Consulting on the Inside, 2nd ed.: A Practical Guide for Internal Consultants

by Beverly Scott, B. Kim Barnes

Overview

Are you an internal consultant—a staff member who serves in a consultative role within your organization? Then you need this hands-on guidebook to help you better understand your role and improve your performance.

Whether you're a change agent, trusted advisor, or someone who serves in varying capacities, it's important to design your job, develop a formal agreement, and build your practice.

Consulting on the Inside provides a solid background for internal consultants and serves as a roadmap for cultivating a successful career. You'll learn how to:

maintain an outsider's objectivity while applying an insider's knowledge of the organization

build relationships but be up-front about challenges and issues

design your role to fit the client's needs and the organizational situation

handle roadblocks and deal effectively with difficult clients

market your consulting services within the client organization.

You'll find a thorough examination of the eight phases of the consulting process, a comprehensive analysis of the differences between internal and external consultants, and success stories demonstrating the personal qualities you need to build trust and relationships. Consulting on the Insidealso provides a complete toolbox for getting the job done, including tips and techniques, checklists, forms, a sample hiring agreement, and ready-to-use agendas...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607289128
Publisher:	Association for Talent Development
Publication date:	04/01/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Beverly Scott has over 25 years of experience in a full range of organizational and management development services, including organization change efforts, management-development systems and programs, and guidance of management teams. Her goal is to promote organizational effectiveness and employee satisfaction through the use of team building, problem solving, skill building, leadership development, employee involvement, and survey feedback. In her current practice, Bev Scott Consulting, her work focuses on leadership development, executive coaching, large system change, and development of internal consultants. Beverly lives and works in San Francisco.

Table of Contents

Preface

Section One: On the Inside
1 - The Life of an Internal Consultant
2 - Navigating the Organization
3 - The Role Dilemma: Choosing a Costume
4 - Challenges from Outside: Opportunities for the Internal Consultant

Section Two: Achieving Success
5 - Circumventing the Roadblocks
6 - When Consultants Throw Up Roadblocks of Their Own
7 - Developing Your Best Self

Section Three: The Consulting Process: A Step-by-Step Guide for Internal Consultants

8 - The Process of Consulting
9 - Phase One: Contact: Defining the Need and Building the Relationship
10 - Phase Two: Finalize Agreement
11 - Phase Three: Information and Assessment
12 - Phase Four: Feedback
13 - Phases Five and Six: Seeking Alignment and Clarifying Change Targets and Transition Strategies
14 - Phase Seven: Implementation
15 - Phase Eight: Evaluation and Learning
16 - The Challenges and Opportunities of Living Inside

Appendix 1: An Inventory for Internal Consultants
Appendix 2: Safely Processing Your Shadow
Appendix 3: Grounding and Centering: A Practical Technique Used by the Author
Appendix 4: Sample Agreement Memoranda
Appendix 5: Organization Development Contract
Appendix 6: Conducting the Courtesy Feedback Meeting and the Feedback Meeting
Appendix 7: Alignment Checklist
Appendix 8: Charter for the Human Resources Transition Team
Appendix 9: Team-Building Designs
Appendix 10: Model for Conflict Management in Teams
Appendix 11: Role-Clarification Meeting
Appendix 12: New Manager Assimilation Process
Appendix 13: Two-Year Process Improvement Process
Appendix 14: Example Plan and Agenda for Restructuring and Cross-Functional Teamwork Consultation
Appendix 15:Creating a Vision Process

For Further Reading
About the Author

What People are Saying About This

John D. Carter

John D. Carter Ph.D., President, Organization & Systems Development Center, Gestalt Institute of Cleveland

This book provides individuals who work with organization change a rare gift by providing a glimpse into the mind and thinking of internal organization consultants. Experienced and beginning consultants will find the insights and information interesting and useful.

James H. Gilmore

James H. Gilmore, Co-author, The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage

Too many businesses make the mistake of naively equating consulting with hiring an outsider -- and in the process undervalue the potential of their own internal advisors as well as undermine the legitimate role of external advise. Bev Scott's Internal Consulting offers practical insights for 'insiders' who seek to recast the consulting mix for more effective human performances.

Mary Choi

Mary Choi, Vice President Organization Development, The Patent & License Exchange, Inc.

This is a refreshing book to read because it provides real life scenarios regarding issues and dilemmas faced by internal organization development professionals in a very straightforward and open manner. The combination of personal anecdotes from former internal consultants with fundamental organization development theory provides internal consultants "at all levels" a solid resource for practicing their work.

Edith Seashore

Edith Whitfield Seashore, Organization Consultant

As an external OD consultant, it has been crucial for me to partner with internal consultants for any meaningful organization change. Bev and her very articulate internal consultant colleagues have provided invaluable insights that can inform and greatly enhance consultant partnerships for all of us.

B. Kim Barnes

B. Kim Barnes, C.E.O.. Barnes & Conti Associates, Inc.

What an extraordinary resource! Bev Scott has articulated the "inside baseball" of consulting. I only wish I had been fortunate enough to have such a wise and inspiring mentor early in my career. This book is not only an invaluable resource for those new to the internal consulting role, but provides guidance, support, and insight to all of us who do our work at the margins. Buy it, read it, and give it to everyone you know in the field.