Core Consulting Skills

What is it, why is it helpful:

What are the core skills that make a successful management or strategy consultant? What are the key areas you should be experienced in to effectively lead in consulting?

These are the questions the framework addresses. Based on experience across multiple consultancies, from large multinationals like the Big 4 (n=250,000+), SME consultancies (n=500+) and boutique consultancies (n= less than 500), the framework identifies 3 core areas every consultant should have in their toolkit.

Each area breaks down into a set of skills that can provide you with specific areas to target and develop in order to become a well-rounded, experienced consultant.

When to use it:

• At the start of your career – to help you understand the breadth of skills you can expect to learn in consulting.
• During your career – to sense-check your development and ensure you have a holistic set of skills.
• In performance management discussions – to identify and target your strengths and weaknesses, and set goals for where you want to develop in future.

How to use it:

If you are a freelancer…

1. Rate where you are today in each skill and competency. Identify evidence to support your rating
2. Call on people you’ve worked with to give feedback on your competency. This is important to see if where you think you are matches other people’s perceptions of where they think you are!
3. Identify areas of strength, and areas you would like to improve on
4. Set a goal for your improvement areas and layout a plan to achieve this

If you are an employee…

1. See if your company has a skills and competencies framework. If they do, see how well these align and whether this framework raises any unidentified or underplayed areas.
2. Use the framework as a basis for a discussion with your coach / line manager / boss for where you are today and where you want to be.
3. Use this to set goals and work together on a development plan you can review again in future.