Mirror Post 1: Consulting experience

Block says consultants "work at the pleasure of the client." It is the responsibility of a consultant to assure that the needs of the client are met. But how is this truly measured, needs being met? Last Monday we were given the opportunity to take on the role of a process consultant. I thought it was going to be easy. But the process itself was difficult to follow at first. My immediate response when a questions is asked is to immediately answer it. I think we all have that problem. This process has us listen, ask follow up question and than try to offer feedback.

I think most of my job requires me to be a consultant. My business card doesn't say as such, but when I reflect on the process of consulting, I feel that that best defines my roll. For example, I am considered an expert in Annual Fund operations at VCU. Whenever someone has a question pertaining to Annual Fund, they call me, and it is usual not as a hands on person, but for advice or best practices. I find it easier to make recommendations based on my expertise than to tell the person how to do something. This allows the "client" to get back to you to let you know how everything worked out.

This last week has been an incredible week. Thursday was out annual advancement retreat. I spent the better part of last week doing last minute items to ensure the event was a success. I volunteered to be on the committee and serve as a table facilitator. It was a great opportunity to use skills I have learned in the adult learning program.

But perhaps the greatest take a way from our retreat was the creation of an expertise guide. We collected information from each of our attendees asking them to respond in a number of areas of fund-raising their experience in years. Our plan is to develop a book of "who to call" if a question arises. I think we have set of a whole division of consultants. I will post again how the process turned out. Thanks for reading!

Introduction into Consulting Skills

How many times have I heard when I ask the question, "what do you do?" "I'm a consultant." My thought to that usually connotes "I'm currently unemployed, so I am offering my skills to those who need it." I'm sure others have had that thought as many are not very clear what a consultant really is.

That is my thought in a personal setting maybe sitting around drinking a cold beverage at a picnic, but professionally my experiences with a consultant have been someone who helps our organization hire a person so we don't have to do all the work. Maybe it is an individual who has a better pulse on who is available in the job market.

Sometimes I wonder if even an individual who claims he or she is a consultant understands what one is. The word itself seems to be thrown around without too much thought and seems to look pretty good on a business card.

Sunday afternoon I met an individual who actually did say "I am a consultant." And he had a fancy business card too. As I listened to him explain that "we help companies make decisions about people issues...", It dawned on me that this guy really didn't know what a consultant really was either.

I found myself reflecting on that first night of class where I came to the conclusion a consultant is not a noun (whereby it is a person), but rather a verb (in that it represents a process). After reading the course objectives it occur ed to me that we will delve deeply into the process of consulting focusing on how we can use consulting skills to further enrich our roles as adult educators.

It's hard to believe one hour managed to erase a career's worth of negative connotation.