Leadership skills are an essential part of the consultant’s toolkit. More than just managing people, leadership is about communicating effectively in order to motivate people to achieve the desired outcome.
Leadership is central to organizational performance, or as McKinsey & Company puts it: “Telling CEOs these days, that leadership drives performance is a bit like saying that oxygen is necessary to breathe.” The need for good leaders is commonly expressed, and 90% of CEOs report that they are seeking to invest more in leadership development in light of its importance in the profitable performance of the organization.
What does a good leader look like? Despite their key role in driving performance, this is somewhat hard to determine. Some argue that there is a clear set of traits that any good leader must have, while others suggest that good leadership is situation specific. The lack of a clear definition may help to explain why, while considerable resources are being expended on leadership programs, only 43% of CEOs are confident that such programs are likely to succeed.
Since August 2019, I have had the opportunity to run the Columbia Graduate Consulting Club. As President, I have faced numerous challenges and consequently gained considerable leadership experience.
This article will highlight 5 leadership traits that I have found to be essential.
- Take an interest in people: Over the last 8 months, I have had the opportunity to meet multiple students, aspiring consultants and consultants at various professional events. This process has been useful as it has allowed me to gain an insider perspective on the firms, their expectations, and the responsibilities of each role. However, even more so, the process has allowed me to build relationships with individuals in the consulting industry. This is not just about collecting business cards and sending follow up messages via LinkedIn, but about talking with people, taking an interest in what they have to say, and establishing common ground in order to build trust and productive relationships.
- Make timely decisions: Leadership skills cannot be learned from a textbook. They can only be learned from hands-on experience. In the textbook, there are clear case scenarios and definitive solutions. In reality, things are ambiguous and there are no right answers. Since perfection is unattainable, you have to become comfortable making timely decisions that provide a satisfactory solution.
- Build and support your team: Easier said than done, the ability to work effectively as part of a team is a skill that is often underappreciated and overlooked. As a leader, your role is not just to be an agreeable and conscientious team player, but to actively build and develop the team. This involves selecting the right people who will be able to contribute the required skills, fostering a shared identity for the team, setting a challenging goal, and motivating the team to pursue it.
- Act with integrity: If there is one thing that is sure to put people off, it is a leader who is dishonest, biased, insincere, secretive, and inconsistent. Lack of integrity undermines team performance by destroying trust, and reducing people’s commitment to the stated goal. A simple rule of thumb for maintaining your integrity as a leader is to “treat everyone in the same way that you yourself would want to be treated”.
- Lead with confidence: The first sale is always to you. Only by having self-confidence and believing in your ability to solve problems and overcome adversity will you be able to persuade and influence others. If you don’t feel confident to start with, try faking it. By jumping in and being a problem solver you can build a reputation for being capable and resourceful. One of the simplest ways to do this is to be a mentor. In many situations, consultants are hired because in-house staff lack the expertise needed to tackle a specific problem. By sharing your knowledge, you can enhance your reputation and show people that you are working together with them to solve the issue. Your competence will inspire confidence.
I hope you found this post about leadership interesting. Please stay tuned for more posts, which will aim to explore the life of a consultant – the glamour and the hard work. Till then keep reading www.spencertom.com.
Shivani Shankar previously worked as a Cyber Security Consultant at PwC India. She is pursuing her master’s degree from Columbia University in Management of Science and Engineering, and is the President of the Columbia Consulting Club leading a team of ~40 members. Alongside her school coursework, she is working with Louis Vuitton as a Consultant. Shivani plans to work with a Consulting firm in the US from January ’21.
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