The final part on positioning, as an external change agent. This slide takes a further look at the concepts, theories and practice of ensuring effective delivery of expertise by management consultants in dynamic environments.

1. Know Your Place:
Role of the external change agent (2)
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2. Introduction
• Who are clients?
• Looking at the
methods for
engaging with
clients
• Determining roles
• Throughput
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3. What is role
• Role is eclectic, subject to
consulting rationale & the client
organisation. Consideration is
required to determine
methodology + contribution to
the objectives = success of an
intervention. But...
Organizational dynamics impact
the consultant’s ability to
perform
• (Ade ‘04)
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4. Who are clients
• ‘Primary Clients’ identified the problem or issue
• ‘Contact Clients’ make first contact with the consultant
• ‘Intermediate Clients’ , thereafter.
• ‘Unwitting Clients’ affected by the consultant’s role but are
unaware of it.
• ‘Indirect Clients’ are affected & know but the consultant is
unaware of the impact on them.
• ‘Ultimate Clients’ refers to the total community that will be
affected by the consultant’s intervention, internal and /or
external. (Schein 1997)
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5. Consulting roles & process
Authority Approach Methods Tools
Block Research
Approach/
Action Approach
Discovery
Model
Interview/ document
analysis / own
experience
Cope 7 Cs of
Consulting
Clarify Diagnosis,
data requirement,
data gathering,
data analysis
Magerison 12 Steps Action
Planning,
Action
Research,
Action
Implementing
Contract,
data collection,
decision making
Schein Process
Consultation
Clinical
Research
Client/consultant
collaboration
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6. Think about it
• “Each intervention has rules of practice that
have evolved over time by other consultants.
Being competent in an intervention means
being knowledgeable about these rules of
practice and skillful in implementing these
rules with the client” (Neumann et al 1997)
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7. Determining role
Client Dynamic +
(CD)
Consulting
Objectives =
(CO)
Consultant Role
(CR)
Organizational
culture. Consulting
rationale. Extent of
organizational
support.
Operational &
environmental
context.
Varied according to
underlying rationale
for assignment
Deploy consulting
technique. Apply
specialists or
generalists skills.
Maintain
interpersonal
relationships.
Project Manage
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8. Purpose
• The role & process allows the delivery of
targeted expertise, to achieve stated
objectives. At conclusion this produces a
‘throughput’ or end result, which should
ideally, match the initial rationale for the
consulting intervention.
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9. Finally
Learn more, professionalise your status:
Certificate in Professional Consulting
Useful reference
MPhil thesis:
Consultant Client Interface: A Dual Perspective on
Independent Consulting (2004). University of Birmingham &
British Library
• images courtesy of clip art
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10. Our next in this
series: Outcomes
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