What Kind of Consultant Should I Work With?

CCG Strategies Q&A Blog: To-the-Point Answers to Common Leadership Consulting Questions

What Kind Of Consultant Should I Work With??

It's a common question that many business professionals ask.

We're going to answer in less than 30 seconds

Short Answer: If you want to engage a Consultant, you should work with the Consultant who has the expertise to fix your problem.

Long Answer: Before engaging a consultant, make sure you actually need one and what problem you need them to fix. These two questions will lead your directly to the Consultant you need.

Don't Understand? Let's Deep Dive.

#1 Do You Really Need a Consultant?

Ideally, Consultants solve big problems. Consultants enter a company with infrastructure issues and attempt to provide solutions to the biggest problems.

If the issue you're having do not have a big impact on your firm, a better choice would be to self-service your business. You can self-serve your business by working with your existing team or asking other leaders in your area of operation.

CCG Strategies also provides strategies on how to solve problems on your own! Check out our self-serve strategies for more information!

You truly should only engage a consultant if the problem is too big or outside of your knowledge base.

If you've identified that your problem is too big or outside of your knowledge base, you have to identify a problem.

#2 What Problem Do You Need Fixed?

Once you decide that your problem warrants a Consultant to fix it, you have to identify the actual problem. You need to identify the problem for two reasons.

First, you need to engage the right Consultant.

Consultant' is an all-encompassing term for a professional who provides advice on topics related to their area of expertise. There are many kinds of Consultants such as IT Consultants, Operations Consultants, Strategy Consultants and Sales Consultants. Further, within each Consultant Type, there are even more specialized niches. For example, some HR Consultants may specialize in Compensation Mangement, Talent Management or Compliance.

Understanding your problem will help you target the right Consultant who will actually have the expertise to fix the problem.

Second, identifying the problem helps you to pinpoint exactly what you need the Consultant to fix. Think about it like a doctor. If you go to a doctor and say something hurts but don't indicate what, the doctor can run tests, but ultimately, it will take more time and energy than if you could tell exactly where the pain is.

Consulting works the same way.

The more specific you can be about describing your problem (including providing data that your Consultant can review), the better your remediation strategy will be.

Once your pinpoint your problem, you can engage the Consultant that has the speciality knowledge you need to solve your problem!

If you have any management problems, including but not limited to talent management, leadership skills, process inefficiences or organization issues, contact a CCG Consultant today for a consultation!