Leading Your Consulting Firm
Michael Zipursky
CEO & Co-Founder: Consulting Success? The Coaching Program & Proven Growth System for Serious Consulting Business Founders
Why do consultants need to hone leadership abilities?
According to?Gallup ?a good leader is essential for increasing employee satisfaction.?Higher employee engagement leads to...
You are the captain of your company if it were a boat.
It's your responsibility to set the team's destination and lead them there.
You are still the leader, whether you lead a team of two or twenty.
Leadership is leadership no matter your industry.?Leadership begins and ends with you, the leader.
Your team looks up to you as the leader of your consulting firm.?You have to be the leader of your consulting firm and show up every day as the best possible version of yourself.
If you are negative, your teammates will feel it.?You'll make people leave because they won't want to be with you.
If you are full of doubts and do not believe that you can achieve what you have set out to accomplish, it will be difficult for you to attract A-players.
The most important thing to consider before hiring team members or employees is your own leadership style: Your actions, thoughts, and beliefs.
Start practicing your leadership skills right now, regardless of whether you are an independent consultant, or have already hired your first few employees.
How?
Start by leading your customers.
Your clients look to you, just like your team members to help them achieve their future goals.
You're trusted to take them from where you are to where you want to go.
Do not just finish the consulting work.?Take the lead?in the engagement.?This means that you must take ownership of the project, and deliver the results your client is expecting.
You now know the importance of leadership for your consulting firm. Let's break down some characteristics of successful leaders.
Characteristics Of A Consulting Firm Leader
What is the best way to lead a consulting company?
After leading Consulting Success(r), a consulting firm for more than 13 years, and interviewing hundreds of leaders in the industry, here are a couple of best practices.
1.?Empower and Support Your Team
Leading a consulting company is more about supporting and empowering your team than doing everything yourself.
You need to ask yourself: How can I ensure that the team has the support and empowerment they need to create?
Others will decide to continue doing the client work.?Some leaders will choose to continue working with clients.
I continue to work with a few private clients.?I have hired a team of amazing experts to support our clients within the?Clearity Coaching Program ?- many of whom are better than me.
You can still provide amazing results to your clients even if you don't serve them directly.
You can help more people by building a strong team.
2.?Make sure the right people are in the right roles
Are you employing the right people for your company??Are they the right people?
You might have an A player in the wrong position, and they may feel like a C or B-player simply because they're not in the right place.
You might have hired the wrong person.?Gallup ?discovered that 82% of companies hire the wrong candidate - one who does not have the skills needed for the position.
As a leader, it is your responsibility to place people in roles that allow them to use their natural talents.
You can't fix someone who isn't a good match for your company -- or your?values & mission .
It's your job as a leader to take quick decisions when it comes to firing someone who is dragging the team down.
3.?Understanding the Team Members
You'll find that different personalities and temperaments are present as you hire more employees.
You might, for example, hire a person with technical skills who is quiet and does not speak out much.?You might also hire someone who is very talkative but has trouble with organization.
These traits don't necessarily make you good or bad.
As a leader, it is your responsibility to place people in roles that allow them to use their natural talents.
Personality assessments such as StrengthsFinder?, MBTI?, Predictive index?, or DISC Assessment? can be very helpful.
Ask your team members how they work and what they would like support with.
You want to make sure that each person thrives.
4.?Decide on the Vision, Mission & Values
You are the one who?decides what the company's mission, vision and values ?is.?You'll receive feedback from your team but ultimately, it is you who makes the decision.
It's also your responsibility to ensure that the company's vision, mission and values are clearly communicated.?Setting clear goals and assisting the team to achieve them is your responsibility.
5.?Be Visible and Get to Know Your People
Knowing your team personally is a key part of being a leader.
Your employees are not just "workers", they have complex personal lives.?It's vital to get to understand them personally.
What do they think about when not at work??What do they do with their free time??What are they doing with their family?
Knowing your people better will make them feel more respected and known as human beings -- and friends.
6.?Always Be Open To Feedback
Be open to feedback when you hire top talent.?Your team will have some of the best suggestions.?You want to create a culture where your team feels comfortable in sharing their ideas with you.
You can then decide with your team which ideas are most important and should be pursued.?This will ultimately be your choice.?You should welcome and take into consideration the ideas that your team offers.
You might not believe that an idea from a member of your team will work, but you are willing to try it and see if it works.?Let them make the final decision.?Create a culture that encourages people to experiment and share ideas.
7.?Regular Communication
Communication is key.
Lack of communication is the root cause of so many failures, both in business as well as in everyday life.
Your team members will appreciate it.?You will be appreciated by your team.
领英推荐
This should be a company-wide value and operating method.?Communication is key.?Communication that is consistent.
8.?Support the Culture
You want to create a work environment that allows smart and talented people to enjoy their jobs.?This means that they are at the limit of their abilities: challenging and rewarding work within their capabilities.?You want each team member to feel that they are working on projects they are proud of.
You'll be unstoppable when you create this environment.?It doesn't necessarily mean that everything will go your way.?Over time, you will build a successful consulting business.
Next, I will share with you a model of consultative leadership that can help you to put this into action.
Consultative Leadership Model
A leader's key role is to establish the vision, mission and values.
What do you hope to achieve for the company in the next 3-5 years.?This is your vision.
Some people talk about their goals for the next 10 years or beyond.?That's fine.?But I would rather focus on the next 3-5 years.?Our world is constantly changing.?In the next few months, you will have more clarity and control than in the past decade.
After establishing your values, mission, and vision, you can move on to annual planning. This is what you will do each year in order to make progress towards your vision and mission.
You and your team should define your quarterly plan after developing your annual plan. This is what you will be working on to achieve your annual plan.
Then, with your quarterly plan, work with your direct reports and members of your team to determine the outcomes, measurables and reporting they will be responsible for.
These three areas should be understood by each team member.?These include:
Outcome
How does success look?
The result is that the driving of cars will be in the hands of people.
The daily and weekly actions of the people should be supportive of the quarterly results.?The quarterly plan should also support the annual plan.
Measurables
How can you tell if you are on the right track?
The next step after defining the desired outcomes is to determine how you will measure them.
It could be as simple as launching a training portal.
What are the steps or actions required to launch a portal successfully?
You may need to take 12 steps to accomplish this.?To complete the portal within the quarter, each team member must complete one step.
Every step should be measurable.?These tools keep your team on track and hold them accountable.
You don't need to micromanage when you have agreed on the outcome, and how you will measure success. Your team leaders own their specific outcomes.?This encourages accountability.
Reporting
What will you do to report your progress?
After you have defined success and are measuring your progress, you can ask your team to report their progress to you, or to whomever they report.?This is usually done weekly.
You can send a short email to let them know what they have accomplished in the past week and how progress is going.
You can prevent people from missing important deadlines by requiring weekly reports.
Reporting their progress will allow them to determine on their own whether they require extra help or resources in order to meet deadlines.
This is an excellent example of a key responsibility.
This framework is important for anyone who leads a distributed team, like us.
When you work with your team, it is important to...
Your team will take ownership and accountability.?They'll be more engaged.
Instead, of telling them what they should do, you will work together to define work that the employees would like to do - work that moves your business towards your destination.
As a leader you must ensure that your team's work helps achieve the company's quarterly and annual goals.
Consulting Leadership in Action - Stories and Examples
How can you put these leadership principles into action?
Take action today to improve your leadership of your company .
Clarity Coaching Program clients have transformed from being sole consultants to managing a team of employees and contractors.
This is what?Tony Velasquez ?says about his leadership style:
"Consulting Leadership is about how you lead, inspire, motivate, encourage, persuade, and influence your team and client.?Communication skills are also important for effective leadership.
For me, leadership is a skill I use in team and client projects.?By influencing my teammates and clients, who are also a part of my project team, I must show enthusiasm and drive to reach a goal (e.g.?Implement a new ERP / organization-wide system implementation ).
I express daily my excitement, enthusiasm and gratitude. (Just thank someone every day!)?To people on my Angelus Team and to people I have just met in the client teams.
"It is hard to lead people you have just met, but if they are treated well and you communicate with them effectively; then they will become a part of your extended family (similarly to Consulting Success), so that the team can concentrate on its success."
Instead, of telling them what they should do, you will work together to define work they would like to do - work that moves your business towards your destination.
Erin Mies is one of the leaders in?People Spark Consulting . She has a lot to say about leadership.
"#1: Leadership is having the courage of seeing, noticing, and listening - to customers, team members, or others. It's also having the courage to ask tough questions and provide clear feedback.?This courage may lead us to share uncomfortable feedback.?This courage is meant to help the client or team grow.
After we start an engagement with our client, the stakeholder interviews and all the work that has been done result in a Discussion of Findings with them.?In these conversations, we discuss things that may be holding back the business, which can be uncomfortable.?Many of these businesses are family-owned and small to mid-sized.?We understand that it's a deeply personal matter.?We hear comments such as "It was not what I wanted to listen to, but I know it's exactly what I need" or "I knew I needed to take action, but didn't know how to begin." Then, we work with the client to create a strategy that is authentic and in line with their business goals.?Our foundation would be weak at best without the courage to share and uncover this information.
Here's what Ed Leighton Dick, founder of?Kingfisher Technologies ?had to say about his role as a consultant:
"The key to effective leadership is understanding that you are leading complex human beings with their own hopes, dreams and needs.?They need your respect, trust, and praise.?When things go wrong, they need to know you will be there for them and treat them with compassion.?You will find that they are more likely to follow you if you show them compassion.
Recently, I attended a retreat where representatives of a client were present. This client was experiencing serious problems with certain key systems.?The group of leaders assembled did not spend time trying to deflect blame and criticize, as is common in meetings of this kind. Instead, they focused on finding a common ground and developing solutions that met everyone's needs.?We achieved more than we thought possible in that meeting and came away with a plan ."
If your goal is to make an impact and grow beyond the?model of a solo firm , investing in leadership skills will give you the best ROI.
Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to get notified when I post new articles, tips and data to help you take your consulting business to the next level.
And if you know anyone that might find this article helpful please share it with them. Tag them below and hit the like button.
ctrl-shift-R enables reading mode, then ctrl P and print or save as a pdf. With all the years of learning and hours of writing and editing, I know many of us will want to save and share this article. I offer a paper Introduction to Consulting that was written for PATCA,org . DM me or email [email protected] to request a free copy.
Next Trend Realty LLC./wwwHar.com/Chester-Swanson/agent_cbswan
1 年Thanks for posting.