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It feels good to be certain, we’ve seen this one before and we know what to do. But the consultant’s life is rarely this comfortable.

I am often faced with novel situations, with tricky aspects calling for original thinking and back to the drawing board.

In the past I would worry teribly – that the client would think me a fraud, that I might not come up with a solution, that I would stumble and fall.

Breaking away from F.U.D.

My breakthrough came when attending a consultancy masterclass weekend. We were surrounded by a posse of consulting gurus and waited for their gems.

Our group had become dispirited and was having a difficult time. Group dynamics had become spiteful and one member had gone home early as a result.

Next morning we were ready for the guru. We looked at him and he looked at us. We had high expectations of a magical moment when he explained everything to us. Instead he said: ‘I just don’t know what to do here.’

It was as if a switch had been thrown. We were awoken from our despondent state, coming alive to work together to solve the group problem.

Collaborate to innovate

Sometimes in the darkest consulting tunnel I have turned to my client with a similar response. The magic in these cases brings me and the client into the same space so we can genuinely collaborate to find an answer.

Making an intervention in this way connects with others and brings their knowledge to join mine. This process may sound risky – but a wrong turn under pressure of finding a quick fix takes a long time to recover.

Working collaboratively to journey into the unknown generates more ideas and creates more commitment than turning up with the manual open on page four.

Other people always come up with different ideas and I’ve had cause to be grateful for an idea from the client’s organisation that was better than mine.

When clients see you confident in the face of uncertainly, they learn from your process of finding solutions. It helps them understand more deeply that change is not a logical event and it is better to take more to consider other views.

Working with others helps you become clear on the next steps and the change process becomes easier. Pushing hard means you are on the wrong track - probably page seven of the manual while the organisation is still on page one.

June 2006

Pushing hard means you are on the wrong track - probably page seven of the manual.