventing itself to address the right first time, self
and empowered front line culture. Many managers understand that a (possibly the) key
and the narrow functional division of work. Stimulating effective teamwork, the
creation of a positive change climate and the nurturing of new competencies are all
part of the new managerial order. Managers from this new order do not, I believe,
provide such a stark contrast with the internal consultant as Peter Block would have us
believe?
Prokopenko, Johri and Cooper appear to share my reservations. They write: "anyone
12
effective in whatever they do could be considered a management consultant. Indeed,
If the distinction between the managerial and consulting role is blurred is there,
perhaps, a distinction to be drawn at a more subtle level? Thomas and Elbeik contend
I am in control I
serve
I direct and command
I help to facilitate
People come to me
I go to people
I breed dependency
I promote independence
Status and position are Status/position unimportant
important I think processes
I think functionality I like blurred roles
I like clear boundaries
Figure 1.19
13
This contrast in terms of "mindset" seems to have some practical value. It certainly
style.
Block contends that consultants have as their goals interventions. These are of two
sorts: organisational and to do with learning. The first type concerns change in
organisational structure, policy, procedure or system. The second type is the end result
that one person or many people may learn something new. However, Block's
detractors may say that he is a man enthralled by learning, who calls one of his
educational process."10
There are significant differences in the approach that Block and Markham take.
generally asserts that being outside the organisation is key to the definition of expert
consultancy that he uses. Though he does allow for the notion of internal consultant he
consulting in their 1983 book "Consulting to Management"11. This also clearly places
14
"Management consulting is an advisory service contracted for and provided to
organisations by specially trained and qualified persons who assist, in an objective and
problems, recommend solutions to these problems and help, when requested, in the
implementation of solutions."
Calvert and Greiner and Metzger, in placing such emphasis on the importance of the
Organisations are today found with such a range of shapes and with such permeable
boundaries that it is sometimes difficult to know where "inside" and "outside" are. This
is illustrated by the increasing difficulty the Inland Revenue has had in making it clear
differ from the engagement of staff on a contract of employment basis. The distinction,
pressed by the Inland Revenue, that the consultant should supply all the resources
needed themselves and that the employee can expect to be equipped by the employer is
blurred when organisations provide desks and facilities to consultants and require staff
to work at home.
What is inside the organisation and what is outside can also become a grey area when a
consultancy unit is established as a cost and profit centre with a brief to meet the needs
A further difficulty arises with the centrality of the "outside" the organisation criteria
when one considers two more aspects of organisational permeability. On the one hand
organisations are becoming more like networks and less like organisations. To quote
15
"The newest trend in organisations is almost a non-organisation: networks. The theory
here is that a company is at heart little more than a network of people with specialised
skills. As opportunities arise, the firm re-shapes itself into whatever form is necessary
team that built IBM's first personal computer. Working outside the normal corporate
bureaucracy, it developed one of IBM's most successful products, in record time. Now
that's organisation!"
Prokopenko, Johri and Cooper write: "… organisations are becoming boundary less by
creating alliances with customers, suppliers and in many cases even with competitors.
In this context we may need to revise or reinterpret the term "internal" as applied to
internal consultants."12 This absence of boundary opens up the possibility that the
internal consulting team may also provide services to external clients – moving them,
as Prokopenko, Johri and Cooper note, from "cost centre to a new position as profit
On the other hand, there are the external consultants who appear to have more
permanence than many of the staff especially when so many of these are being
staff come and go but the consultancy is here for the long term) can be the source of
immense disquiet, not to say resentment, amongst staff. These feelings will, of course,
being made on the advice of consultants at the expense of jobs or career opportunities
16
Whilst some organisations have a vested interested in defining management
consultancy in terms of its origination (outside the client organisation) other writers
is inside and what is outside of the organisation and Block, in any case, accepts that
consultants may be internal or external to the organisation. It is not a key part of his
definition that they offer their specialist skills from outside the organisation. Block,
operate as consultants.
the major consulting firmsψ, provides a definition that highlights the independence of
the management consultant. The MCA definition is clearer about the importance of the
independence of the advice and assistance than about many other aspects of their
"The rendering of independent advice and assistance about management issues. This
†
This is a peculiarly North American title used to identify central or business support staff employed
in personnel, financial analysis, audit, systems analysis, market research, organisational development,
safety and HRD functions, for example.
*
The IMC, founded in 1962, has about 3450 members. There are four grades of membership: affiliate,
associate, member and fellow.
17
"The service provided to business, public or other undertakings by an independent and
It is interesting to note that the IMC definition does not expressly refer to management
by name – though the types of problems cited might all be considered essentially
managerial.
There is some evidence that the MCA and the IMC, working jointly with the
Management Consultancy Business School, have recognised the need to address the
question, which few trade associations and institutes seem to be able to avoid in the
first 30 to 50 years of their lives, came into focus first with the publication of Stanley
consultancy and concluded that, at that time, the industry was not a profession. It
the UK has not been without difficulty. Clifford D Sharp, in a paper delivered to the
Staple Inn Actuarial Society on June 8 1999, quotes Clare Bellis as follows:
18
"Despite the inconsistencies the definitions [of profession] can be distilled to identify
three main strands, cognitive, normative and organisational (where) cognitive items
include specialised knowledge and long training, normative items include such things
as ethical standards and a commitment to provide a service for the public good –
organisational items such as a national body with disciplinary powers to support the
cognitive and normative aspects." Sharp then goes on to highlight other aspects of the
term "profession". Members of a profession, he says, "place the responsibility for the
welfare, health and safety of the community before their responsibility to the
profession, to sectional or private interests" and "they should apply their skill and
knowledge in the interests of their employer or client for whom they must act in
enough to form the basis for the MSc in Management Consultancy awarded by the
delightful candour, the IMC have published a questionnaire that was used in the early
1990's to assess the extent to which experienced management consultants would agree
on certain ethical dilemmas. This simple questionnaire was designed to show the large
white and male management consultants. In fact the survey showed that the differences
in opinion on a range of issues were considerable. Here are a few situations and
*
A CMC must have a degree or equivalent professional qualification, be a practising management
consultant with five years' full-time consultancy experience – unless the individual is a member of an
IMC recognised training practice, in which case the requirement is three years.
19
Situation Wrong Wrong but Acceptable
acceptable
You have a home computer but do not have 33% 52% 15%
the same software that you use in the office.
Your boss says it is ok to take the software
home and copy it.
The bank makes a £100 error in your favour – 52% 43% 5%
you decide to let them find it.
Your client already knows the solution that 43% 14% 43%
they want to the problem.
I own a few shares in my client. 60% 0% 40%
My business partner, a chartered accountant, 62% 5% 33%
is auditor to my client.
My business partner, a lawyer, is legal adviser 55% 0% 45%
to my client.
Fig X.xx15
Despite the difficulties that these varied responses might suggest, the IMC has now
• Meeting the client's requirements ("a member shall regard the client's requirements
• Integrity, independence and objectivity ("a member shall avoid any action or
way might be seen to impair the member's integrity. In formulating advice and
• Responsibility to the profession and to the Institute ("a member's conduct shall at
all times endeavour to enhance the standing and public recognition of the
The trade association of the larger consultancy firms in the UK (the Management
brief, rules and a right to exclude MCA members who contravene these strictures.
20
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Chapter 2: The scope and skills of management consultancy
A management consultant is an individual who borrows your watch to tell the time
The aim of this chapter is to begin to answer a number of my critical questions. I have
reasons.
Masters level which are designed around a management consultancy model. Third,
contribute to projects and design and develop specialist training. Fourth, because I am
consultant. To what extent, for example, might this relationship suggest a model that
This Chapter will, therefore, fall into two parts. The first part will analyse the
highlight those aspects of the practice of the profession or industry that may be of
22
The second part of the Chapter will draw together my findings concerning the
industry or profession, examine how they are being used and consider what
applications these may have to an HR team within an organisation. At the heart of this
second part will be the following hypothesis – if the management consultancy industry
is so successful (and that begs the question whether it is or not), what skills and
approaches can be learnt and transferred into internal consultancy practice in the HRD
field.
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Part One: The management consultancy industry
company name: "No company beginning with the letter V has ever been successful."
Volkswagen and Volvo excepted, they might have said. But didn't.19
The global consultancy market is big business. In 1997 "Management Today" (March
1997, page 33) estimated that the market was worth around $40 billion, $15 billion of
that in the US. Upwards of 100,000 of the most highly qualified people in the world
one of the big firms (McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group, Anderson,
though apparently AT&T's declared total of $347 million (in 1993) is an all time
record.20
During the period from 1997 to 2000 the Gartner Group estimated that management
Whilst client organisations down size we have witnessed the steady growth in the
scope of the consultancy offer is ever widening. "When British Gas's TransCo pipeline
business faced the simultaneous need to break itself up, introduce a new market for gas
and conform to a new regulatory formula …it "had consultants crawling all over the
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place", in the words of one executive."21 Privatisation and the marketisation of the
public sector has created a huge new market, whilst the deregulation, de-mutualisation,
re-regulation and mergers and acquisitions endemic in the financial services sector have
The growth of consultancy, it is suggested, is not without other costs. These may
include "outsourcing of the basic job of management" which saps "managers' ability to
reclaim responsibility even if they wanted to" according to Eileen Shapiro23 (formerly a
Greiner and Metzger 24 argue that management consultants "define the problem one
way and then implement a solution that fits only a pet idea of the consultant or the
client". Commenting on this observation, Clive Rassam writes25: "off the shelf solutions
are not always appropriate". At the prices charged by the leading consultancies one
might expect not to have to put up with anything "off the shelf" – but that is clearly not
the case.
Costly consultancy may fulfil another function for clients. It may serve to underwrite
top management's own status and responsibilities. ("See how vital and difficult this re-
managers is why, exactly, managers should pay for advice on what they themselves are
paid to do – that is, run their companies. John Peet, writing in "The Economist"26,
suggested that clients call in consultants because they do not know what to do next,
25
agreed, to strengthen the case for a favoured (but disputed) course of action or even to
In the early 1970s the Association of Internal Management Consultants was formed in
the USA. At that time, in the USA, there were thought to be about one hundred
companies using internal consultants but ten years later the American Association of
Management Consultants found that internal consulting was the fastest growing
Prokopenko, Johri and Cooper assert that 100,000 people were working in internal
members in 1988 and the Civil Service having 5,681 staff engaged in internal
consulting.
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Part Two: Consulting models in the industry
If we now turn to the management consulting industry for a single model of consulting
together with "consulting values", may be seen to influence the consulting process that
There is almost a sense in which we need to be clear first about what a management
consultant "is" before we begin to consider what the consultant "does". What the
management consultant is will be seen in their approach, style and development and
these attributes may be expected to connect with the consultant's guiding values, ethics
and principles. Values, ethics and principles will also have a complex but vital
relationship with the set of assumptions and beliefs that the individual brings to the role
they play as a management consultant. Indeed, it might be argued that the two domains
are simply two main facets of the individual's belief system. They make up that
individual's "world view". This worldview may be more or less tacit or acknowledged.
Some consultants may prefer to talk in terms of paradigm. In this context, paradigm
might be described as an underlying worldview, possibly largely tacit, that leads the
interpret the world without necessarily being aware of the assumptions being made.
Discussion is further complicated by the fact that many management consultants are
not lone operators and their consulting approach will be significantly influenced by the
One might expect consulting values to remain relatively stable over a reasonable
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avoid engaging, at least for the time being. As values concern the heart – what one is
passionate about and will not give up – they tend to form an anchor. Without this
The importance of this anchor in management consulting is that it influences (but isn't
the same as) "the way the consultant works". Their consulting approach or styles are
functions or enactments of the beliefs, values and assumptions that they and, quite
possibly their firm, bring to the consultancy. I am here referring to the general
The tone of the consultancy will be influenced by certain qualities of the individual
referring here to the gravitas, presence, centredness, confidence and poise that come
from emotional competence, high self esteem and having a positive self-concept. Being
present requires "not being disabled by anxiety, and so being open to others rather than
facilitation skills, the failure to manage emotions and general anxiety amongst them.
Edwin Nevis, a gestalt practitioner, considers that presence is central to the role of
consultant: "in the process of helping the client system to improve its functioning, the
consultants are to use "certain values, attitudes and skills … to stimulate, and perhaps
evoke from the client, action that is necessary for movement on its problems…"29
Gerard Egan strongly urges any person in a helping role to invest in what he describes
behaviour", Nevis highlights the way in which the consultant, by selectively sharing
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their own feelings, can establish their presence in the relationship. The key decision is
probably around the selection of what to share and what not to share.
Within this general character there may be preferences for a particular way of working.
However, it appears that many management consultants can draw on a wide repertoire
of ways of working and, indeed, this is a distinct advantage for the client. This feature
consultancies are traditionally secretive (some exceptionally so) and the methods of
training used have, until recently, been based almost exclusively on the apprenticeship
model – work experience and internal training. It would, it seems to me, be perfectly
the published literature because so much has come from the organisational developers.
been prepared to discuss their models and ideas in an academic context. This is helpful
in the sense that I am interested in exploring the contribution that internal consultancy
the published literature speaks volumes about OD and related practice but in terms of
worth stopping for a moment and considering the principal ways in which consultants
29
are used. Kubr considers that "most of the consulting assistance to management will be
• Providing information
Certain of the models following are more closely associated with some of these forms
of assistance than others. Some of the models discussed below are entirely unsuitable
Perhaps the most commonly discussed model for consulting practice might be called
the doctor-patient model. The very title harks back to the, once popular, nickname for
that the client company is suffering from some illness that needs to be cured. The
consultant first takes a history, considers the symptoms and then moves on to making a
diagnosis. This diagnosis is agreed with the "patient" "who" is then issued with a
prescription. This document, the consultant's report, will not only describe the
30
medicine that needs to be taken, at what frequency and over what period, but may also
detail "operations", "blood letting" and other treatments which should be carried out.
It would be possible to further elaborate the model by drawing parallels between the
consultant's firm and the consultant surgeon's firm, the role of "juniors" in carrying out
the assignment (once the senior consultant has completed the front end work), the
possible need for "injections" of new ideas or methods and other forms of therapy. It is
also clear that the doctor-patient model draws upon the notion of the consultant as
expert and assumes a relatively passive and uninformed patient. This model
presupposes, I think, a consultant who knows what good health is, a patient resigned
to the belief that they are "sick" and a relatively poorly balanced power relationship
Bob Garratt, a management consultant who was for many years Secretary of the
rationality and low on involvement or client ownership. It is most useful when the
client has a new and unfamiliar problem that is not expected to recur and where there
31
In the features of the medical, doctor-patient, surgical or expertise model I see some
• the passive role which the consultant expects the client to perform;
• the fictional (see box below) notion of causal relationships and the
• the "requirement", for this model to work, that the client see themselves
This last "requirement" is particularly restrictive and, I think, peculiar. It rules out the
perfectly reasonable case of the organisation that sees itself as perfectly healthy but in
need of improvement. Somehow this model of consulting requires that the client buy
into the notion of being "unable" – which may be far from the truth.
The fictional notion of cause and effect and the validity of linear
organisational analysis
simplifying notions of cause and effect (X definitely took place solely because Y was
allowed to repeat and consequence W was the result) and are based on a linear
paradigm. Organisations are, however, much more complex than this analysis would
suggest.
32
accept the essentially chaotic nature of much organisational life. Managers brought
Expert consultants seem to meet a need for the simplicity of certainty and
predictability and clients and consultants collude in preferring this to what Lewin
whole"33 – which is so much less amenable to linear, causal analysis and simple
description.
The medical patient entering hospital for the first time is likely to be concerned about
the results of putting him- or herself in the hands of the "experts". David Maister
summarises the insecurities of the client about to place themselves in the hands of the
1. "I'm feeling insecure. I'm not sure I know how to detect which of the finalists is
the genius, and which is just good. I've exhausted my abilities to make
technical distinctions.
2. I'm feeling threatened. This is my area of responsibility, and even though
intellectually I know I need outside expertise, emotionally it's not
comfortable to put my affairs in the hand of others.
3. I'm taking a personal risk. By putting myself in the hands of others I risk losing
control.
4. I'm impatient. I didn't call anyone in at the first sign of symptoms (or
opportunity). I've been thinking about this for a while.
5. I'm worried. By the very fact of suggesting improvements or changes, these
people are going to be implying that I haven't done it right up till now. Are
these people going to be on my side?
6. I'm exposed. Whoever I hire, I'm going to reveal some proprietary secrets, not
all of which are flattering. I will have to undress.
7. I'm feeling ignorant and I don't like the feeling. I don't know if I have got a
simple problem or a complex one. I'm not sure I can trust them to be honest
about that: it's in their interest to convince me it's complex.
33
8. I'm sceptical. I've been burned before by these kinds of people. You get a lot of
promises: How do I know whose promise I should buy?
9. I'm concerned that they either can't or won't take the time to understand what
makes my situation special. They'll try to sell me what they've got rather
than what I need.
10. I'm suspicious. Will they be those typical professionals who are hard to get
hold of, who are patronising, who leave you out of the loop, who befuddle you
with jargon, who don't explain what they're re-doing or why, who…, who …,
who …? In short, will these people deal with me in the way I want to be dealt
with?"
Figure: X.xx34
The medical, doctor-patient or expert role, whilst subject to criticism, has the
where the client needs expertise or a particular resource. This might include supplying
new system, training staff in a new technique, recommending organisational and other
A second model is the sales model. In this case the consultant has a product or service
and will go searching for a potential client with the appropriate need. This modus
operandi is one that has the potential to reinforce a number of the negative stereotypes
associated with management consulting. In cases where the consultant is poorly trained
and too eager (s) he may unwittingly be cast in the role of consultant with a
proprietary solution to a problem which the client may not have accepted they have. In
certain cases, IT consultancy for example, this may indeed be the case. Even here,
however, the consultant needs to be able to present features as benefits and talk about
modifications, bespoke adaptations and personal after care services such as training
34
A third model is that of the travel agent. This is the model preferred by Charles J
Margerison in his book "Managerial Consulting Skills"35. Margerison "assumes that the
client is on a journey. The clients may not always know specifically where they wish to
go or how to get there. It is the job of the consultant to go through their objectives and
Margerison goes on to explain that he helps managers decide for themselves where
they wish to go and how they wish to travel. He does this by "designing the vehicles36"
for the managers to use. These include various sorts of meetings to achieve a range of
objectives connected with the journey. Margerison describes his "code" which he uses
M = Maps. How can the client understand what has to be done en route?"37
I see echoes here of the classic (Carl) Rogerian model of counselling (or therapy).
Rogers believed passionately that people could gain effective control of their lives if
they were helped to understand where they had come from, where they are now and
where they want to be. The Rogerian counsellor's role is to help the client understand
This counselling model sees the client as the individual human being and not the
corporation or the plc but there are echoes of this approach in what has become known
as process consulting.
35
From time to time, in discussing management consulting models, I have heard people
that people intend to refer to, but the use of the word "process" is beset with
difficulties. Learning specialists may well use the term to mean the way in which skills
are learnt, adapted and adopted for use in a particular context by a given individual.
management consultancy contexts, may mean the entire business activity through
which value is added and a return on the investment generated as in the case of
"business process re-engineering". For all these reasons it is critically important that a
Process consulting, for Garratt, is like therapy. It involves people much more because
Edgar Schein, who some regard as the originator of process consulting, describes it as:
"a set of activities on the part of the consultant that help the client to perceive,
understand, and act upon the process events that occur in the client's environment"38. I
don't find this a very satisfactory definition as the concept of "process events" is at the
36
for stimulating change". For Kubr the process consultant is primarily concerned "with
passing on his or her approach, methods and values so that the client organisation itself
Schein explains that the "most central premise of process consulting is that the client
owns the problem and continues to own it throughout the consultation process. The
consultant can help the client to deal with the problem, but the consultant never takes
Process consulting is most useful when the problems are complex and not well defined,
when there is a need for the client to be thoroughly involved in the resolution of the
problem and where there is a continuing need to develop problem solving skills in the
area concerned.
Many commentators distinguish between expert and process consulting. Thomas and
can, they say, provide a fast or quick response to a problem; is often highly focused;
may apply exactly the right expertise to the problem and has high impact. "Directive"
in style, operating at the "tell" end of the spectrum, expert consulting may breed client
dependency. Yet technically neat and logical solutions may be delivered into a vacuum
(and deposited on a shelf) because the client commitment has not been developed.
Expert consulting can also deliver the wrong solution, through lack of understanding
combined with little client ownership and no client commitment and this can lead to a
37
One result of an excessive use of expert consulting is that it can lower the collective
morale of an organisation, which is, effectively and constantly, being "told" that it does
not have the expertise to solve its own problems. Expert consulting, overused, may
also diminish or devalue the intellectual capital in the organisation and create a
dependency culture – healthy, perhaps, for the consultant but distinctly unhealthy for
the client.
Process consulting, whilst having the disadvantages of being not particularly fast and
possibly supplying the wrong expertise has the compensating advantages of offering
solutions through high levels of client ownership and commitment both of which build
the client's confidence in the process and can be significantly motivational. Process
consultants work on the assumption that the client has the necessary expertise to reach
Though attractive in many ways, in this respect, process consultants may, of course, be
One of the problems with many bi-polar models (like the Westminster model of
government and opposition) is that they tend to lead to, often fruitless, argument about
which polar opposite is better or more effective. In the case of these two models
(expert and process) there are a number of reasons why this argument of pre-eminence
is being avoided. First, there appears to be recognition that the two models have
38
specialists (for whom the process model may have considerable attraction) accept that
they need to combine their process consulting orientation with technical, financial,
39
Multiple Roles of the Consultant
Client
Consultant
NON-DIRECTIVE DIRECTIVE
Raises Observes Gathers data Identifies Offers Trains the client Provides Proposes
questions for problem solving and stimulates alternatives and alternatives and and designs information and guidelines,
reflection processes and thinking resources for participates in learning suggestions for persuades or
raises issues client and helps decisions experiences policy or directs in the
mirroring assess practice problem solving
feedback consequences decisions process
Figure: X.. xx43
It is argued that a flexible approach is most beneficial. This flexibility can be achieved
in different ways. Garratt writes about contingent consulting and implies that it is an
integration of the two extreme models, whereas others argue for a flexible consulting
style which employs insights and approaches from both expert and process model at
different stages in a project to achieve the desired outcome. Gordon and Ronald
Lippitt develop this further by employing a non-directive and directive continuum (see
Figure X.xx, above) and also agree that the consultant may play a range of roles
situational as the project or assignment progresses and the relationship with the client
evolves.
Thomas and Elbeik simplify the non-directive / directive continuum and refer to the
consultant's listening and telling modes of operation. This may be illustrated with a
"Knowing where to
be on the Listening-
Telling continuum
throughout the project
is one of my key
skills"
Telling
Listening
Expert
Thomas and Elbeik associate listening with the process consultancy model and telling
with the expert model and summarise one result of this in the following observation:
"Process consulting demands that you focus not only on the problem but also on the
Contingent consulting has, for me, echoes of both facilitation and non-directive
"It attempts to integrate the expertise and process practices when appropriate to the
Sally Garratt comments that, in using a consultant who operates in this way, "the client
is not buying that consultant's expert knowledge of the subject to unravel the problem,
but rather his intelligence and naivety."47 Contingent consulting appears to involve
restating or reframing the problem in such a way that the client's values are brought to
organisation?
Chapter 3: The skills and models of the Internal Consultant
Skills
Peter Block (who is primarily concerned with the internal consultant) suggests that the
consultant needs three types of skill to function effectively: technical skill, interpersonal
skill and consulting skill. Each is essential. Calvert Markham, in "The Top
Consultant",48 takes a somewhat different view about the trinity of skills needed.
Markham agrees that technical and consultancy skills are essential but he replaces
These differences between the types of skills required are a clear indicator of
as being of the "expert" type. (At the other end of this spectrum there lies the
deriving primarily from the knowledge, skill, experience and know-how that gain them
admission to the organisation. Markham writes from the power base of the expert, well
• "If you do not have the expertise, then you cannot act as an expert."
• "If you are not credited with any expertise, you will have no expert power."49
However, even a highly relevant technical expertise may not be sufficient to operate
public and the private sector. Writing in 1981 in "Management Services"50 he argues
practitioners in the public sector, especially, were engaged in the process of re-
in two of the functions of management consultancy the MS expert performed well but
in a final functional area the MS expert was most often notable for his/her absence.
Harrison
1 Identifying a problem ✔
2 Recommending a solution ✔
3 Helping with implementation ✘
Harrison claims that MS practitioners were good at identifying the problem, getting
beneath symptoms to unearth root causes and the consequences of the problem. He
believes that MS practitioners were good at exploring the costs and consequences of
inaction.
Developing and recommending a solution was also well within the capability of the MS
practitioner. Indeed, "their technical training and professional orientation are geared
he writes.
What Harrison recognised was that the MS practitioner often departed the scene at this
elaborate technical solutions delivered in a beautifully produced report that ignored the
political, cultural and emotional aspects of the change process. Moreover, the MS
point where he must begin to take the difficult yet decisive steps towards action and
Though Harrison does not advance this view personally, I wonder if the skill-set of the
The parallels here with some training practice today impressed me forcibly. How often
do trainers provide the analysis and the models in a vacuum but then fail to support the
How often does the trainer follow the delegate back to work from the course and see
to what extent they actually use any of the skills that have been taught? Would that not
be a way of deciding if anything had been learnt? Trainers who wish to follow the
pathway to consulting, which Keri Phillips and Patricia Shaw claim to be characterised
by a movement from the left to the right on any of the five dimensions set out below,
experience might only take them so far in internal consultancy, so the trainer (in the
view of Phillips and Shaw) needs to be wary of certain learnt behaviours that may be a
barrier to effective consultancy. Trainers who seek to become consultants may need,
they say, to learn to let go of "performing" before groups; learn to let go of control and
“Since as a consultant he is not there to teach or train people but to help them learn,
problem-solve and develop, his skills in helping people memorise things will not be
I notice here that the trainer who functions as facilitator of adult learning (rather than
as didact) will have the advantage, if we wholly accept Phillips and Shaw's argument,
Harrison also recognised that the MS practitioner who wanted to act as internal
consultant needed to "engage and manage the client's commitment to solving the
problem and develop a suitable strategy for implementing the proposed solution, which
will cope with the resource constraints and political obstacles which so often inhibit
change. Developing client commitment and planning for implementation call for other
• The ability to provide top quality advice, in the right manner and at the right time.
• The knowledge and the confidence to think outside the immediate, or the personal
functional "box", and help clients develop solutions that display a strategic
business perspective.
• Marketing skills.
• The ability to listen (really listen) to the client, communicate understanding and
suggest to the client that they [italics supplied] are the central focus of your
work now.
market.
analysis skills.
In larger scale projects there may also be the need to manage the input from a range of
Considering this discussion about key skills for process consulting, it appears to me,
that there are other skills that will assist the consultant – mostly in the area of
establishing effective, quality relationships with clients. These would seem to include
the following types of skills often developed through counselling and psychotherapy
• Expressing consultant’s wants for the project as well as finding out what the client
The process consultant, Edgar Schein, produces a rich list of factors that, he says,
affect an individual's ability to "build, maintain, improve and, if need be, repair face to
face relationships" which are so critical to success in all forms of consultancy. These
• Cultural/moral humility – the ability to see one's own value system as not
• Interpersonal and cross-cultural tact – the ability to solve problems with people
• Repair strategies and skills – the ability to resurrect, to revitalize and to rebuild
• Patience."57
Of course, the nature of the internal consultancy business and the strategic objectives
of the internal consultant will affect the type of skills that are considered most critical.
more interested in honing the skills that Schein highlights. If the business is centred,
say, on the design and development of knowledge management systems the skills base
will be different.
organisations".60 Like Thomas and Elbeik they put a premium on the ability to
"confront" which they describe as the "courage to challenge internal direction and
decisions while still sustaining effective working relationships"61 and Neal and Lloyd
also assert that internal consultants need to be able to "coach, share best practice and
transfer skills across the organisation."62 Sharing best practice and transferring skills
across the organisation is a role that the internal consultant can perform. [Insert
quotation from first interview with NT here] Neal and Lloyd also recognise this,
writing: "One of the key roles of the internal is to enhance internal capabilities over a
capability, releasing and promoting corporate vision, quality management – indeed, any
In a series of reported case studies, Neal and Lloyd highlight the need for the internal
consultant to:
• "Stay objective
• [Be] independent
• [Be] scrupulously honest in not playing people off against each other ot trying
• Create opportunities for clients to reach their own solutions rather than telling
… and …
• "Be prepared for a multi-faceted role: coach, support, counsellor, "sheep dog"
†
Meaning, unless the individual gives the internal consultant permission to break the code of
confidentiality surrounding the one to one discussion.
Models
The multi-faceted nature of internal consultancy seems to have resulted in the writers I
have studied and the practitioners I have interviewed, taking a pragmatic and eclectic
reasons:
external consultancy
• there has been time for a body of literature to grow up about the process of
external consultancy
developed for, and predominantly by, externals; accepted that they have
I have concluded that internal consultants are, typically, not only pragmatic but also
eclectic in their use of consulting models and approaches. I think that this is probably
The internal consultancy literature and the internal consultants I have interviewed
recognise the role complexity of the activity they perform and draw on a very wide
range of sources to inform both the content and style of their consulting.
A number of writers including Thomas and Elbeik describe a consulting cycle the key
3. Action planning
4. Implementation
Sometimes this is, confusingly, called the consulting process model but I shall try to
Thomas and Elbeik make the point that the internal consultant might expect to be
excluded from some stages of the project for various reasons and that they should be
able to feel comfortable with this ("unless you have done something negative to justify
your exclusion"). Even though, say, the client may undertake stages 3 and 4 they
emphasise the circularity of the process, rather than its linearity, and strongly urge all
Harrison developed and published two alternative role models intended for the internal
consultant:
Internal Consultancy: Two Alternative Role Models
Problem Centred Person/Client Centred
Consultant's The consultant focuses upon his The consultant deals with his
General client's problems/difficulties and is client at a personal level seeking
Orientation less concerned with his feelings to establish a basic condition of
and needs as a person. trust and openness, which is the
pre-condition of change and
learning.
Consulting Intellectual. To diagnose the To establish a climate of
Objectives nature, source, causes, and psychological safety. To manage
consequences of the problem the client's self -confidence. To
conditions of the system. Diffusion improve the client's capacity for
/ transferral: to generate and learning by dealing with personal
transfer our ideal solution. blockages which inhibit growth
and/or change. To transfer
coping skills rather than
solutions.
Methods The consultant operates from a No set paradigm exists, but
specialist's knowledge base and competent practitioners typically
uses standard diagnostic favour a counselling approach
procedures to isolate the problem based upon reflective listening
and identify the solution or remedy. and the ability to confront when
He writes a report to advise the needed.
system of this.
When/where When the client has a specific An initial stage of almost all
appropriate problem which he is able to helping encounters. When the
articulate and to resolve and to substantive problems are about
which he is already emotionally behaviour, attitude, roles,
committed. When the client relationships and other "people"
expects structure. When the client issues.
is really hurting and needs a speedy
solution, often later rather than
earlier in the helping cycle.
Risks The consultant takes over. Consultant is seen as ineffectual
Mystique. Client dependency. or as withholding help. Client
"Ideal" solution is rejected because dependency.
no psychological ownership by the
client.
Influence Intellectual competence. Expertise. Trust based upon mutual regard,
Basis Ideas and concepts. Ability to genuineness and respect.
provide structure.
Helping Probing. Evaluating. Interpreting. Reflective understanding.
Behaviours Supporting. Encouraging.
66
Figure 4.1
Phillips and Shaw, writing for the trainer, identify close parallels between the so-called
(Notice how their "consulting cycle" broadly parallels Thomas and Elbeik's "stages".)
Both training and consulting are cyclical processes but the consulting cycle is likely to
encompass overlap between stages and more recycling – underlining the greater
ambiguity in consulting work. It is partly this ambiguity that, I suspect, may prevent
that this ambiguity is one reason why the internal consultant is often very eclectic in
their use of models. It is my impression that successful internal consultants adopt and
adapt models of professional practice from a vast range of disciplines and sources to
create solutions for the client. This thinking out of the box coupled with tolerance of
the challenge of personal ambiguity and contentment with a relatively simple but
robust, consulting cycle model may be part of the secret of their success.
trainer's transferable skills and the areas where, after a move into consulting, the
former trainer may feel less well prepared. These are "gaining entry", "agreeing a
working contract", "feedback to clients and decision to act" – in all cases where the
Drawing on my own experience in guidance and counselling I can also compare this
model of the consulting cycle with a "generic" guidance and counselling model, as
follows:
Again, this comparative analysis shows where another professional specialism relates
consultant in mind, with a model developed by KPMG for their use with external
clients. This model is referred to as the engagement cycle within the firm. It contains
wholly dissimilar to the Thomas and Elbeik and Phillips and Shaw models we have
been examining.
Figure X:xx68
Chapter 4: Insights, benefits and advantages of internal
consultancy
"If this happens, you are out of a job, even if they keep you on the payroll."
have been drawn. Emphasising these differences can obscure the similarities. Both
types of consultancy are forms of helping, reliant on others to get their jobs done
through people who don't report to them, lacking formal positional power and
Examining the differences does often point to ways in which the internal consultant
may emulate the external or seek to build value added on the basis of the advantages
that internal location affords. I have already noted the ambiguity, the complexity of
relationships and the impact on the espoused models of practice that can be a strong
feature of internal consultancy. In this chapter I aim to focus on the benefits and
consultants.
Mark Thomas and Sam Elbeik assert that external consultants are:
2) potentially able to get the full attention of senior managers more easily – clients
attractive
4) generally highly motivated and committed people who display high levels of
energy towards their work and their clients. While many are paid lots of
money for doing this, their motivation and commitment is often to their
5) not always conversant with their client's business. Thus the client may have to
pay for the consultant to learn about the business in the initial stages of a
6) a flexible resource. The organisation is not burdened with long term costs –
7) able to learn from their clients and use this learning with other clients
8) not emotionally involved with their client's problems – they have no history of
investment in the situation and can therefore be more objective and critical
in reviewing situations
10) often investing in new approaches and methodologies – they have something
11) not always required to live with the consequences of their work
12) not always being entirely honest when they say "we've done this!". What they
often mean is that "we haven't, but we have really great people and
13) capable of developing a sense of dependency from their clients – "we cannot
Thomas and Elbeik's first point could be objected to on the grounds that some
consultants expend considerable energy ensuring that in the course of the first
assignment they build a solid and irrefutable case for their subsequent employment on a
related contract. In certain cases the client may lose control over the definition of the
Point 2 amounts to a curious commentary on the fact that when evaluating advice from
senior internal people the real cost of employing them is often overlooked. It also
points to one of the challenges for the internal consultant – namely having the
presence, skill and knowledge to gain the attention of senior people in the organisation
without having the psychological advantage of providing an above the line, invoiced
service.
Point 3 goes to the heart of the knowledge management issue for organisations. How
place that they know that the expertise and experience is not present in house? If they
did have such systems in place the opportunity to avoid paying for the external
A number of internal consultants I have worked with have highlighted the sense of
quiet resignation they feel about the common assumption, made by managers, that an
Point 5 should be one of the internal consultants main strengths. Provided they can
combine critical objectivity and skill with their knowledge of the business they should
be able to drive home their advantage on this point with little difficulty. The problem
arises where the client is not persuaded that they have the necessary skill, can maintain
the critical objectivity and that they know enough about the business. If these doubts
are combined with client worries about the "face validity" ("what will it look like to my
colleagues if we use the internals?") of using internal consultants, a vague sense that
the internal consultant is too close to the problem to have the critical, detached
difficult. Point 6 should be applying but somehow the external consultant seems to
have more permanence than a fair proportion of the employed staff. Naturally, external
long-term dependent relationships with the client. The client needs to be clear thinking,
direct and firm with external consultants who have outstayed their welcome.
Point 7 is both a reason for using consultants and a reason to be very cautious about
using consultants. Clients are buying this knowledge and experience sourced from,
quite possibly, their competitors and they need to be aware that any sophisticated
consultancy will have carefully considered how best to store, analyses and use the
extremely valuable experience and information that each client will provide.
Point 8 helps in understanding some of the challenges facing the internal consultant.
Internal consultants need to be able to bring this level of detachment to the problem in
order to achieve the objective and critically informed perspective that, perhaps, may be
more easily achieved by the external consultant. The internal consultant may have a
But this level of detailed understanding may make it difficult to "see the wood for the
trees". If the internal is able to operate at the tactical and strategic level, whilst making
use of their more detailed understanding of the subtleties and nuances of the politics of
the organisation then they have something very valuable to offer indeed.
Point 9 is most debatable when the consultancy and the client have a long-standing
association or where the manager who places the contract is an alumnus of the
move either up the organisation or out to the higher reaches of client firms where they
independence (of mind, perspective and of approach) is one of the most difficult claims
of the external consultant for the internal to counter. When the cry is: "What we need
here is an independent perspective, a fresh pair of eyes!" the internal consultant needs
Point 10 may well be true but the purchaser needs to be clear that the consultancy is
not simply recycling ideas from the last client, promoting the latest fashionable
management fad or promoting a methodology that has never been fully and
be carefully thought about. Peter Fraser, Group Human Resources Consultant, Zurich
Australian Insurance Group describes this as the external consultant's 'tourist feature'.
"The external consultant", he says, "is more like a tourist – someone who can spoil the
Point 13 refers to the fact that it is an unusual external consultant that invests in
developing the client's independence. This is an area where the internal consultant need
not feel under pressure to maintain dependence. Indeed, as I have noted already, Neal
and Lloyd say that the internal consultant has a key role in enhancing internal
capabilities and not, to such an extreme as the external, in breeding and cultivating the
culture of dependence.
Thomas and Elbeik are only concerned with internal consultancy. They see the work of
systems are failing to deliver the necessary levels of performance. Consultants are
employed to improve the performance gap; their involvement can be short or long
term; they assist the client without taking over the control of the problem and they
provide advice in ways which enhance the client's ability to solve their future problems
A Thomas and Elbeik consultant would exercise influence to get things done differently
in such a way that the client becomes fully committed to the solution. Like Block,
the external and the internal consultant that is worth exploring in some detail.
The independent or external consultant constantly faces the dilemma about the extent
to which he / she enables the client to become more independent or maintains the
client's dependence on him / her. This is a dilemma that is shared, to some extent, with
those in the helping professions. Alfred Benjamin, writing in "The Helping Interview"70,
"The interviewee may have learned to regard himself as someone who requires the
"specialist"."
For the counsellor this raises ethical issues as Benjamin writes: "Am I really helping by
tendering the advice he seeks? May I not be reinforcing his negative concept of
himself? Will he be able to build on my advice, or will advice seeking lead to more
One might speculate that, for some consultants, the growing dependence that Benjamin
How this dependency can be stimulated is worth considering. External consultants may
illuminate. They may deliberately build into their solutions the need for further
consultancy and imply that only they can provide this assistance. They are,
unfortunately for the client, well placed in the course of their diagnosis and
investigation, to make the required assessment of the capability of the staff they meet
and to pitch their solution just beyond the grasp of the staff. Consultants who
emphasise their educative approach may, quite genuinely, see this behaviour as,
The internal consultant may be tempted to breed dependence in similar ways albeit for
different reasons. The internal consultant may feel under pressure to justify their role.
They may suffer insecurity about repeat business. They may operate in a culture that
externally supplied service. They may not have developed their internal marketing skills
and strategies to match their functional expertise and, as a result may feel more
comfortable delivering and less so when scouting for business. They may have an
The internal consultant operating as a business unit within a host organisation and
subject to cost and profit centre pressures is best regarded, in this respect, as an
external consultant and subject to the full range of pressures to limit the client's
independence.
know their business and industry extremely well. They may also have
external group
4) aware of the right language and culture of the organisation. They know
5) able to identify with the organisation and its ambitions – as employees they
consultants
8) required to live with the consequences of their advice – they are still around
Point 1 may well be true. As part of the system they can be expected to have a solid
and norms but there may also be a dark side to this better understanding. The internal
consultant may be so immersed in their understanding of the business that they find it
Point 2 can be very powerful but also the source of trouble for the internal consultant.
With all this knowledge and expertise to bring to the consultancy there is the ever-
present danger of being typecast as an expert consultant and never being able to escape
can't say: "Oh! I am terribly sorry, I can't do process because I am an expert." Or vice
versa. People want solutions, someone to help them with their thinking and, therefore,
Point 3 can be the source of the internal consultant's expertise and the resources of the
support department can be invaluable. Problems may sometimes arise where the
Point 4 also has a sting in the tail. As Peter Block points out, "line managers can see
[the internal consultant] as being captured by the same forces and madness that
impinge on them. Thus they may be a little slower to trust you and recognise that you
Point 5 has all manner of downsides including the notion of being captured by
corporate "forces and madness" as Block writes, having too great an emotional
consultant, being up against a conflict of interest between the needs and aspirations of
the consultant's section and the client section, being seen (by top management) as an
emissary evangelist for a particular corporate solution which needs to be pressed into
action at every opportunity – whatever the real needs. Peter Block sees this as being
"asked to sell your own department's approach, and the pressure to do this can be
immense."73
Point 6 raises the issue of the ways in which the internal consultant builds credibility.
Consultancy"74, says that the internal consultant's credibility is built in the same way as
from credible sources." Whilst this is true, the downside can be catastrophic. Peter
"Having one manager angry at you can be a disaster. The potential number of clients is
limited to the number of managers in one organisation. If you blow one or two jobs,
word can get around fast and the demand for your services can disappear quickly. If
this happens you are out of a job, even if they keep you on the payroll."75
Point 8 may lead to reluctance to give "honest feedback"76, "very cautious behaviour"77
and, as Peter Block says, "the internal consultant [coming] to be used only as a pair of
hands." However, the internal consultant who is still employed when the results of their
away in exactly the same way as the external consultant may do.
Point 9 also contains the seeds of destruction within it. Senior management may come
good practice, whipping in the recalcitrant and promoting the corporate ethos. The
weight of these corporate expectations may prove too much for an internal consultancy
knowledge base brought about by internal consultants who are skilled at transferring
convert an adversary. A certain line manager may have rejected your department's
services for years, but it is up to you to bring him into the fold."78
Appendix 1
out the research reported in this dissertation. I will seek to critically examine my
assumptions and try to identify the influences that shaped my thinking and practice.
Why did I want to carry out the research in the first place? My reasons were, I believe,
two-fold:
made use of the internal consultancy skills that I have examined in this
with the body of knowledge about consultancy that I had been exploring.
to the debate within my organisation about the nature of the similarities and
differences between external consultancy and internal consultancy. The focus
for this debate had been the creation of the behavioural competencies map for
my organisation. Was it reasonable to propose that the firm had one common
behavioural framework for all staff (external client facing consultancy staff and
What method would I use? My approach to this was essentially discursive and
• First, the Roffey Park research team helped me to decide that what I was about
research here also in that I wanted to bring about some change but I was not
proposing to actively seek to change current practice in the firm during the
course of the research phase. I did hope, however, that my research results
internal consultancy training (there was no formal training for internal staff
the firm.
structured interview based survey (see Appendix 2). In the course of debate
within the learning set I came to understand that this form of enquiry was
framed in such a way as to exclude me accessing the rich results that could
be generated by a more qualitative approach. By seeking largely to control
likely to produce results which would have been of dubious validity. I also
fact, what I wanted to do was to understand, describe and reveal the social
• Third, I came to realise, through discussions in the learning set and the
of the interviews was to understand more about the different, multiple realities
(rather than remain detached); understand the meanings and emphases that they
used rather than impose outsiders' meanings or my own; examine the whole
context of internal consultancy and become alert to complex and subtle issues
and patterns of meaning. I did not want to constrain the responses of those I
each person. I wanted to gather case study material of some depth rather than
about these issues as much as about what they know about consultancy. What
skills and competencies have they developed and demonstrated and what part
With these matters clarified I developed a much more open ended approach to my
• How do you go about gaining access to the key people in the sections you work
with?
• Can you tell me about your most successful incident / project or assignment in
relation to this kind of work?
Introduction
Thank the participant for their time and explain that, as part of a programme of
organisations.
I am particularly interested in the extent to which client liaison roles in Bacon &
Woodrow's HR Training team and account management roles in the Firm's Marketing
I have arranged to interview most people in the HR Training team who have
experience of the client liaison role and will also arrange to meet with all the account
The information you provide will form part of my dissertation but the information you
Interview Questions
Question 1: Which four of the statements on Card 1 best express what you offer to the
Question 3: What do you find rewarding about this part of your job? [Record
answers].
Question 4: What do you find challenging about this part of your job? [Record
answers].
Question 5: I have introduced the idea of internal consultancy. Here are a number of
definitions of internal consultancy. (Show Card 2.) Which definition comes closest to
describing the work you do in your liaison with sections of the Firm?
Question 6: Consider the list of skills on Card 3. Which of these skills do you think
Adviser in the Bacon & Woodrow HR team, with a training background, operating as
an internal consultant?
Question 7: People who act as consultants within organisations may take on a range of
roles. On Card 4 you will see many of these roles listed, together with a brief
Could you give me some examples of what you did when you performed this most
frequent role?
1. I know the HR Training systems and can show them how to use them
2. I know how to ensure that the section's investment in training supports the
section's objectives
3. I know the key people in the section and in the HR team and how to influence
them
4. I have an established network of contacts which sections know they can access
through you
5. I have a lot of information about ways in which training and development can solve
my section's problems
problems
8. I make it my business to keep in close touch with the long term consequences of
10. I interpret Bacon & Woodrow's training policies and help "my" sections to apply
them
11. I detect training and development needs which are not being addressed and ensure
2. The ability to provide top quality advice, in the right manner and at the right
time.
4. The knowledge and the confidence to think outside the immediate, or the
personal functional "box", and help clients develop solutions that display a
7. Marketing skills.
9. The ability to listen (really listen) to the client, communicate understanding and
suggest to the client that they are the central focus of your work now.
10. The capacity to negotiate and agree terms of reference in a constrained, internal
market.
24. Cultural/moral humility – the ability to see one's own value system as not
25. A proactive problem solving orientation – the conviction that interpersonal and
26. Personal flexibility – the ability to adopt different responses and approaches as
needed
27. Negotiation skills – the ability to explore differences creatively, to locate some
28. Interpersonal and cross-cultural tact – the ability to solve problems with people
29. Repair strategies and skills – the ability to resurrect, to revitalize and to rebuild
30. Patience
dynamics
32. Deep awareness of [personal] biases and values in the consulting processes
33. The ability to think conceptually, extracting simple patterns from the internal
complexities of organisations
34. Courage to challenge internal direction and decisions while still sustaining
35. The ability to enhance internal capabilities over a prolonged period of time
Card 4
Consultancy Roles
Reflector Process Fact finder Alternative Collaborator in Trainer/educator Technical expert Advocate
specialist identifier problem
solving
Raises Observes Gathers Identifies Offers Trains the client Provides Proposes
questions problem data and alternatives and alternatives and and designs information and guidelines,
for solving stimulates resources for client participates in learning suggestions for persuades, or
reflection processes and thinking and helps assess decisions experiences policy or directs in the
raises issues consequences practice problem solving
mirroring decisions process
feedback
1
Mark Thomas and Sam Elbeik, "Supercharge Your Management Role", 1996, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 1996,
page 3
2
Thomas and Elbeik, 1996, page 4
3
Thomas and Elbeik, 1996, page 5
4
List adapted from Keri Phillips and Patricia Shaw, "A Consultancy Approach for Trainers", 1989, Gower, Aldershot
5
Quoted in an article by Simon Caulkin in "Management Today", March 1997, page 33. Institute of Management, London
6
Peter Block, "Flawless Consulting: A Guide To Getting Your Expertise Used", 1981, Pfeiffer & Company, San Francisco
7
Joseph Prokopenko, Hari Johri and Chris Cooper, "Internal Management Consulting: Building In House Competencies
for Sustainable Improvements", Entreprise (sic) and Management Development Working Paper – EMD/20/E, published on
the internet by the International Labour Organisation
8
Prokopenko, Johri and Cooper, op cit
9
Thomas and Elbeik, 1996, page 4
10
Peter Block, "Flawless Consulting: A Guide To Getting Your Expertise Used", 1981, Pfeiffer & Company, San Francisco,
page 82
11
Larry Greiner and Robert Metzger, "Consulting to Management", 1983, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
12
Joseph Prokopenko, Hari Johri and Chris Cooper, "Internal Management Consulting: Building In House Competencies
for Sustainable Improvements", Entreprise (sic) and Management Development Working Paper – EMD/20/E, published on
the internet by the International Labour Organisation
13
Prokopenko, Johri and Cooper, op cit.
14
Clifford D Sharp, "Professionalism, Vision and Values", pamphlet published by the Staple Inn Actuarial Society, June
1999, London
15
Christian Paul Lynch, IMC Questionnaire and responses, 1992, quoted in "Management Consultancy: a handbook for
best practice", Editor: Philip Sadler, 1998, Kogan Page, London, Chapter2, page 42
16
Code of Professional Conduct, Institute of Management Consultant's brochure, London
17
Code of Professional Conduct, Institute of Management Consultant's brochure, London
18
Code of Professional Conduct, Institute of Management Consultant's brochure, London
19
Chris Blackhurst, "Blackhurst's Diary", in "Management Today", July 2000, page 16, Institute of Management, London
20
According to Simon Caulkin, article in "Management Today", March 1997, page 34, Institute of Management, London
21
Quoted by Simon Caulkin writing in "Management Today", March 1997.
22
The NHS spent £200 million on consultancy in 1996 alone.
23
Quoted by Simon Caulkin writing in "Management Today", op cit.
24
Larry Greiner and Robert Metzger, "Consulting to Management", 1983, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
25
Chapter 7 in "Management Consultancy: a handbook for best practice", Editor: Philip Sadler, 1998, Kogan Page, London
26
'A Survey of Management Consultancy' in "The Economist", February 13, 1988, London
27
William A Khan, "To Be Fully There: Psychological Presence at Work", 'Human Relations', 45 (1992)
28
Edwin C Nevis, "A Gestalt Approach to Organisational Consulting", 1987, Gardner Press, New York, page 53
29
Edwin C Nevis, "A Gestalt Approach to Organisational Consulting", 1987, Gardner Press, New York, page 54
30
Gerard Egan, "The Skilled Helper", 1975, Brooks/Cole Publishing Co., Monterey, USA
31
Milan Kubr (Editor), "Management Consulting: A Guide To The Profession", 3rd edition, 1996, International Labour
Office, Geneva, page 13
32
Bob Garratt, "From Expertise to Contingency: Changes in the Nature of Consulting", Management Education and
Development (Workshop), Vol 12., part 2, pages 95-101.
33
Kurt Lewin, "Field Theory in Social Science", 1952, Tavistock Press, London
34
David Maister, "Managing the professional service firm", 1993, The Free Press, New York, page 113
35
Charles J Margerison, "Managerial Consulting Skills: a practical guide", 1988, Gower, Aldershot, page 106
36
Charles J Margerison, "Managerial Consulting Skills: a practical guide", 1988, Gower, Aldershot, page 106
37
Charles J Margerison, "Managerial Consulting Skills: a practical guide", 1988, Gower, Aldershot, page 106
38
Edgar H Schein, "Process Consultation", Vol. II, "Lessons for managers and consultants", 1987, Addison-Wesley,
Reading, Massachusetts, page 34
39
Milan Kubr (Editor), "Management Consulting: A Guide To The Profession", 3rd edition, 1996, International Labour
Office, Geneva, page 58
40
Milan Kubr (Editor), "Management Consulting: A Guide To The Profession", 3rd edition, 1996, International Labour
Office, Geneva, page 58
41
Edgar H Schein, "Process Consultation", Vol. II, "Lessons for managers and consultants", 1987, Addison-Wesley,
Reading, Massachusetts, page 34
42
Mark Thomas and Sam Elbeik, "Supercharge Your Management Role", 1996, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, page 13
43
Adapted from G Lippitt and R Lippitt: "The Consulting Process In Action", 1979, University Associates, La Jolla,
California, page 31
44
Mark Thomas and Sam Elbeik, "Supercharge Your Management Role", 1996, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford
45
Mark Thomas and Sam Elbeik, "Supercharge Your Management Role", 1996, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, page 17
46
Bob Garratt, "From Expertise to Contingency: Changes in the Nature of Consulting", Management Education and
Development (Workshop), Vol 12., part 2, pages 95-101
47
Sally Garratt, "How to be a Consultant", 1991, Gower, Aldershot, Hants.
48
Calvert Markham, "The Top Consultant", 3rd Edition, 1998, Kogan Page, London
49
Calvert Markham, "The Top Consultant", 3rd Edition, 1998, Kogan Page, London, page 127
50
R G Harrison, "Management Services practitioners as internal consultants – two alternative role models", article in
"Management Services", December 1981, pages 16 - 18
51
R G Harrison, "Management Services practitioners as internal consultants – two alternative role models", article in
"Management Services", December 1981, pages 16 - 18
52
R G Harrison, "Management Services practitioners as internal consultants – two alternative role models", article in
"Management Services", December 1981, pages 16 - 18
53
Keri Phillips and Patricia Shaw, "A Consultancy Approach for Trainers", 1989, Gower, Aldershot
54
Keri Phillips and Patricia Shaw, "A Consultancy Approach for Trainers", 1989, Gower, Aldershot, page 32
55
R G Harrison, "Management Services practitioners as internal consultants – two alternative role models", article in
"Management Services", December 1981, pages 16 - 18
56
Mark Thomas and Sam Elbeik, "Supercharge Your Management Role", 1996, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford – skills
derived or extrapolated from a close reading of much of their text, rather than direct quotation.
57
Quoted by Milan Kubr (Editor), in Appendix 9, page 798, "Management Consulting: A Guide To The Profession", 3rd
edition, 1996, International Labour Office, Geneva
58
Margaret Neal and Christine Lloyd, "The role of the internal consultant", Chapter 22, page 436 in "Management
Consultancy: a handbook for best practice", Editor: Philip Sadler, 1998, Kogan Page, London
59
Margaret Neal and Christine Lloyd, "The role of the internal consultant", Chapter 22, page 436 in "Management
Consultancy: a handbook for best practice", Editor: Philip Sadler, 1998, Kogan Page, London
60
Margaret Neal and Christine Lloyd, "The role of the internal consultant", Chapter 22, page 436 in "Management
Consultancy: a handbook for best practice", Editor: Philip Sadler, 1998, Kogan Page, London
61
Margaret Neal and Christine Lloyd, "The role of the internal consultant", Chapter 22, page 436 in "Management
Consultancy: a handbook for best practice", Editor: Philip Sadler, 1998, Kogan Page, London
62
Margaret Neal and Christine Lloyd, "The role of the internal consultant", Chapter 22, page 436 in "Management
Consultancy: a handbook for best practice", Editor: Philip Sadler, 1998, Kogan Page, London
63
Margaret Neal and Christine Lloyd, "The role of the internal consultant", Chapter 22, page 436 in "Management
Consultancy: a handbook for best practice", Editor: Philip Sadler, 1998, Kogan Page, London
64
Margaret Neal and Christine Lloyd, "The role of the internal consultant", Chapter 22, page 438 in "Management
Consultancy: a handbook for best practice", Editor: Philip Sadler, 1998, Kogan Page, London
65
Margaret Neal and Christine Lloyd, "The role of the internal consultant", Chapter 22, page 443 in "Management
Consultancy: a handbook for best practice", Editor: Philip Sadler, 1998, Kogan Page, London
66
R G Harrison, "Management Services practitioners as internal consultants – two alternative role models", article in
"Management Services", December 1981, pages 16 - 18
67
Phillips and Shaw, "A Consultancy Approach for Trainers", 1989, Gower, Aldershot
68
MSc in Management Consultancy, "Module 2" papers, 1998, The Management Consultancy Business School, Coventry
69
Mark Thomas and Sam Elbeik, "Supercharge Your Management Role", 1996, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford
70
Alfred Benjamin, "The Helping Interview", 2nd Edition, 1974, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, page 131
71
Interview recorded in July,2000.
72
Peter Block, "Flawless Consulting: A Guide To Getting Your Expertise Used", 1981, Pfeiffer & Company, San Francisco,
page 106
73
Peter Block, "Flawless Consulting: A Guide To Getting Your Expertise Used", 1981, Pfeiffer & Company, San Francisco,
page 106
74
Raphe Berenbaum, "Internal Consultancy", Chapter 4, page 87, in "Developing Organisational Consultancy", Edited by
Jean E Neuman, Kamil Kellner and Andrea Dawson-Shepherd, 1997, Routledege, London
75
Peter Block, "Flawless Consulting: A Guide To Getting Your Expertise Used", 1981, Pfeiffer & Company, San Francisco,
page 106
76
Peter Block, "Flawless Consulting: A Guide To Getting Your Expertise Used", 1981, Pfeiffer & Company, San Francisco,
page 106
77
Peter Block, "Flawless Consulting: A Guide To Getting Your Expertise Used", 1981, Pfeiffer & Company, San Francisco,
page 106
78
Peter Block, "Flawless Consulting: A Guide To Getting Your Expertise Used", 1981, Pfeiffer & Company, San Francisco,
page 106