There’s no such thing as a stupid question.
While true, there is such a thing as a great question, or questions. Questions that are impactful and that uncover more than you may have anticipated. When engaging a leadership consultant, it’s important to ask the questions that are foremost on your mind… and then dig deeper.
Exploring Your Options
Why are you here? What brought you to the decision that you need a leadership consultant? It could be that you’re experiencing high turnover, that silos have become entrenched and obstructive, that teams don’t work together cohesively, that you’re missing sales targets, or that innovation has stalled. Whatever your pain point, you need help.
Let’s be real: This is a big purchase. You have to get it right. As you explore your options, these are some questions worth asking:
1. Who?
Ask questions that allow you to fully understand who you will be working with on a day-to-day basis. It may seem obvious: Won’t I be working with whoever I spoke to on the phone, whoever answered my email inquiry, whoever provided the initial consultation? Not always. Not even usually. Find out. Once you know, speak with this person directly to get a feel for their experience, approach, and overall style. Beyond a recitation of their CV, though, go for insights:
- What are you seeing in the industry?
- How have you helped someone with a problem/challenge like mine?
- Is there anything you do that would surprise me?
2. What?
It is essential that you have a solid feel for the process and how it is similar to or different from other consulting options. For example:
- Do you offer coaching, consulting, or both?
- How do you manage ongoing implementation—or do you?
- How will we measure and track data?
- What model or framework will we be using?
Some consultants take a fly-in approach. That is, they swoop in with great energy, identify the problem as they see it, and come up with the solution. They swoop right back out—and often take that energy with them! Leaders often revert right back to form. It’s human nature. To keep that momentum, that energy, it’s important that consultants have a plan for follow-up. Is this a one-and-done scenario, or will they be there to help with the actual work?
3. How?
How do you know if this consultant can help?
It’s hard to build a bridge without any common ground. The questions that you already have in mind are good questions. Ask them. It’s not about getting the information, not really. It’s about feeling like you're in the right place with someone who understands and who can work with you towards solutions. It’s about knowing this is someone who has faced the questions before and has done the work.
- Tell me about what you do.
- Have you done much work in [insert topic here!]?
- Are you good at what you do?
Most of us are tactful people. We don’t want to ask the last question—but we really want to know the answer! When someone has “walked the walk,” they can answer this question with true stories.
Stories have impact. Not only do they resonate with our most primal human brains, they let us know that this person understands our world, our concerns. We don’t feel alone because they’ve seen this before, worked it through before, saw success here before.
A Question for You
In your discovery process, take the time to ask yourself a key question: Is this someone with whom I can be vulnerable? The leadership consulting process requires a great deal of humility. Seek to find answers in terms of whether you can develop trust and feel safe moving forward with this person and with this process.
You Can Ask But…
When doing our due diligence before engaging a leadership consultant, the question at the top of the list is typically, “How much is this going to cost?” It is an investment, a big purchase, so to speak, and you should be cognizant of your budget. But this may not be the most helpful question because… a transparent consultant just doesn’t know the answer yet.
They can give you an idea of their rates and fee schedules, but the reality is that it depends on your situation. It is important to keep in mind that cheaper isn’t always better. And “more expensive” isn’t always better either—which is why this question isn’t really going to give you a helpful answer. A number is only as good as the value attached to it.
Think about the implications of not doing this work. Look at what you risk if you do not act. When you understand the value, the numbers will make much more sense.
Find Your Answers
Asking questions is an integral and invaluable part of the consulting process. It begins the work, if you will. The next step is to leverage the answers into a viable process that leads to measurable growth and change.
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