So… You’re Thinking About Becoming a Management Consultant

The Advice

If you’re a college student considering a career in management consulting, I don’t say this to scare you. In my more than 21 years of experience as a management consultant, there have been countless highlight reel moments—and I’ve been an active participant in many of those.

However, there have been so many more grind-it-out, push-through moments. These moments have truly woven the tapestries of my personal character and professional career. By sharing my lessons learned, I hope to give you some clarity on what a career in management consulting entails.

So, if you want to make your dream of becoming a consultant a reality, here are some things you should know:

Play in the Pocket

For a musician, “playing in the pocket” is that euphoric moment when the band is locked into an infectious groove. The music settles into a rhythm that ebbs and flows, rises and falls with continuity—each player performing at their highest level, making it look easy. That’s “the pocket.”

Being a consultant doesn’t mean you have to be the smartest person in the room with all the answers, or the most talented social scientist that can read a room in seconds…even though the job can sometimes call for you to be a semblance of those things.

I have found that my most successful time as a consultant has been when I embraced the challenge of mastering my craft, while finding my sweet spot on the team.  I found “the pocket.” I connected with colleagues and selflessly gave for the good of the team. I connected with clients and led with empathy instead of managing with apathy. I taught other team members my expertise, tips, and tricks. I figured out early on that by elevating the entire team I didn’t lose out. The pocket just got deeper.

Thermostat vs. Thermometer

What’s the difference between the two? A thermometer just measures and reflects the temperature. A thermostat senses the temperature and then it performs an action to regulate and control the temperature to get to a desired state.

Successful management consultants are thermostats, not thermometers—they add value by helping clients achieve something they could not achieve of their own will. Companies are typically keenly aware when they are in trouble or when they are lagging the innovation curve. What they struggle with, and where they need our help, is diagnosing the root cause or the true requirements and taking actions to help achieve the desired state. Clients don’t just want to hear about the problem, the shortcoming, or even the idea.  They want to hear about the path to success, and they want to know you can help take them there.  Learning this lesson was the inflection point for me and changed the trajectory of my career. Clients needed thermostats!

Inside Out

Successful consultants quickly learn that who they are is more important than what they are. Their pedigree may have gotten them the interview, and maybe even the job; their well-polished appearance may present an illusion that they have it all together; they may have learned all the right buzz words and catch phrases—but the demands of consulting will peel away all those outward facades and expose the true essence of what’s inside. In the fast-paced, ever-changing world of consulting and client projects, we control very little. No matter how well thought out our project plans are, the only thing we actually control is our mindset and how we choose to respond to challenges.

Are you an effective listening team player, a gritty problem solver, a confident self-starter, a motivated and positive person? How do you deal with pressure? Expectations? Competing priorities? Success? Failure? If you have a grasp on the answers to these questions and are ready to put those beliefs to test, management consulting might be the right career for you.

By Bryant Robinson