Why would you hire an external consultant? Granted, if the consultant has a set of expertise your organisation does not have, then the question is quickly answered. We need you as a consultant because you know stuff we need but don’t know. Legal stuff is a nice example.

 

Formulating your own advice

But for my field of work, I’m always a little puzzled and confused when I have my intake with the client. The client elaborates extensively about his or her organisation, stressing the problems and possible solutions. My confusion comes from the fact that the client always is so knowledgeable about his or her organisation but yet asks my expertise in solving these problems. So the question arises: ‘why would you hire an external consultant?’

 

Well, to give advice. Obviously. But what kind of advice can I give when I am the least knowledgeable of the lot. When as an external my advice can (and more often than not will) be put aside because it’s just an external advice. So my advice usually is that I am not going to give an advice but that I’ll help the organisation formulate its own advice.

 

And that’s when participatory processes come in handy. If my client would be alone, he would have made up the advice all by himself (or at most with the help of a coach). But my client works in a constellation with others within and over the boundaries of his/her organisation. And groups have difficulties crafting a nice piece of advice.

 

This becomes much easier with a well-thought participatory process. And that’s what I do: facilitate the making of your own advice.