Use of a Consultant

Let me make a suggestion that I feel will significantly increase the effectiveness of the Managing Change Process. This would be by using an effective consultant to guide the leadership team through the process. The consultant does not need to know anything about the business. The consultant does need to be very familiar with this or some other effective change process. There are several advantages for using one:

One is that it is a very difficult assignment for the leadership team leader to effectively lead the meetings and also effectively participate in the discussions. Most think that they can but in reality most cannot.

A good consultant can challenge members of the leadership team, including the leader. One example is when the leader starts to dominate the discussion and/or force their opinion on the team. This will not produce good results and needs to be challenged. A good consultant can do this effectively.

They can bring a variety of tools, techniques and methodologies that can assist with accomplishing the objective.

Facilitate the team through difficult situations such as conflicts between team members.

Provide teambuilding that can greatly assist effectiveness. This can be through formal teambuilding or through strong facilitation.

Consensus decision making is very important for an effective change process. It is rare for a leadership team to be able to consistently reach consensus on critical decisions without either extensive training or facilitation. Consultants can assist in this area.

Should the consultant be a part of each regular session, it has been found as a means to "keep the process going". It can prevent the team from canceling sessions because "other things come up".

Lastly, the leadership team should determine just how much potential exists with effectively implementing an ongoing process for Managing Change and compare that with the cost of using a consultant. Using an effective consultant greatly increases the likelihood that the process works.