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Core Consulting Skills

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Training course summary

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There are many ways of going about the role of consultant, from the completely passive to the aggressive, from the autocratic to the democratic, and so on. Consultancy skills and competences are those which are required to build and maintain a relationship between one person and at least one other person, the purpose of which is to help the other person address the change issues facing them. Why? Simply because all consulting involves guiding clients through some element of change. Therefore fundamental to effective consulting is an understanding of the change process. By applying this understanding, effective consultants are able to help clients to steer a path through the predictable crises of change to meet their goals. Consultancy assignments or projects necessarily expose your company, staff and you individually to risks in relation to contracts, legal terms and conditions of operating and possibly even to claims for professional negligence. Effective consulting requires the skills and competences to minimise risks of litigation, together with planning the assignment, monitoring and controlling progress, costs and billing, managing the team (and the client relationship), identifying additional commercial opportunities and communication. This course is designed to equip you with the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours to be an effective consultant.

Regions:
  • All Areas
Delivery:
  • In House
Category:
Difficulty:
  • Intermediate

Further Details

Course Outcomes/Benefits of Attending:

In this course we will explore options, develop essential skills, and practice different styles associated with effective client-centred consulting, building your confidence and capability in the process. By the end of this course you will be able to:

Maximise your performance on a consultancy assignment

Apply your knowledge and understanding of the stages of the Consultancy Process Model, and be able to carryout the key activities, both task and process associated with each stage

Deliver the required outputs of each stage of the Consultancy Process Model

Apply your knowledge and understanding of a range of basic tools and techniques to assist at each stage, be able to state the pros and cons of each one and will have used several in client simulated situations

Apply your knowledge and understanding of the human dimensions of the consultancy relationship

Build rapport and trust, establish your credibility and psychological contracts with their clients

Establish and build commitment to change during the consultancy assignment

Apply your knowledge and understanding of the need to feedback and challenge client perceptions to ensure change progress
Manage the process of skills and knowledge transfer to the client to ensure learning takes place
Ensure that the client takes effective action beyond the consultancy project to fully sustain the benefits realised on the assignment
Apply their preferences for working as an individual and as part of a team and understand the differences between these and those of others

Carry out your responsibilities as a consultant in the areas of:
- leadership
- client relationship management
- people motivation and development
- sales

Apply your knowledge and understanding of different team roles and ways of ensuring the skills of the team are maximised

Plan, carry out and review the effectiveness of your consulting interventions.

The Learning Experience:

A highly participative course where participants will experiment with a range of approaches and draw on each others' experiences. With a mixture of tutor input, plenary discussions, syndicate exercises and self-assessment questionnaires, each used to develop deeper understand of the issues facing consultants as they attempt to undertake consultancy assignments.

Participants will also have the opportunity, through the use of CCTV and the self assessment questionnaires to monitor the changes in their skills and behaviour - towards effective consultancy skills/interventions - during the course. The course also involves participants working through an interactive 'live' consultancy project.

There is an emphasis on participative exploration. A handbook of best practice guidelines together with a set of 'learning helpcards' supplement this course and are also provided.

Programme Outline:

The structure of the programme can vary to meet the particular needs of the group. The most effective structure is a modular one based on the principles of action learning. In outline the course programme consists:

Setting the Scene: What constitutes effective consulting

The role of the consultant

Making a Good Start (I): Key planning activities

Making a Good Start (II): Gaining Entry - Objective Setting and Contracting, Developing Client Trust, Establishing Rapport and Your Credibility

Ensuring Success (I): Commercial planning/management

Ensuring Success (II): Understanding teams

Ensuring Success (III): Your role as a leader

Diagnosis - Understanding the real problem

Visioning - Establishing the change needed

Planning - Developing and refining plans to implement the solution

Implementation & Review - Delivering & Evaluating that the benefits are realised and sustained

Managing the Client: Framework of four major types of client relationship

Maintaining good client relationships

Review and Post Assignment Evaluation

Action Planning the application of the programme learning

Establishing follow-up learning needs.

Who Should Attend:

Any one new to consulting or those undertaking an internal change consultant role.

Course Duration:

The programme is of five day’s duration.

Number of Participants:

At OTT Consulting we believe in providing a suitable ratio of 'trainers to participants' to maximise everyone's ability to learn. We have therefore designed all our courses to accommodate 6 participants as the optimum number of participants. Where required we are happy to alter the course to accommodate more or less participants.

Guide price

£100 per candidate per day

 

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