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This was a question I posted on LinkedIn to elicit a variety of responses, which it did http://tinyurl.com/ygl4u5p.
Which led me to the next level of thinking. What is or should be the nature of coaching for an external consultant within an engagement?
For my engagements I like to have one or two individuals that I work with as a coach. Either they pick me, I reach out to them or the buyer and I choose them for development and/or succession planning. This is a less formal version of what I think of as a coach. My formal version (there appear to be about as many versions as there are people who call themselves coaches) is someone who helps an individual build skills. The most formal of the helping is a specific plan with exercises and tasks to practice and perfect the skills.
For newly minted managers this can be the first introduction to the differences between coaching and consulting (I think they are distinct and calling that out is helpful). Developing the skill to deal with, leverage and profit from external influence is a core competency for managers. Building multiple skills to form competency in an area is using coaching to facilitate consulting.
That is a version of the coaching that a consultant can provide.
From the other direction, yes of course the consultant can be coached. I typically develop trusted relationships with the internal resources I partner with. Those people are part of a feedback loop that I am either not in or would not access to protect my position/influence as an external. The perspectives of the people in those loops and their reactions to my influence are crucial for initiative success and my own development.
Addressing the level of coaching involved in change engagements is a chance to multitask operational development next to change. It addresses the WIFM (what’s in it for me) and creates a way for stakeholders to participate at both the individual and the corporate strategic level (contribution and development) and, in all honesty, gives the consultant a chance to have clear tangible effect under the umbrella of large initiatives.
Is coaching happening in your initiatives?
Technorati Tags: business objectives, Change, Change Design, change management, change management consultant, change management strategy, Change Strategy, coach, Context, core competency, engagements, exercises, External Consultant, external influence, feedback loop, Garrett Gitchell, honesty, Human Capital, initiative, Insights, internal, internal resources, leverage, linkedin, next level, operational development, perspectives, relationships, stakeholders, succession planning, vision to work, wifm
An idea starts, a strategy forms, a new tool appears. Change will follow.
In order to get from beginning to end of the change that original seed will have to go through what I call Translation. For change to be successful that seed will have to be turned into work. To get the work to happen, context for the stakeholders will have be connected to big picture. Or if they are instantly on board their list of work will have to be presented to them. Getting there is the translation.
This being the most important aspect of Corporate Change Management it is also the number one reason for failure (politics aside).
Think of both sides of the equation in your organization and with your own previous change initiatives. Grand idea, great strategy and no motivation? Tons of energy from the stakeholders, lots of work and no direction? Or the worst, a clear picture, a decent connection to the stakeholders and then a big correction midstream?
Spend and budget for the time and money needed to, at least, clarify the vision and define the end state. If you have the political capital go the next step and make sure you put in place the resources needed to make translations on the way. Hint a project manager will not take the time nor have the empathetic perspective needed to accomplish this. The same can probably be said of an internal consultant, except when they are being groomed for leadership. This is an excellent development role. Especially in connection to an external high level change consultant who can mentor and guide (and coach for false steps).
Empathy goes hand and hand with translation. If you can put yourself in the stakeholders shoes, or be guided to that understanding with the help of a consultant, you will be able to make that translation. Remember “Why”, the missing word in a lot of executive vocabulary.
Technorati Tags: Big Picture, Buyer, CCM, CEO, Change, change management consultant, Context, End State, Executive, external, External Consultant, Insights, internal, Internal Consultant, stakeholders
When change fails it is because of two reasons, politics or disconnected strategy.
And the second is often because of the first so now we are down to one reason.
A good experienced high level CM consultant is intensely focused on the end state. So when politics get in the way of that path they will address, mediate, argue through, dialogue and debate to keep the change momentum moving forward. In fact when they are really good they are ahead of the politics (but maybe that is another post). They have been there before in many places on different occasions (which would probably not look too good on an internal resume). It is much easier to contract with them. And much easier to let them go (which is why the good ones at first glance seem expensive-it is a very risky role-when done correctly). As a senior executive client you will have someone who will go where you can’t, won’t or hesitate to go in your organization. In my case that also means pointing out operational improvements and savings which covers that above “expensive” and often pays for the role and then some.
An internal CM consultant on the other hand must play the politics of evaluation, performance and reward. Strike one. They are also never, in my experience, placed high enough in the organization to have the needed credibility, leverage and, well political pull that is required of large scale change. Strike two. And because the politics (there it is again) of compensation typically requires a trail of deliverables (many that would never pass my “Why?” test) they will spend an inordinate amount of time creating tools, assessment, evaluations etc. Expensive-strike three.
OK. Self serving and harsh. Guilty I am.
So how about both?
You can cover the external cost by using a value-based-tied-to-business objectives contract. And you can leverage the external to develop internal competencies (an ethical consultant will insist on this, any firm that is focused on revenue and footprints will not, sorry to insinuate that is unethical, but, well,…). You now have a resource to use to build future capabilities internally. Short engagements, retainers, help with individual projects from the external can be a cost effective way to address development later without having the in house expense.
The advantages of internal CM consultants. Only fair, right?
- They are deliverable based
- They are good at politics in the middle of the organization
- In the short run they can be cheaper
- They have loyalty to the organization (you hope) for the motivation of others
And finally a third option-
Use an external for an upcoming large scale change, build a change management entity concurrently and take advantage of the positives of both while successfully completing a “pilot” change initiative. And walk away with a structure that can be used again for the next corporate strategy implementation.
Technorati Tags: Buyer, CEO, Change, change management consultant, consultant, deliverables, End State, external, External Consultant, Fees, internal, Internal Consultant, organizational politics, value based billing
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