Consulting on the Inside, 2nd Edition
Are you an internal consultant—a staff member who serves in a consultative role within your organization? Then you need this hands-on guidebook to help you better understand your role and improve your performance.
Whether you're a change agent, trusted advisor, or someone who serves in varying capacities, it's important to design your job, develop a formal agreement, and build your practice.
Consulting on the Inside provides a solid background for internal consultants and serves as a roadmap for cultivating a successful career. You'll learn how to:
- maintain an outsider's objectivity while applying an insider's knowledge of the organization
- build relationships but be up-front about challenges and issues
- design your role to fit the client's needs and the organizational situation
- handle roadblocks and deal effectively with difficult clients
- market your consulting services within the client organization.
You'll find a thorough examination of the eight phases of the consulting process, a comprehensive analysis of the differences between internal and external consultants, and success stories demonstrating the personal qualities you need to build trust and relationships. Consulting on the Inside also provides a complete toolbox for getting the job done, including tips and techniques, checklists, forms, a sample hiring agreement, and ready-to-use agendas.
With this book in your hands, you'll be able to apply your expertise, influence and personal skills to multiple roles within your organization, and balance the tension between being an insider and needing to give honest, direct feedback to your colleagues. As an internal consultant with a well-founded practice, you can provide competent, collaborative advice to help solve problems, improve performance, and increase your organization's effectiveness.
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Full ProfileBeverly Scott has served as both an internal and external consultant in a wide range of organizations for more than 35 years, including 15 years as director of organization and management development for McKesson. Her background includes master's degrees in sociology and human resource development, and she has completed her doctoral coursework. Scott is a speaker and facilitator for many professional associations and has taught organizational psychology at John F. Kennedy University. She resides in San Francisco.
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Full ProfileB. Kim Barnes, CEO of Barnes & Conti Associates, Inc., of Berkeley, California, has over 30 years of global experience in leadership and organization development. A frequent speaker at professional conferences, Kim has published many articles in professional journals and books and is the developer or co-developer of popular Barnes & Conti programs such as Exercising Influence, Intelligent Risk-taking, Managing Innovation, and Consulting on the Inside.
Her books include Exercising Influence: A Guide for Making Things Happen at Work, at Home, and in Your Community (Wiley, 2006; 3rd edition, 2015) and, with Beverly Scott, Consulting on the Inside: A Practical Guide for Internal Consultants (ATD Press, 2011). After completing this book, Kim was inspired to begin writing a tongue-in-cheek corporate mystery series with an internal OD consultant as the protagonist. The first book, Murder on the 33rd Floor, was published in 2012 and the second, Murder on Retreat, was published in 2014. Kim has also co-authored, with Aviad Goz, Self-Navigation: A Compass for Guiding your Life and Career (Johari Press, 2013). Her most recent book is Building Better Ideas: How Constructive Debate Inspires Courage, Collaboration, and Breakthrough Solutions (Berrett-Koehler Publishing, 2019).
