New consultants are often surprised by how agile they need to be to fulfill client expectations. The role you play may vary from contract to contract, or even shift within the same engagement. This course helps prepare you for the many different roles a consultant must play and succeed in the challenging world of consulting. Bob McGannon explains how your role differs from your job and how you can assess the needs of your client right at the start of the engagement. He then reviews the seven major roles—technical expert, manager, team leader, follower, reviewer, critic, and implementer—explaining when each role is most useful to your client. Live-action scenarios help you see the roles in action and apply what you have learned. In the final chapter, Bob discusses how to close the engagement, emphasizing the value your role has provided in order to position yourself for the next one.
Learning objectives
- Identify the critical requirements needed to become a successful consultant.
- Review the roles a consultant can fulfill to increase their success when dealing with clients.
- Recognize approaches for assessing your success level with a client before you’ve received a formal evaluation.
- Explore how to switch between consulting roles without confusing or aggravating your client.
- Review the change management conditions that must be in place to successfully deploy your consulting solutions.
- Identify the actions that maximize your chances for future work with a client.