Be The Best Technical Consultant Ever: 7 Things That Will Make You Great

How very consulting of me, proclaiming to provide advice on being a great consultant! Yet here we are, ready to unravel the subtle nuances that set the exceptional apart.

I want to start by addressing the word 'Consulting'. It's a very broad term which consultants themselves struggle to articulate, yet it's thrown around like confetti at a celebration. Even more so, the word 'technology'! Put 'Technology Consultant' together and you have a term broader than 'existence' itself. The field of technology consulting has a wide range of disciplines and there are specific categories within these disciplines, which vary based on industry needs. Here are some broad disciplines commonly found within technology consulting:

• IT Strategy Consulting: Focused on aligning technology solutions with overall business strategies.

• Digital Transformation Consulting: Helping organizations leverage digital technologies to improve business processes and outcomes.

• Cybersecurity Consulting: Addressing security challenges and implementing measures to protect digital assets.

• Cloud Consulting: Assisting businesses in adopting and optimizing cloud computing solutions.

• Data and Analytics Consulting: Leveraging data to provide insights and support decision-making processes.

• ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Consulting: Implementing and optimizing integrated software solutions for business processes.

• Software Development Consulting: Assisting with the development and deployment of custom software solutions.

• Infrastructure Consulting: Designing, implementing, and managing IT infrastructure for optimal performance.

• Blockchain Consulting: Advising on the application of blockchain technology to enhance security and transparency.

• AI and Machine Learning Consulting: Helping businesses integrate and leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.

• ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Consulting: Assisting with the implementation and optimization of ERP systems.

• Quality Assurance and Testing Consulting: Ensuring the quality and reliability of software and technology solutions.

Regardless of your discipline, there are core indispensable pillars which will make you stand out from your peers and accelerate your success. Here are 7 of them: -

1. Listen to Understand

   The crux of effective technical consulting lies in mastering the art of active listening. Go beyond mere hearing, striving to understand your clients' needs, concerns, and aspirations. This nuanced understanding serves as the cornerstone for tailored solutions, fostering trust, instilling confidence, and ultimately saving valuable time.

   Transitioning into a role focused on change, especially when individuals have been in a particular position for an extended period, can be met with resistance. As a consultant, tasked predominantly with instigating change, you may encounter a less than warm welcome. Often, there's an air of hostility, manifesting in various forms for different reasons.

   If I had a coffee for every time somebody said, 'This won't work because...' 'you can't do this because...,' or 'the last consultant tried to do the same but....,' my cortisol levels could open their own cafe.

   It's crucial to acknowledge client objections and recognize the challenges that may fall outside the current scope or be addressed in later phases. In the realm of technology transformation, remember your role as an enabler. Begin by acknowledging concerns, and then artfully articulate the value you bring and the problems you're solving.

2. Learn, Learn, Learn!

   While the demands of constant learning may initially appear daunting, dedicating time to deepening your knowledge yields substantial returns. In the early stages of my career, exhaustive research became a daily ritual, often requiring long hours, including late evenings and weekends. However, this investment resulted in the creation of a resource repository that I continue to leverage, with slight modifications, to this day—shared seamlessly with my team.

   Specializing in a subject not only fosters familiarity with recurring issues but has significantly reduced my preparation time for client workshops. I've witnessed more than a halving of the time spent. An added perk – I now reclaim my evenings and weekends! It's worth noting that possessing in-depth knowledge of a subject not only streamlines preparation but also facilitates more effective communication. When engaging with clients who possess a similarly deep technical understanding, the ability to resonate and articulate the value of your solution becomes markedly easier.

3. Ask for clarification

   Navigating client queries requires finesse. Often, the question posed isn't the real issue at hand. Clarity is key: ask for clarification, offer possible interpretations, and always follow up answers with insightful questions. This not only ensures a comprehensive understanding but also positions you as a reliable problem-solver.

   In a pivotal executive meeting, where I presented project progress and future roadmap steps to the CTO, a challenging question arose regarding an integration deliverable. Although we hadn't executed the integration yet, we had achieved a significant win by providing value correlated to data from another system. The question, however, stemmed from a misunderstanding in the data architecture construct. Instead of delving into technical details, which risked losing the audience and sparking confrontation, I posed a clarifying question, inviting an opportunity for expansion. This approach led us to the core of what they truly wanted to understand. The subsequent explanation was succinct, resolving the concern amicably.

4. Protect Your Time

   This is an important one to manage the anxiety inducing deadlines. No matter how much you do, you'll always be asked to do more. The day to day of a technical consultant demands more of your time, than your average industry technical role. Generally, you're across multiple projects and aside from client deliverables, there is also your internal company responsibilities.

   Your billable responsibilities involve preparing for workshops, running workshops and providing the strategy of implementations and approach, putting together the requirements, running and updating the kanban board, presenting at executive steerco's, providing technical knowledge and roadmaps, driving the development team to ensure acceptance criteria is met, QA'ing development work, DOING the development work, going to coffee/lunch/dinner/drinks/breakfast meetings to build relationships to keep your pipeline alive. The list goes on and often all of this happens in one day! Organizational skills and the ability to say 'no' are pivotal. Embrace agile working methodologies to manage multiple projects efficiently. Learn to deal with context switching by establishing a structured approach that optimizes your time and resources. It's also important to speak up when you're overwhelmed and call out when you need help. Your workload can always be spread across the team, client expectations can be managed, and your internal company initiatives can be de prioritized. This is crucial to stave away the burnout.

5. Treat your role as if it's your own business

   In consulting the opportunities are vast, and the potential for growth knows no bounds. Often, you'll find yourself thrown into the deep end with little structure or guidance from your team. Embrace the entrepreneurial aspect of the role; it's a choice between sinking or swimming. By honing core consulting skills, you'll effortlessly navigate the waters like a great white shark.

   With time, you'll become the 'go-to' person for getting the job done. Your network will expand, and so will your reputation. Before you know it, your unique offerings will take shape. You'll be sought after to engage with new clients, discuss your solutions, and showcase their success stories. From crafting plans and roadmaps to leading teams in implementing your vision, you'll be at the forefront of the action.

   In the dynamic consulting industry, speed is key. If your organization follows a partnership model, adopting this growth mindset significantly boosts your chances of being favorably considered for advancement into partnership.

6. Adopt a growth mindset

   Adopting a growth mindset isn't just about maintaining a consistently positive attitude; it provides the resilience needed to persevere through challenges and, importantly, makes you a more approachable and collaborative team member. The daily rigors of consulting can be humbling, but approaching them with a growth mindset eases the burden.

   Every day in this field is a learning experience. The more I learn, the more I discover gaps in my knowledge about specific subjects. It's crucial to avoid the pitfall of appearing all-knowing, as it can make a consultant seem insufferable. Admitting when you don't have the answer, coupled with a commitment to learning and returning with viable solutions and options, is key to maintaining credibility and fostering effective collaboration.

7. Ask yourself whether consulting is for You

   You might find this inclusion in the list a bit unconventional. However, it's not intended to discourage; quite the opposite. It's here to reaffirm that you belong and to encourage you to lean in. I hope this prompts you to reflect on whether the consulting path aligns with your aspirations. When you realize it absolutely does, lean into it and embrace it. Release any unnecessary doubt, enjoy your downtime, let your hair down, and it'll be waiting for you when Monday morning rolls around.

   In conclusion, success in consulting is not solely about expertise; it's about cultivating a multifaceted skill set that includes listening, learning, effective communication, time management and building relationships with your clients. Embrace these principles, and you'll not only excel in your field but thrive in the dynamic realm of consulting.