The longer a consultant is external and the more client environments they experience the less each seems different. Or let’s be fair and say the more they are the same. From the change management viewfinder that is a function of “Human Nature” (in quotes so you can decide if it exists).
Here are a few examples-
Expecting multiple years in a “lower” position before a promotion. Things like this put smiles on the faces of the successful 25 year old entrepreneurs.
Assuming time is needed to, “get used to our culture”. (in order to find the roadblocks?). As an external I could give you a sum up of your culture in a couple of days (with the roadblocks).
Pretending to be matrixed and collaborative with meetings between functions, and walking away empty handed in terms of shared business goals and cooperation.
Thinking the tool, whether technology or method, is a solution. A hammer is a solution to nothing until it is used to drive a nail or pry a board (and I am faster than my eight year old).
Relying on “best practices”. This one is my favorite. As soon as you call it that it is antiquated. And whose best practices? There is a whole company focused on change management that was created from a survey of “best practices” (since it was based on those who responded to the survey it was instantly flawed).
These may seem scattered examples but they illustrate different versions of the status quo, group think and the insular nature of large organizations. The next time an external influence tries (hopefully in a nice way) to show you that some of your reasoning or dare I say- resistance- may not hold water give them a chance to explain. If they can help you see from a different angle you have found a solid change agent and/or a trusted advisor.