more fully informed and the other is ‘at least partly in the dark’ – no longer works given our increased access to information. Now that buyers often know as much as, if not more than sellers, Pink offers an insight into what sellers need to recognise, “… sellers are no longer protectors and purveyors of information. They’re the curators and clarifiers of it – helping to make sense of the blizzard of facts, data and opinions”. As external consultants working in the world
of coaching, mentoring, this fits well with our offering – curation and clarification of how these powerful approaches can support organisations, along with our own personal experience of what it is like to be part of such an approach. Partnership, guidance and sharing are words we often use to describe our service as well as the attributes of transparency, honesty and learning. These fit well within the parameters of Pink’s definition, they also sit well alongside what Julian Stodd has described as six tenets of social leadership1
, which
he believes is fit for the social age:
1.Be curious
2.Try, learn, try
3.Share
4.Be humble
5.Tell stories
6.Be fair and protect.
If we are in the business of helping organisations grow more connected, collaborative and authentic leaders then we need to be modelling these attributes ourselves as consultants as well as leaders. Giving focus to growing these in the role of external consultant grows credibility and value in a rapidly changing and ever more social world of organisations. As coaches and mentors we are well aware of the importance of our own continued professional development and supervision, and enjoy as well as pay due attention to both. These are fundamental elements of our own professionalism and credibility, and in turn add value for our individual clients. One of the decisions we made right from the start of consulting together in the business of coaching and mentoring, was to access joint supervision in our role as external consultants and business partners. This quarterly event when we meet our very experienced supervisor, helps us focus specifically on our role as external consultants and the relationships which we build and maintain with our clients. It takes a slightly different form from a classic supervision model and is a fascinating and insightful journey. Although it doesn’t directly build credibility, undoubtedly it adds value for our clients.
“Experience has given me the ability to straddle the space of knowing what it’s like to be rather than just the intellectual knowledge of to do”
How can we flex our style to offer best value and build internal strength?
‘Strength from within’ has been our strap-line for years and we work from the belief that by enabling people within organisations to support their own people, we offer best and highest value. Most often we work with those people inside of organisations who are leading on HR, L&D or OD, sometimes it is with business leaders. Our work with these individuals will range from; providing time to think, to challenging assumptions, to acting as a critical friend and say the things that noone else is willing to say, to offering suggestions for a way forward. The skill of being an external consultant, particularly in the context of mentoring and coaching, is knowing when to flex from one mode to another. Practicing and honing this flex takes time and experience, just as it does for an individual coach or mentor. We have found that our joint supervision helps us to do this. We have also found that staying in touch with, and being part of, a wider community of internal and external consultants helps us understand how we flex our style. Accessing the reflection and thinking space we need to be continuously learning, staying in touch with the bigger picture and sharing perspectives with others allows us to bounce ideas, make mistakes and ultimately enhances our offering. Our consultancy is bespoke insofar as we flex
our style and offering depending on the need of each client. We don’t offer ‘off the peg’ solutions and have found that just like buying a bespoke suit which is made to measure and fitted to meet specific needs, it produces higher quality results more quickly and in the long run is more cost effective. Of course this presents its own challenges, but ones that we believe are worth facing!
Emily
Cosgrove and
Sara Hope
are co-found- ers of The Conversation Space – find out more at
www.thecon- versations-
pace.com
www.trainingjournal.com September 2015
31
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