Consulting Skills - Independent Consultants

Designed Independent Consultants to enable them to function more effectively as consultants.

Special Note:  From May 2013, this will be two half-day workshops sold separately.  See the brochure.

	Develop your own consulting methodology to complement your professional expertise.  This means the job will be done properly. Consulting Guru Peter Block defines the 'Successful Consultant' as the one whose work is accepted and used by the client. So a successful project is more than on budget, on time and meets specifications. It's one that is used and works!  Consulting methodology will give you that process.
	Consult so that you build client ownership of the project - improving your success rate
	Add more value to the client than simply being a subject matter expert (Professional/Technical)
	Find your work more fulfilling and profitable by moving above the contractor role

Program Outcomes Summary

Independent and other External Consultants

Internal Consultants will have a better understanding of their role by attending this workshop.  Much of the content is common with the External workshop.

1. Orientation and clarification

	Distinction between consulting, contracting and service provision
	4 Modes of delivering consultancy services: contracting, expert, facilitating &  collaborative - appropriateness and insights into how you are perceived
	How consultants add value
	Key relationships: who are your real clients?

2. Consultancy Skills - 'How To Consult'

	The consulting process - 6 essential steps
	Four principles for collaborative consulting:  managing politics, people and risk while building ownership and support
	Consulting competencies - the skills sets consultants need

3. Consulting Tools - A look at some of the key tools

	Front end diagnostic tools:  Needs analysis / Gap analysis / Questioning techniques / Affinity charts / others
	Problem diagnosis  - 5 Whys, KISS (Keep, Increase, Stop, Start), others
	Project plans: a Project Management approach
	Stakeholder mapping and management
	Prioritisation techniques
	Strategic planning, force field analysis, visioning
	Facilitation skills, group process
	Change Management methods
	Solution creation
	PIR - Post Implementation Reviews:
	Note: when participants have attended Day 1 of the 3 day Successful Consulting series, we spend more time on Tools and Tricky situations

4. Consultancy Skills - Service delivery issues

	Identifying and managing resistance, leading vs collaborating, delivering bad news, client fears, handling difficult people, giving and receiving feedback
	Contracting: being overlooked, being typecast, being ignored
	Workshopping issues particular to your consulting context

The Next Step

For a discussion on your requirements, please contact Ian Benjamin at Consultant Training Australia.
Telephone: 03 9593 1678, 1800 266 266 or 0419 593 167