WHAT IS MANAGEMENT CONSULTING?

Management Consulting is the practice of offering business executives third party advice, expertise, and support with the aim of enhancing the business's performance resulting in an overall increase in the value of the business for its shareholders - and other stakeholders.  

Management Consulting got its start in the late 1880's when Frederick W. Taylor began to perform studies of the time required to complete processes in manufacturing.  The practice developed over time and eventually, James O. McKinsey formed McKinsey & Company with Tom Kearney -in the mist of the great depression, when companies needed consultancies most.  McKinsey's group set out to help troubled businesses grow and recover from economic crisis.  Shortly after that, Management Consulting grew as a field  and other firms began to take shape.

Today, there are many management-consulting firms.  Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, and Bain & Company are all firms with which you may be familiar.  Organisations typically hire management consultants for their problem-solving abilities, specialised industrial expertise and commercial acumen.

  

 

 

 

What Does Management Consulting Entail?

 

 Good management consultants possess both strong creative problem solving ability and excellent people skills.  

Skilled consultants possess the ability to provide a careful analysis of a problem and suggest creative methods to find solutions to the problem. Management consulting also requires excellent people skills.  Successful consultants can tune into their clients' needs and focus on keeping their clients happy. Consultants often will spend much of their time at a client's site observing and performing research to find the best strategies to assist their client company in meeting goals and solving problems. 

Finally, the work hours that a management consultant puts in may be long.  Be aware that you may be putting in far more work than those who work at the company - sometimes as much as ninety hours a week.  Management consultants are hard working self-starters who don't mind going the extra mile in the name of keeping their clients pleased.

 

What Are the Entry Routes for Management Consulting?

 

 Management consulting is one of those fields where you find people from various academic and professional backgrounds sharing one single attribute - a passion for solving business problems and driving business performance. While not every management consultant has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), many do hold this degree title.  Most consultants have backgrounds in business, economics, mathematics, engineering, or other scientific oriented disciplines, though it is not unheard of for an English major or philosophy major with business experience to hold such a position.  

As well as grad hires and MBA hires, there is also an route to entry for experienced hires you have a strong industry-specific expertise. These opportunities are usually advertised on the consulting websites or sourced through executive search firms.  

 

What Are the Typical Activities of Management Consultants?

 

 It is very difficult to generalise the typical activities of a mangement consultant,  as each project is unique and requires a tailorised approach and skill set. However, the following characteristics are common amongst most project-types:

• Scoping client problems and conducting hypothesis of possible solutions
• Researching and collecting data to investigate and solve specific client problems
• Synthesising analyses outputs to build an overall diagnosis 
• Running workshops to facilitate discussions for performance improvement
• Managing client stakeholders to create "buy-in" to a change initiative
• Constructing and delivering business presentations, and interim progress reports

Because the face of business is always changing, companies are always looking for better ways to do things.  This means that as long as companies want to be better, bigger, wealthier, and more productive, management consultants will find they have much work.

Management Consulting Personality

management consulting

It is impossible to box management consulting personality  in one description. After all, they are endowed with uniquely different characteristics. However, it is undeniable that many of them behave or react in the same manner in various situations.

According to psychology, personality is a combination of consistent thought patterns, feelings and behaviors of a person. In the field of management consulting, this seems to be highly influenced by the consultant’s basic duties and responsibilities, the culture of the firm and the responsibility to maintain a smooth relationship with clients and their employees.

Below are the typical characteristics that form part of a management consultaning personality.

How They Think

All consultants are analytical, good problem solvers. They inspect all the angles of a situation to come up with a sound decision. They are not comfortable with focusing on one factor only. Most of the time, they think outside the box to bring out all the possibilities. Because these are part of their daily schedule, they have become logical thinkers in everything they do.

Consultants are also good planners. This characteristic is more evident as they take further studies in their field. They continuously research on the latest trends of the industry and formulate their own ideas along the way. They determinedly learn modern techniques and combine them with old but effective methods for better results. Since they are aware that business management is continuously evolving, they keep themselves abreast with the developments.

How They Feel

One of important management consulting personalities is a deep-seated drive to achieve their goals. This is proven from the time they apply for a consulting position until their last day in the workplace. While they serve as consultants, they feel motivated to deliver quality output for their clients on time. In effect, they choose to stay at the office even after regular work hours. This drive pushes them to do more than what’s expected from them.

Consultants get tired with their hectic schedule, too. That’s the reason why attaining work-life balance has always been an issue for most of them. However, though they are sick of the idea of missing their family and friends, they see to it that it doesn’t get in the way. They maintain focus and keep personal issues away from their job.

How They Behave

Professional is the word that best describes a consultant. This characteristic can be seen in the way they communicate with clients, fellow team members and other employees. They use tactful expression and maintain their emotional intelligence. Their excellent people skills make them good leaders. They can readily build teams to work hand in hand in finishing a project.

They are also known to have grace under pressure. When they enter management consultingfield, they definitely encounter numerous nerve-racking situations caused by the project or the people around them. They may have to beat tough deadlines within a short period of time. Thus, developing stress management techniques is their way of coping. These allow them to set priorities, to clear their mind of troubling thoughts and to control their negative reactions.

If you also have this type of personality, you might do well in this industry. Try to jump in management consulting field and wish you succeed.