Tools and Skills for Performance Consulting

Useful Tools and Techniques for Performance Consulting M all told researchers fork up developed experiments inwardly several organizations that demonstrate the right approach to trenchant accomplishment consulting. Bell and J unmatch fits (2008) describe that Research and theorizing recognizes that a managers identification and judgment of a moral problem is a subjective, socially constructed process that puke be influenced by principles, theories, and cling tos(p. 503). Furthermore, research as well falseers suggestions that serve as a useful guide when engaging in the consulting process.However, when consulting there atomic number 18 seven critical skills that essential be used when consulting, and they are as follows one moldiness define clear objectives and goals, maintain confidentiality, involve people that testament be affected by stand out, forge a partnership, have clear communication, develop contract, and also have a scheme. The purpose of this research pap er is to correlate different ways that assay some technical and critical skills of consulting. This paper also intends to give examples and offer techniques used through research that grass help one to consult flawlessly.There are several different strategies that can be used during the performance consulting process. When engaging in performance consulting the adviser should interpret tabu some information active the confederation prior to meeting with the lymph node. accord to Thamain (2004), effective advisors are social architects who foster a climate of active participation by involving people at all organisational levels in the assessment of the lively system, and in the planning and implementation of the desire change.They also build alliances with bread and butter organizations and upper management to figure visibility, priority, resource availability, and overall support for sustaining the organizational modifyment beyond its implementation phase(p. 42). The fi rst social occasion highlights and analyzes the seven critical skills needed to consult. The second section suggests guidelines for the five tools and techniques which can be used to consult flawlessly. Lastly, the final section sleep togethers some die behaviors that can be used to help organizations meet their needs.One of the pick up concepts to consulting is to construe the basic needs of a node. When making initial contact with the client, the purpose of the devise essential be defined immediately. In asset to that, it is better to unclutter sure that both the consultant and client are clear of what the objective of the stand is. From the start be sure to develop a unwashed understanding of what the issue is, and if there are any underlying problems that establish to this. If employees need to be involved, it is best to relate the intervention being used to the companies goals or mission statement.Employees press out much more interest knowing that their involv ement depart help for the better of the organization and not just one individual. gibe to Thamhain (2004), Organizational members are more likely to engage in a development initiative if they perceive it to be clearly related to the goals of the company. Clear linkages among the intervention and company mission, goals, and objectives create enthusiasm and desire to participate, as well as lowering anxieties and helping to unify the people behind the intervention(p. 42).The employees moldiness feel confident about the interventions that are issue to be used if not they forget be less reluctant to offer insight. The consultant must(prenominal) also inform the client to keep lag informed on the shape of the project so that the client feels theyre playing a single-valued mould in the consulting process. Understanding the basic needs of the client could help the process to get executed in a timely manner. During the consulting process one must expect some resistance at some poi nt, because employees may feel like the consultant hasnt made them feel confident about the outcome of the project.An some other detect aspect of consulting is to maintain confidentiality. In addition to that, the client must feel that any information that is revealed in the project ordain not be leaked out to anyone outside of the organization. This is a useful tool to help to ensure buy in from the client and any employees that major power be involved in the project. If client does not feel that the companies information is secure then the information provided result not be accurate. Confidentiality can be linked to several aspects of the consulting process, in that it can help you to understand what clients value most.According to Parker (2003) , when you develop a better understanding of what clients value it can increase both client satisfaction and help improve a organizations performance (Parker, 2003). By understanding your clients needs it will help link objectives of t he project closely to the goals of the company. Consequently, this will help to gain more support from not only clients, but also the consultant will receive even more support from individuals within the organization. By understanding the clients needs it increases the probability of getting to the root of the problem.In the end this will help to make implementation and feedback go smoothly. Thamain (2004 ) reported that Consultants will have a better chance for smooth implementation and for gaining organizational acceptance of the new system if they can show that the newly developed process is consistent with already established values, principles, and practices, rather than a new order to be imposed(p. 43). In the consulting process it is truly substantial to involve any party who will be affected by the project. By involving all parties who will be affected by project it will help to obtain a better outcome.Once employees know that there is something in it for them, they feel o bligated to offer information. Throughout this process the employer must value their employees opinion, as well as offer support and recognition. This will help to enhance employee engagement on the regular issues that come up on a daily basis. Thamhain (2004) reported that, turn expert based consulting has dominated the project management field, it is critical to also engage in more process orient consulting, ensuring that relevant organizational members are part of the intervention (p. 3). In addition to that Sussman and Norton (2009) reported that to achieve excellence, organizations must seek and implement effective tools and techniques to transform lumber from an abstract concept to a shared value embedded in the fabric of e veryday part of an organization (p. 7). It is important to involve anyone who will be affected because they are the best change agents when it comes to assessing the situation, searching for solutions, and evaluating new tools and techniques.One of a con sultants most useful tools is being capable of forging a partnership with the client. This is useful in that once this is established it helps create a joint effort in executing the issue and discovering what the objective will be. It is very important to learn some understate information about your client prior to your first meeting. Lacey, Thompkins, and Egan (2007) reported that Internal practitioners must understand the language and tillage in which they operate.In business organizations this means a working knowledge of key business processes including strategy formulation and implementation within a global context. While Consultants are not hired to be experts in strategy, they must have an understanding of the unique expertise that offers in ensuring the success of strategic initiatives (p. 2). With that being said, this is one of the key concepts to successful consulting in that it assures the client that you are serious about affecting change within the organization.In a ddition to that, clients tend to feel more at rest when they are confident that you are looking out for their best interest. Furthermore, from beginning to the end of the consulting process both parties must have clear communication, and both the consultant and client should make all phases of the process clear to everyone involved in the project. Having clear communication can help establish what direction the project will go in and will also build up the clients confidence of having a successful outcome.By establishing this you will better understand what the clients expectations are, and you will already have an idea of what it will take to get there. According toThamhain (2004), team members will be more likely with implementing new management processes, tools, and techniques to aid with necessary organizational requirements, if management clearly articulates the criticality to business performance and the benefits to the organization and its members (Thamhain 2004). communica tion helps both the client and the consultant feel more well-heeled and it also leaves room to receive honest feedback from all parties involved in the process. According to Mellor and Dewhurst (2009), when you establish a line of sight, an effective internal communication function helps make sure the strategy is clearly defined and supports people translating the business strategy into action (Mellor and Dewhurst, 2009).Furthermore, effective communication helps everyone be accountable for the objectives or any measures that they come across, and whatever get measured usually gets done. Several companies have discovered that when consulting the contract is one of the most important things of the process. It helps to protect both the client and the consultant. This serves as the agreement where the consultant and client define each others roles in executing the project. Norton Jr. nd Sussman (2009), reported that contracts, agreements in principle, and garner of understanding are examples of documents designed to transform implicit assumptions into explicit behaviors however, each prescribes expectations or behaviors at the individual level rather than the team level (p. 9). When consulting some other critical skill is having a strategy set up in a way that both the consultant and the client understand how to move forward. Communication is key because it helps everyone involved in the process understand what is expected of them by opening clear barriers of communication.According to Sussman and Norton (2009), when one is communicating a strategy an effective team uses tactics that enable managers and employees to discuss, engage and internalize the strategy so that they can bring it to life, understand what it means and translate it into everyday actions and behaviors (Sussman and Norton, 2009). Therefore, consultants must understand that utilize strategies and brainstorming is one of the key concepts of the consulting process, and if this is not establis hed from the beginning the entire project will be a disaster.It is also important to establish ringing with the client in that it will help to build a stronger cooperative working relationship end-to-end the process. Owen, Goldwasser, Choate, and Blitz (2008) reported that by translating the business strategy into operational goals, and by creating structures and processes to enable quislingism across all segments of the organization, substructure leading can motivate and enable new behavior (p. 40). Furthermore, research practically suggests several types of critical steps that are involved in consulting, however, it is solely up to the consultant to assess the situation before he or she enters it.In addition to that, researchers also identify the right approach to performance consulting as well as different techniques that have be to be successful. Critical steps to consulting also can serve as a useful guide to making the process much smoother to both the client and the consultant. Research has been done and it has proven that when entering the consulting process, it is key to find out information about the organization prior to meeting with them. As state earlier in the paper organizational members are more likely to engage in a development initiative if they perceive it to be clearly related to the goals of the company.Thamhain (2004) reported that it is crucial, however, that these team initiatives be integrated with the overall business process and supported by management (p. 44). Therefore, any of the tools listed above must be supplemented into the continuously changing of business processes. In addition to that these tools must be updated and tested on an ongoing basis. In the consulting process a tool can be canvassed as a model, checklist, or a series of steps that can help guide both the client and the consultant through the process.Furthermore, successful consulting requires consultants to use tools and techniques that are useful in e xecuting the process. Thamhain reported that (2004) successful implementation of new project management tools and processes a great deal requires modifications of organizational structures, policies, and practices (p. 44). In addition to that it is very important to have support of management when coming up with team initiatives. However, to gain the benefits of a new project managements tool or technique it is also important that everyone involved perceive this as a win-win situation.Some ways to ensure this is to carefully plan with all parties involved during all of the consulting phases. Consultants should also be open for suggestions, and cast open discussions which encourage all parties to be more proactive in the future. Therefore five tools and techniques that can aid to consult flawlessly are alignment, commitment, contracting, and authenticity, and empathy. According to Owen, Goldwasseer, Choate, and Blitz (2008), to avoid the pitfalls of collaborative innovation, our re search and experience show the best building blocks of consulting are alignment, boundaries and commitment, which they call the ABCs.Alignment entails synchronizing the strategic vision and innovation goals with the implementation of these throughout the organization, focusing on collaboration both vertically and horizontally (Owen, Goldwasser (Lawrence Owen, 2008), Choate, and Blitz, 2008). When consulting from the start of the process the consultant must define what each others roles will be throughout the entire process. It is very important to understand what the clients expectations are and then work solely off of what the client wants and what the he hopes to accomplish.Owen, Goldwasser, Choate, and Blitz (2008) stated that Alignment is a key step in ensuring that the business strategy is communicated and enabled throughout the organization both vertically and horizontally. Alignment also requires looking at the organization from the perspective of innovation objectives, and t hen using the insights gained to position the organization to meet those objectives (p. 39). Vertical alignment helps to excuse the business strategy objective and also transforms it into an organizational strategy as well as an implementation plan.This helps to provide both the client and consultant comfortable about change in the future. Horizontal alignment requires the implementation of a new organizational unit for redefining the existing one. Thamhain (2004) reported that If at all contingent the introduction of new management tools and techniques should be consistent with the established project management practices within the organization. The more the new order of operation is congruent with the existing practices, procedures, and distributed knowledge of the organization, the more self sustaining and successful the change intervention will be (p. 4). This is where the highest level of acceptance is found because these useful tools are added incrementally. When implementin g new tools and techniques they should be tested on smaller projects with those who are more experienced. Thamhain (2002) suggest that ensuring that organizational members are more proactive and aggressive toward change is not an easy working class but must be facilitated systematically by both consultants and management. Any project management tool or technique, for example must be integrated into the continuously changing business process (p. 6). When coming up with new techniques it is also important to ensure that the client understands what role he or she will play during the implementation stage. To avoid these problems one must conduct a thorough assessment of the problem, and he also must have some background information on the company. Commitment is one of the most important things in the consulting process. In that it helps the consultant obtain buy in from the client and members who become a part of the project.In addition to that, this helps to ensure that everyone is w orking towards one common goal, and it will alleviate all confusion between the consultant and client. Owen, Goldwasser, Choate, and Blitz (2008) reported that organizations that are serious about collaboration for innovation make an ongoing commitment to transformation and change. Creating a collaborative market-gardening happens over time through leaders communication and reinforcement, the development and ongoing tracking of key measures, and institutionalized learning and knowledge management to continually develop the capabilities needed for collaborative innovation (p. 1). The consultant should be able to facilitate change whereas it will foster a climate for continuous learning and improvement. Furthermore, this means that the consultant and client should maintain collaboration and reuse it. Over time this will help to establish processes to learn and change. Consequently, this will help the client be able to aid himself in solvent issues within the company in the future int ernally. One of the most important aspects of consulting is empathy which means understanding the nature of the clients problem.This is important because it will make your client feel much more comfortable about revealing important information. The consultant must also get to the root of the problem and find any underlying issues that may be making the problem get worse. According to Parker (2003) research suggest that work with a client can often be extended simply by gaining a better understanding of where the client wants to go and what impedes getting therea process that requires explicit geographic expedition with the client of these broader aspirations and related frustrations.While this may be stating the obvious, consulting teams often become so focused on the engagement at hand that they dont consider the clients broader needs until the end of the assignment (Parker, 2003). Research has been done by Kostman and Schiemann (2005), which suggest that the most commonly used pr inciples and techniques include continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, loyalty measurements, and project management (Kostman and Schiemann, 2005).In addition to that, after conducting surveys and research, it was found that organizations who receive the highest marks for successful implementation of quality initiatives are those that have support from go across leadership, possess and quality culture and do a good job of managing their people effectively. Research has the shown the relationship between employee engagement and organizational performance. Kostman and Schiemann reported that (2005) pursue employees those more highly connected and committed to their organization dramatically outperform their peers on numerous measures, including their attention to quality and service.They further said that this does indeed contribute to the successful implementation of quality initiatives but is only one part of the bigger picture (p. 40). Furthermore during the consulting pr ocess, there are several techniques that can be used, however one must look deeper into the problem and decide what approach is suitable to help circumvent the problem. During the consulting process, tools such as commitment and being able to facilitate change are key concepts because this is what will help keep the collaborative effort throughout.It is also important when using these tools to have some of the goals of the project linked closely to the goals of the organization. Kostman and Shciemann (2005) reported that gaining top leadership support, developing quality minded cultures and more effectively managing the hidden driver of qualitypeople fair-mindednessare the critical oddment between success and failure (Kostman and Schiemann, 2005). Lastly, consulting requires a lot of action research that the studyity of the time helps uncover any underlining problems or issue in the organization that may cause the entire project to collapse.Therefore, to consult flawlessly these tools will help to obtain buy in as well as maintain confidentiality, and it helps all parties feel more comfortable in presenting authentic information. When one serves as the leader of an organization it is important to understand your employees and leave open communication so that employees feel that they are capable of consulting their boss when they need help. In addition to that a leader must acknowledge his employees at all times to help them to feel more comfortable and appreciated for their performance.Further, a leader must be authentic with his staff particularly when it comes to on the job assigned duties. It is important to be able to not only reward your staff but encourage your staff to exceed all aspects of the job for the better of the organization. Fleet and Griffin (2006) stated that if a top manager is commonly known to be untruthful, if a leader does not obedience the rights of others, or if the leader puts profits before all else, others in the organization w ill likely recognize the signals.As the signals get institutionalized throughout the firm, its culture will become increasingly dysfunctional(p. 704 ). Most organizations are centered around the leader or CEO, and the example he sets or how he leads the company can have a major impact on his or her employees. Consequently, leaders play a major part in how the company and its employees function within the organization. It is important for the leader to be open to receiving ideas from his staff in that it helps employees to feel like opinion count and that they can make a difference in the company.Harris and Kuhnert stated (2008) that acknowledging the ideas of others is paramount to increasing success within the organization and makes leaders at this level more effective. This level of development is not without drawbacks, because leaders still depend on input from outside sources to make decisions. The opinions of others matter more, and leaders risk making decisions by depending on those who lack the appropriate expertise (p. 50). Seeking information from leaders have a better probability and it also is much less riskier than seeking advice from someone who is unaware of whats going on in the organization.However, leaders must recognize that for an organization to be successful the example that he sets forth must help his staff in meeting all of the companies needs as well as keep their performance on a consistent level. Reward and punishment plays a major in the behavior of your employees as well as how leaders delegate to their staff what is expected. According to Bell and Jones (2007), a rule or behavior is schematic if it is recognized to be valued in one group but not necessarily applicable to thers, or moral if it is considered necessary to be followed by everyone regardless of group membership or local preferences (Bell and Jones, 2007). Furthermore, leaders also must help his staff adapt to change and he should paint his employees a mental picture of his vision and where he would like for the company to be on an ongoing basis. Harris and Kuhnert (2008) reported that leading change encompasses the ability to challenge the status quo, and higher level leaders do not define themselves by how others see them.Effective leaders acquire their source of understanding within, that is, who they are and can forsake ties with outside sources to make effective decisions (p. 61). The main goal of a consultant is to affect changes in their clients which will help achieve the purpose more effectively. In addition to that, a consultant should know what his client is capable of doing and what he actually can do. For leadership to achieve business needs, they must increase staff morale to improve employee performance, and must not allow employees too legion(predicate) options for when company goals arent being met.Schaffer (1999) stated that to ensure success each project should be constructed to produce plan that the client is ready, willing, and able to implement. Also instead of tackling a huge project all at once, the client and the consultant can carve off sub-projects, each focused on a near term goal that both parties are reasonably certain can be achieved. It is important for leadership to be aware of what is working well and what is not working well. However, they must also have an idea of what an improved system might look like, and facilitate learning to the employees so that they help to keep this system consistent.According to Kendra and Taplin (2004), the primary tool for change is education that is designed to increase people ideas, beliefs, and behaviors, which will bring about new approaches to organizational challenges (p. 23). Many consultants try studying a problem in whole and offering a complete assuage before the problem is diagnosed, or before uncovering any underlying problems. Moreover, consultants define the project in wrong of their expertise and not in terms of the clients specific results t hat need to be achieved.Whats more important is that leaders must understand what their employees are contributing to the company and they must be effective in helping them meet company goals. Fleet and Griffin (2006) stated some important factors that help management achieve business needs are, how leaders reward and punish employees, agendas that are set for meetings, how they react to problematic situations for change, whether they follow the companies code of ethics, and how they decide who gets promoted or receives special privileges (p. 704).As a result, it is important for consultants to examine how leaders construct meaning out of particular situations because it may help clarity why some leaders are effective while others are not. Harris and Kuhnert (2008) stated that evaluating leadership effectiveness can prove quite difficult due to the complexity of organizational success indicators, difficulty in obtaining such information, and external factors often beyond the leaders control. Therefore some suggest a 360 degree feedback can serve as a proxy measure for leadership effectiveness, because it provides us with a well-rounded measure of performance (p. 1). Also leaders need to be comfortable with dealing with conflict at all levels, and they must be able to handle peoples resistance to change. Besides if leaders arent capable of facilitating change they wont be considered as effective change agents. According to Harris and Kuhnert (2008), research suggest that to improve a organizations functions one should involve individuals from within the organization which may further develop individuals and lead to a larger organizational change (Harris and Kuhnert, 2008).Consequently, leadership plays an undeniably central role in the successful operation of a company. Also leadership reactivity to employee requests will result in more favorable employee attitudes and behavior. The environment that the company provides plays a major role in leadership behavio rs. Moreover flawless consulting involves many critical steps and useful tools that were provided in this paper, which was supported by research. In addition flawless consulting requires clear communication, authenticity, and confidentiality.Consultants must realize that with all projects you must have an objective and a ultimate goal that needs to be accomplished in the end that is measurable. However, consultant and client must have a collaborative effort from the start of the project. Further they must establish each others roles and map out a game plan and put it in writing. This serves as a agreement that can be referred to throughout the entire process. Facilitating change is another tool that will prove to be effective throughout your project.As a result, to consult flawlessly consultants must involve everyone who will be affected by the project. Therefore, when it comes to consulting there are several rules of engagement that must be adhered to in order affect change within an organization. Antonio Tencati, L. Z. (2008). The Collaborative Enterprise. daybook of dividing line Ethics , 367-376. 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