The skills of a consultant cannot be taught in a classroom
A consultant offers expertise advice in a given area to his or her clients (Crisp & Cruz, 2009). It is true that the skills of a consultant cannot be taught in a classroom setting. Consultancy services offered by consultants in their areas of specialization require in-depth knowledge and experience.
People become experts in their careers after spending a considerable amount of time working. It is after amassing a wealth of experience that they could begin to provide consultancy services. Experience needed to offer consultancy services cannot be taught in a classroom as it requires persons to network and gain knowledge of how things are done in a particular field.
Consultants do not decide for their clients, but they help their clients to choose the best solution from a number of options. Consultants analyze situations presented by their clients and give pros and cons for each situation. Although consultancy skills cannot be taught in a classroom, formal teaching introduces aspects vital for consultancy. The aspects could be communication skills, networking and project analysis skills.
Value of mentoring in the development of consulting skills
Mentorship programs involve more experienced persons in a given career field who offer professional guidance to less experienced persons.
It is a lengthy process that is characterized by informal transfer of expertise and exchange of social network contacts believed to play key roles in career and/or professional development (De Janasz & Sullivan, 2004). Mentors have both academic and practical expertise in their career fields (Crisp & Cruz, 2009). They interact with many colleagues and contacts whom they share their job expertise issues.
When experienced professionals interact with less experienced persons in their career fields, they offer them invaluable skills essential in offering consultancy services. In the case study, Peris Roberts was paired with a former software consultant who was thinking of changing his career to finance. Peris Roberts, a business improvement consultant with BT Group, could be instrumental in helping his mentee change his consultancy field from software to finance field. She could offer him the skills essential in general consultancy.
Skills important for an effective consulting mentor
Consulting mentors are highly experienced persons who guide less experienced persons in their career fields. Decision making is an essential feature in all business organizations made by people at different levels of management. The decisions made are important for successful running of business organizations (Ramani, Gruppen & Kachur, 2006). Consulting mentors should have skills in conducting an analysis of decision making in businesses.
They need to understand the key persons who make key decisions in business establishments. They also need to have skills in decision context analysis. Consulting mentors are required to have skills in consulting project planning. Any consultancy service offered to a client should be done following a structured plan (Ramani et al., 2006). Mentors should understand the various project plans used by businesses and how to apply them in different business environments (Erickson, McDonald & Elder, 2009).
Consulting mentors should also have skills in conducting interviews in their career fields. Less experienced persons who have been imparted with knowledge and skills in conducting interviews become successful consultants who understand interviews in detail. This is particularly important at a time when there are so many graduates and consultants are faced with the problem of choosing the very best candidate to hire for their clients and/or organizations (De Janasz & Sullivan, 2004).
References
Crisp, G., & Cruz, I. (2009). Mentoring college students: A critical review of the literature between 1990 and 2007. Research in Higher Education, 50(6), 525-545.
De Janasz, S. C., & Sullivan, S. E. (2004). Multiple mentoring in academe: Developing the professorial network. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64(2), 263-283.
Erickson, L. D., McDonald, S., & Elder, G. H. (2009). Informal mentors and education:
Complementary or compensatory resources?. Sociology of Education, 82(4), 344-367.
Ramani, S., Gruppen, L., & Kachur, E. K. (2006). Twelve tips for developing effective mentors. Medical teacher, 28(5), 404-408.