Leadership. We are all told it is important. There are libraries worth of books written about it. Yet, more often than not, people have a hard time defining it and understanding its relevance because of its all-encompassing nature.
For prospective consultants, this blog post will provide some clarity on what leadership means in a consulting context. This should serve you in two ways. One is to help you talk persuasively about your leadership skills in consulting interviews. Second, and more important, is to help you identify your leadership shortcomings and improve yourself, not just for consulting, but any possible future career and life in general.
You can conceptualise leadership in consulting as a pyramid with three levels: a base, a mid-tier, and an upper tier. The lower the level, the more necessary it is to have those leadership traits to survive and thrive in consulting and hence they are almost prerequisites to get started in consulting. The higher the level, the rarer those leadership traits, and so they tend to be true distinguishing factors between a good consultant and great consultant. Each level is also mutually exclusive, so you can have someone who possesses higher-level leadership traits but struggles with baseline leadership.
1. The Base – Leader of Oneself
Baseline leadership is about being able to control oneself to do what is necessary to achieve a desired goal, despite the discomfort. Exhibiting such leadership means pushing yourself to 3AM to do a financial model in order to make sure the team stays on track. For the more socially shy, it may very well be jumping into a room of strangers in order to network with a new client. At times, this may mean raising a hand to tactfully ask more senior consultants for guidance. Such leadership should not be confused with the ability to endure pain. The difference with being able to lead oneself is to be consciously aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses and strategically lead oneself to do what is necessary. At times taking the most effective path may involve enduring some level of personal pain.
This is important in consulting, because consulting is like competing in a decathlon in the Olympics. There are lots of different tasks that need to be mastered, and not all are enjoyed equally. Consulting firms want to bring on people that they know won’t quit when things get tough, so they look for people with strong individual leadership skills who can demonstrate a track record of triumph in the face of adversity.
2. Mid-Tier – Leader of People
Mid-tier leadership is about building professional relationships and influencing people to march in a desired direction. This might include leading a team to create a new problem-solving framework or building a client relationship to create a new business opportunity. In this context, leadership can derive from your position of authority within the firm, or be exhibited without any formal authority. It is more than just telling people to do things and having them do it. Being a leader is about understanding people’s interests, motivations, and emotions and successfully influencing a team to do things which get you closer to the goal. It should be clarified that it is one thing to make sure that a team is adequately resourced and on track to achieve milestones on an already established pathway, for that is managing. It is quite another thing to see a pathway where none exists and influence people to build towards it.
Different consulting firms value leadership differently. Some may allow a highly capable junior consultant to run an engagement or even a team early in their career. Others may have a more structured organization whereby formal leadership opportunities are more prevalent at certain levels of seniority. Yet, universally, consulting firms look for these people leadership traits among candidates because it is a sign of potential for future promotion, and they want people who are likely to thrive as a consultant beyond analyst level. Additionally, those who excel at people leadership are more likely to influence people to support them and their team to get the job done, period.
3. Upper-Tier – Leader of a Narrative
On the surface this may sound simple. Yet, only a few can excel at being a leader of a narrative. This means proficiently crafting a narrative, giving it value by building credibility over time, and turning the narrative into a value proposition that can be monetised. This is what Partners at consulting firms generally excel at and is often the distinguishing factor that got them to that level. Yet, this leadership trait matters for consultants at all levels because consulting is a team sport. The more you can be cognisant on what the team leader is doing the more you can play ball.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the takeaway is that no matter how great you are at data analytics, financial analysis, or creating a slide deck, being able to demonstrate leadership ability is crucially important for succeeding in consulting interviews. And once you break into the consulting industry, leadership is what promotions are made of.
Hall Wang is a dual degree MBA and Master of Public Policy candidate at Georgetown University. He has worked at America’s most innovative companies including Blue Origin and Facebook, as well as having done two combat deployments as a US Army Officer.
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