A former client called last week. He had hired a team of consultants to facilitate a two-day planning retreat and the event had gone badly. It’s a long story, but here’s the gist.
The consultants did their homework and carefully prepared the agenda. However, once the retreat began, they faced a lot of tangents, conflict, and dissension. At the end of the first day, the executive director huddled with the facilitators and urged them to rework the agenda, based on what was transpiring in the room.
They refused, unwilling or perhaps unable to abandon their plans. Consequently, the second day was even less productive, and more frustrating, than the first.
Do consultants need a code of ethics?
You might know about the doctor’s Hippocratic Oath. This code of medical ethics originated in ancient Greece and has been adapted and modernized many times and for many cultures.
The most famous shorthand – useful but very incomplete – goes like this: “First, do no harm.”
As a fundraiser, I try to abide by the ethical standards promoted by Association of Fundraising Professionals. However, until I sat down to write this, I had never encountered anything similar for consultants.
If you’re curious, Google “consultant code of ethics” and see what happens. Here’s an example from the Institute of Management Consultants which seems sensible and straightforward.
My purpose, in writing this post, is not to generate another ethics checklist. In the spirit of “First, do no harm,” I want to explore some of the ways that consultants fail their clients – and what we can do about it.
Full disclosure: This post is based on a mix of personal experience (yes, I’ve made all these mistakes), conversations with peers, and observations from the field.
Refusal to adapt
I began this story by describing a common sin: inflexibility. Faced with a changing environment, the consultants refused to change.
To be fair, let’s consider their perspective. As noted, they created their agenda with client input. Unlike the executive director, perhaps they perceived that the retreat was going successfully – or successfully enough.
Lacking their version of the story, I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt. However, when your client says a) this isn’t working, and b) here are some suggestions, it’s probably time to think about Plan B.
Beyond my comfort zone? No thanks
Consider the personality dimension to this situation. As discussed in What’s Your Relation to Preparation?, people land at different places on the “preparation spectrum.” Some of us need to rigorously prepare; others can show up and wing it. In this example, I imagine, the consultants felt safer and more in-control by sticking to the script – and might have prioritized their own comfort.
Let’s also acknowledge the broader context: discomfort with anything new. I know brilliant in-the-room facilitators who refuse to consider hybrid meetings, or old-school major gifts consultants who barely engage with technology.
Apparently change is hard, even for professional changemakers.
A toolbox with too few tools
As the saying goes, “If you only have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” Consultants who are steeped in one approach or one set of tools may find themselves – intentionally or not – favoring their preferred approach, regardless of the situation. A few examples:
Strategic planning. Pick one planning process or rubric (among many excellent options). Will it meet the needs of every client or circumstance?
Fundraising. There are infinite ways to raise money. As a consultant, your expertise may be specialized: grants or fundraising events or earned income or capital campaigns or …
But what if your specialty isn’t what the client needs?
Board development. Will a standard board matrix work for every organization? Does every group need a lawyer, banker, etc. on their board of directors? I think not.
Consultants, here’s my argument. The deeper and more diverse your toolbox, the more adaptable and responsive you can be. I am advocating for more generalists, plus ongoing professional development for everyone.
Doing the client’s work
My friend Sharon Behar says, “The consultant should never work harder than the client.” When I share this with peers, it can blow their minds.
Let’s assume that your goal, like mine, is to help your nonprofit clients build capacity. Therefore, the more you do, the less responsibility they assume, the fewer risks they take, and the less they learn.
Yes, clients can drop the ball or do their work imperfectly. Yes, this can be frustrating. In the worst cases, it can reflect poorly on you and your business.
However, it’s our responsibility to create clear boundaries, step back, and let the clients do their work.
Consultant, heal thyself
In the spirit of self-reflection, here’s my plea to peers.
Let’s lead with curiosity and humility. Let’s embrace discomfort. And let’s empower our clients to make better mistakes and learn from their experience.
Another thoughtful and timely post, Andy, thank you. Somewhere along the way, a key value of my practice became humility. I think to be in this for the long haul (which I aspire to!) requires a mindset that we need to adapt, learn, and respond as we work across projects, teams, verticals, etc.
Good to hear from you, Caitlin — and thanks for the shout-out. I agree, humility is essential. Sometimes it feels like the more I know, the less I actually know.
Bravo! Thank you for writing this Andy!
I think we often feel that we are being paid to “have all the answers.” But how can you have all the answers right away? Every organization is unique and made up of a different group of humans. I have found that it is critically important for consultants to listen and learn before offering any advice or answers. Thanks for being such a great mentor for me and so many other consultants across the country. Grateful for all you share with us!
Thanks, Alyson! Glad you’re part of the conversation.
Continuing with the medical metaphor, I fight the desire to diagnose the issue before I have all the facts. It’s way too easy to slot potential clients common problem categories — here’s another case of founder’s disease, another board that’s micromanaging the E.D., another group that’s duplicating the work of three other organizations — without digging deeper.
That’s simplistic, lazy, and borderline disrespectful. I can do better. WE can do better.
Often asking our clients the right question for them to ponder is far more valuable than providing an ‘answer’ or perhaps more appropriately a slate of options to follow.
Well said, Wendelyn!
Another great post, Andy — thanks! Those of us who are consulting certainly do need to engage often in self-reflection, and to be willing to suggest to prospective clients, when appropriate, that their immediate need is not for our services, but for other assistance (such as guidance on governance issues) that is a prerequisite to their successful work with fundraising counsel.
Keep the good stuff coming!
Thanks, Bill. I refer a LOT of jobs to other consultants; I bet you do, too.
adrienne maree brown says as a facilitator she tries for “less prep, more presence”, in order to help with that adaptability piece. I tend to go for “more prep AND more presence” because i want to be really prepared, but i do find that mantra helpful to me in preparing for an event – i aim to have a really detailed agenda AND some options AND a few minutes to breath quietly ahead of time so i can really tune in to the needs of the group.
This is thoughtful and wise, Sonia. What I appreciate most is the way that you’re honoring both your needs AND the needs of the participants.
I think about this often and am so glad you brought this up for discussion. To have a deep tool kit and interpersonal skills to identify when the process isn’t going well is a definite need of a good consultant. The challenge can be that many consultants work in a solo environment and do not have a network that they can role play, trouble shoot and do a “forensic” analysis on a retreat. This is where the “learning” can happen so we can improve our skills and ability to be flexible. All the points you made are valid and do happen.
So many great comments here. I do believe clarity of what you can deliver is incredibly important.
Thanks for sharing this thoughtful and important post Andy.
Shout-back to you, Rachel. And yes — having a peer network is essential. As a sole proprietor, I don’t know how I would have survived (and thrived) without peers who can offer perspective, advice, and support. Thanks to you — and all the commenters! — for being part of MY peer network.
Per Andy’s wise mandate, “First do no harm” – consultants who lack the empathy to be of the best and highest assistance, risk damaging their own reputation as well as doing a disservice to the client. I spent the first half of my career at global marketing agencies; if a client wasn’t happy with a campaign or other initiative, and it was the agency’s fault, we fixed it – or we did our best to manage expectations and reputations. That type of make-good was part of marketing ourselves. Likewise, what a lot of consultants don’t realize is how inter-connected the nonprofit world is, even though remote work has expanded our group of prospects, influencers, and connectors beyond a specific geography. All a nonprofit has to do is name a bad experience (and the consultant associated with it) and word spreads fast. In the same vein, there are nonprofits that consultants know make for risky clients. Forewarned is forearmed!
Thanks, Liz. To poorly paraphrase Mark Twain, a complaint can travel halfway around the world before a compliment puts on its shoes. And yes, I will admit to warning other consultants, “That client might be challenging.” In fact, I had that conversation a few weeks ago. Let’s assume that nonprofits are having the same sorts of conversations about us.
Thanks Andy, so well said! There is no way to predict what will happen in a project. And as all experienced consultants know, the client may not even be aware of the hidden issues that emerge when working with someone from the outside. If we can’t adapt, what are we doing here? It implies an all-knowing consultant that has nothing to learn, and although that’s sometimes what clients expect, it’s silly at best and harmful at worst. I learn in every project I work on.
I’m glad to say in the last five years, I’ve gotten much better at changing my plans on the fly, and would stand in a different place on the preparation spectrum. I’m still working on not working harder than the client, but I still hear your voice in my head.
“I still hear your voice in my head.” Yikes! I guess I will take that as a compliment…
As noted above, the quote about the consultant not working harder than the client comes from my colleague Sharon Behar, who’s very wise. It’s an important message; I am merely the messenger.
Always good to hear from you, Karen. Thanks for reading and responding.
AR