The Nature of the Client-Consultant Relationship - Literature review Example

April 22, 2016

Introduction

In an increasingly competitive environment, organizations have been observed to become complex in structure and orientation. Decision-makers have opted to seek varied avenues and approaches in seeking professional assistance to solve problems that were not routinely encountered. The emergence of uncertainties and risks posed by the ever changing external environment has therefore provided the impetus for increasing reliance on management consultancy. The current discourse hereby aims to respond to the following statement: “Consulting should be what happens when someone with a problem or difficulty seeks help to solve that problem or difficulty from someone who has special skill” (Cockman, et al., 1999, p. 4). A discussion of the nature of the client-consultant relationship, in the light of the above-mentioned statement; as well as a critical discussion of the competencies and special skills which are required of an effective management consultant would thereby be presented.

The nature of the client-consultant relationship

To be able to respond appropriately to the discussion pertaining to the nature of the client-consultant relationship, it is first pertinent to define the endeavor within which the client and the consultant meets through management consulting. As learned, Sadler (1998) defines a management consultant as an individual whose services are sought for the purpose of providing assistance in managing one’s business. Moreover, Greiner & Metzger (1983) defined management consulting as containing the following essential components: a contracted service, provided by specifically trained and highly competent people, assisting a client (an individual or an organization), to address the following issues: identification of a problem, analysis and recommendation of a viable solution, and implementation of the proposed course of action. Schein (1969) was noted to describe the consulting process as a specific set of tasks or endeavors which would be instrumental in providing knowledge to a client to recognize, comprehend, as well as undertake the needed course of action, deemed to be required in the client’s context or environment.

The client-consultant relationship apparently stems from the perceived need of the client who apparently lacked knowledge and introspective skills to discern how relevant issues and concerns could be addressed and in what particular manner. According to Sadler (1998), the client sought the assistance of a consultant to provide illumination or knowledge to act or behave in a manner that is appropriate, based on the expertise and experience of the consultant. More accurately, the nature of the client-consultant relationship was noted to have been premised on “providing a service, usually in the form of a paid contract, while, increasingly, entailing a transfer of knowledge and skills. The seeking and giving of a professional service provides the backdrop against which the relationship exists” (Sadler, 1998, p. 68).

The theoretical frameworks that govern the client-consultant relationship, as well as theories that would help in analyzing the relationship were expounded by

(Mohe & Seidl, 2009). Accordingly, the conceptual theories are diverse, as follows: “role theory, agency theory, social network theory, rites theory (liminality), situated learning theory, psychoanalytic theory and the theory of otherness/parasites” (Mohe & Seidl, 2009, p. 4). For instance, under the role theory, clients and consultants assume a multiplicity of roles from problem-bearer (client) to problem-solver (consultant) (Sadler, 1998). Likewise, consultants with distinct and specialized skills, prove that depending on the client’s problems or issues that need to be addressed, they could provide the needed solution. As revealed, appropriately matched consultant skills which are possessed and exemplified, help address the urgent concern that brought the client to seek the professional services of the consultant, in the first place (Sturdy, et al., 2013). Moreover, under the learning theory, consultants were observed to be focused on learning processes, especially in the exploring the root cause of the dilemma, as well as the potential alternative courses of action for subsequent evaluation. Likewise, the ability of the consultants to determine how to effectively approach the client’s concerns would be to be immersed in the client’s communities of practice (Handley, et al., 2009). As such, consultants are able to provide the needed knowledge and bridge the gap in failure of the client to solve identified dilemmas by putting themselves in the shoes of the clients and learn appropriately, in the process. In addition, another theory, the social network theory, sees the client-consultant relationship through the wider society contexts where both clients and consultants operate (Luhmann, 1995). As such, finding solutions to the client’s problems would depend on the functional relationships deemed to be established within the social system.

Furthermore, there are also models in the client-consultation relationship that highlight their roles, power relation, and relevance, as shown in Table 1 on the next page. The table clearly shows that the relationship between the two changes depending on the model (expert, critical, and social learning models). The applicability of the model is also described under the relevance portion, where, under the expert model, for instance, the application of a client-consultant relationship is deemed to be feasible and viable for all types of projects (Nikolova, et al., 2009).

Table 1: Three (3) Models of Client-Consultant Relationship

Source: Nikolova, et al., 2009, p. 5

Likewise, from the table, it could also be deduced that the client-consultant relationship is adaptive to the context. For instance, under the social learning model, the power relation was noted to be balanced, where both clients and consultant’s knowledge, as well as contribution to problem solving are considered equally relevant.

In a study written by Nikolova, et al. (2009), the authors asserted that there are, in fact, three (3) major practices that characterize client - consultant

interaction, to wit: (1) shaping impressions, (2) problem-solving, and (3) negotiating expectations. Under shaping impressions, for instance, consultants who exhibit effectiveness in the application of rhetorical and argumentative skills to shape impression strategies have greater tendencies to attract the client (Nikolova, et al., 2009). Moreover, as learned, consultants who are able to attest and provide ample evidence in the capability to solve problems enable forging a stronger link in intensifying the client-consultant relationship. Finally, negotiating expectations are facilitated by consultants given their years of expertise and professional experiences in the field of management consulting. Clients’ were observed to be willing to pay for the services of consultants who could faciliate negotating in the most effective manner. The expected outcome is therefore deemed to work towards the serving the best interests of the clients since the benefits far outweigh incurred costs.

After knowing the major practices in the client-consultant relationship, Sadler (1998) revealed that there are four (4) phases that the interaction undergoes. As mentioned, the four (4) phases are as follows: (1) orientation, (2) identifiction, (3) exploration, and (4) resolution (Peplau, 1969; Barber, 1997). Going through these phases help improve the client-consultant relationship through regular commuication, sharing of inputs and suggestions, as well as working towards problem resolution in a collaborative manner.

In sum, the nature of the client-customer relationship was learned to be dynamic, evolving and interactive. The relationship goes through the phases that were identified, and contains diverse assumption of a multiplicity of roles depending on models that were deemed to be appropriate to apply. In addition, the professional experience and expertise of consultants enable proposing required interventions Heron (1990). Being made aware of these interventions would facilitate consultants’ ability to provide the needed courses of actions that matches the clients’ distinct needs and would solve the identified dilemma.

Competencies and special skills required of an effective management consultant

The competencies and special skills that are required of an effective management consultant are varied. Some of the skills that were identified by Lovett (2012) included communication skill, problem-solving skills, team building, as well as change management, to name a few. Concurrently, from the study written by Banai & Tulimieri (1982) based on a review of literature, the most effective skills that management consultants should possess include “functional knowledge as well as knowledge of an industry, communication and analytical skills, creativity, strategic and tactical leadership abilities, and a set of personality traits that includes emotional stability, intellect, integrity and openness and agreeableness” (p. 886). From these sources, it could be deduced that communication skills have been considered very important; followed by problem solving or analytical skills.

The report written by Lovett (2012) presented skills that are essential for consultants’ increased abillity to undertake expected responsibilities have actually been categorized under hard and soft skills. The hard skills were revealed, and shown as Figure 1, on the next page. It coud be seen that the most relevant and essential in hard skills included strategic planning, where respondents from two studies stipulated that the number one hard skill was the strategic planning, answered by 78% of the respondents, followed by systems thinking at 72%, and followed by project management, responded by 67% of the respondents, as shown below (Lovett, 2012, p. 2). Other hard skills needed to be exemplified by management consultants to be considered effective in undertaking their craft and in solving identified problems for the clients included financial anlaysis (43%), auditing (38), policy expertise (36%) as well as life cycle costing and assessment (36%).

These skills were specifically identified and selected as essential to be possessed by management consultants. The skills would facilitate in addressing the clients’ varied concerns, specifically those that require specialized knowledge in strategic management, systems designs, project management, and financial planning, to name a few. Moreover, management consultants who have been observed and documented to possess these skills set were acknowledged to have the capabilities of solving problems in the most effective manner (Brown, n.d.).

Source: Lovett, 2012

Figure 2: Soft Skills Needed by Management Consultants

Source: Lovett, 2012

For the soft skills acknowledged to be important to be exemplified by management consultants, Figure 2 revealed that the top three (3) soft skills are communication with internal stakeholders at 79%, followed by problem-solving at 77%, and finally, the three (3) soft skills which generated similar rankings at 75% are: flexibility or adaptability, communicating with external stakeholders, as well as inspiring and motivating others (Lovett, 2012). Other soft skills worth mentioning as these are considered essential to be exemplified by management consultants to make them effective in their profession are: teambuilding (73%), influencing change (70%), establishing and managing priorities (69), as well as consensus building (68%) (Lovett, 2012). These skills are essential to work within a team in the organization, as well as exemplifying effective time management.

These skills are considered essential and would contribute positively in the management consulting process due to the ability to exhibit the needed traits and core competencies in addressing the clients’ concerns in the most efficient manner (van Welsum & Lanvin, 2012). For instance, the most important soft skill, communication with internal stakeholders is extremely relevant in order to solicit the needed information from the clients and to assist in expressing messages, as intended (Feldt, 2015). Communication is essential in facilitating an exchange of information, as well as in exemplifying listenting skills to prove attentiveness to the topics being discussed.

Furthermore, the problem solving skills are also very important since this is the gap or inability of the client that needs to be addressed. The client’s lack of expertise and experiencing in solving identified problems was the primary reason for contracting the services of the management consultant. As such, the consultant should possess a wealth of theoretical frameworks on the fields of study or functional areas where the problems emerged. Furthermore, using evidence based practice or effectiveness of past recommendations and solutions to familiar problems, the consultants would have developed the core competencies to tailor the recommended solution to the needs of the clients.

For the hard skills, upon critical examination, it could be deduced that the ability of the management consulant to undertake strategic planning, from formulation stage up to implementation, has been considered as a paramount need (Kerzner, 2013). The skill would require formal education where courses on strategic planning and implementation had been taken. Likewise, ample experience in actual

work settings would also increase core competencies of consultants so that the recommended design of strategies would be tailored to the client’s contextual needs.

Furthermore, the skills of systems thinking and project management are deemed to be specialized skills where majority of clients do not possess expertise of (Kerzner, 2013). As such, the services of management consultants possessing these skills are much needed to solve systemic problems, as well as situations where clients have specialized projects that need to be conceptualized and implemented. In complicated problems which might require the development of innovative projects to transform the organization into a more productive and highly performing environment, project management skills would definitely be needed.

Conclusion

In sum, the nature of the client-consultant relationship differs depending on the ability of the consultant to bridge the gap in knowledge and skills to determine the issue or problem, as well as the context for client’s seeking consultancy services. Based on the theoretical models, under the expert and critical models, the power of the consultant was observed to be superior to the client, due to the core competencies and skills needed to solve identified problems. On the other hand, the power relationship under the social learning model indicated equal power or a balance relationship where clients’ contribution, as well as the knowledge and skills of the consultants’ equitably help in resolving the concerns. It is important to be aware of the theoretical frameworks, as well as the practices and interventions influencing the client-consultant relationship. Clients and consultants’ relationships are therefore built on trust, as well as in the confidence exemplified to solve problems, as expected. The relationship is one that is symbiotic, where mutual interaction and professionalism is exchanged between clients and consultants through open communication.

Moreover, consultants should possess specifically identified skills to increase their core competencies and make them effective in the profession. The most important hard skills included strategic planning, systems thinking, and project management; while the most essential soft skills include communication and problem-solving. Management consultants who possess these skills set were found to be more effective in addressing the needs of the clients, specifically in solving identified problems in the most effective and efficient manner.

In retrospect, the client-consultant relationship is premised on the apparent lack of knowledge and specialized skills of the client to solve a pressing issue or problem. Management consultants’ ability to deliver the needed services have paved the way for continued reliance and popularity of this field of endeavor.