What Type of Consultant are You?
Consultants work closely with managers and leaders as change agent partners, helping the teams and divisions to accomplish all their goals and objectives. The consulting relationship is a voluntary one, setup between the helper (consultant) and the individual seeking help (the client). Viewed in this way, the consultant’s role is generally one of an outsider to the client’s system.
There are many different approaches or consulting models that one can adopt. I want to explore three: the Expert Model, the Doctor-Patient Model, and the Mechanic Model. Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages, and each one requires a different consulting agreement with the client.
Before exploring these three models, let’s understand what we mean by model. By models, we mean that there exists a set or group of common perspectives or assumptions that both parties hold. Understanding what model your client holds will allow you to understand what expectations or assumptions they may be bringing into the relationship. That could mean a huge advantage for you over other consultants.
EXPERT MODEL
The expert consultant is the one that is selling their expertise. The client is looking to purchase this expertise from you, and that is what is really driving the partnership. This is a common consulting model among IT, financial, and supply chain consultants. The client is hiring you for a specific knowledge or expertise. Maybe they don’t have that level of expertise in-house, or maybe they only require it for a specific project, and thus have turned to you, the “expert” to help guide them.
Expert consultants are often hired to help solve a particular problem. This means that the client has already identified what the problem is, and maybe they have already selected a solution for it. If their analysis is correct, then great! If their analysis is incorrect, and you can see that they were wrong in their initial thoughts, then that requires you to challenge them and help them see otherwise.
The difficulty for the client comes in supervising the expert. Since the consultant’s level of knowledge on the subject is greater then that of the client, supervising them can be challenging. For this model to work, the client must have conducted an accurate pre-assessment of the problem, and clearly defined the gap for the consultant.
“An expert is a person who has few new ideas; a beginner is a person with many.” - Albert Einstein
DOCTOR-PATIENT MODEL
We all have experienced visiting a doctor when feeling under the weather. Typically, the doctor will take some basic vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, etc.), then they will ask a series of questions. The goal of these questions is to find the root cause of the problem. Finding the root cause allows the doctor to complete a diagnosis, and hopefully a possible solution. (“take two aspirins and call me in the morning”).
Many consultants take this approach to their consulting work. They come into the situation, collect some data, ask some questions, and then provide a possible solution to the client. Like the Expert Model, there are pros and cons to this approach.
Success in this model relies on the ability of the consultant to accurately gather information about the client’s situation, diagnose the problem, and prescribe an appropriate solution. This can be a big lift, especially if the consultant is external to the team or organization. Team members may not fully trust the consultant, and thus be hesitant to share any information with them. Even if the consultant is able to gather all the needed information, they then will have to convince the rest of the organization that the proposed solution is needed. Convincing people to change requires convincing them that there is an urgency to change, that there is a need to change.
“The heart of change is in the emotions.” - John Kotter
The one big advantage for this model is that the client sees the consultant as a subject matter expert, a SME. This means that the client will turn to the consultant in the future, if they are facing another similar problem.
MECHANIC MODEL
Finally there is the Mechanic Model. Many of us, at least those that lack car repair knowledge, will take our car to the mechanic with very little interest in the technical details or inner workings of their car. They just want the auto mechanic to repair their vehicle. The mechanic is responsible for figuring out what the problem is, and fixing it. We don’t want a detailed, step-by-step explanation of what went wrong, or how they will fix it. We just want it fixed so we can use the car.
The Mechanic Model places full responsibility for diagnosis, solution selection, and implementation on the consultant. Out of the three models described, it is the least effective for creating a lasting, beneficial consultant-client partnership. It also provides little-to-no learning opportunity for the client, and instead rests everything on the shoulders of the consultant.
Before deciding on which model works best for you, make sure to really think it through. A successful model must be one where both the consultant and the client grow and develop. It needs to be a win-win for both the consultant and the client.