During the recruiting process, it was interesting to hear consultants talk about how much of their job is about conducting learning activities. By learning activities, I am not speaking about on-the-job-training. I am specifically talking about structured formal learning events such as classroom learning (including online), instructor led workshops, and interactive lectures. For prospective consultants still in school, it might seem a bit ironic to think about how after years of higher education, they essentially have a career’s worth of more formal learning to look forward to. I want to give some perspective of why that learning is important and how best to think about learning opportunities.
1. The learning landscape among larger consulting organizations
I think it is important to put in context how learning is generally managed among larger consulting organizations. Like a university registrar’s office, learning is often centrally managed and tracked. A consultant and the relevant people senior to the consultant are typically able to obtain a learning transcript that shows the extent of organization connected learning activities that have been completed.
Learning generally takes places in one of three settings:
- Online classes. These are usually readily available and often don’t require approval.
- In-office structured learning. These are organized learning activities generally taught by colleagues of the same office.
- Off-site learning. This is learning that takes place at a third-party learning center rented out or operated by the practice. This often brings consultants across the country or regionally within the practice into a central area and often provides an interesting networking opportunity.
2. Why learning activities are important (even if you know the subject well)
Every consulting practice has their own perspective on how to approach consulting and corresponding capabilities that they can bring to the table. The value of learning activities is in gaining knowledge of the capabilities that the practice wants its people to have. The higher-level value is in understanding the nuances of the best use cases of relevant competencies. This higher-level understanding takes a consultant from merely learning to perform tasks to learning to proactively partake in planning discussions on what tasks are to be done in the first place.
3. The importance of priority learning activities
Every practice has a roster of priority learning activities. I do not mean the mandatory learning, which I obviously recommend every consultant do in order to be in good standing. Instead, I am speaking towards the learning that the practice values as emphasized by internal communication, but which is not technically mandatory. This could be a technical skill that the practice has a strong initiative to have its consultants acquire. It may also just be learning about how the practice operates. I view such learning as things to get off the plate as soon as reasonably possible. If a practice makes a significant effort to internally prioritize such learning, that means leaders and peers within the practice may potentially view learning completion as a signal for necessary practice specific consultant knowledge. For a consultant it is always easier to signal knowledge possession with completion of a learning activity rather than trying to compensate for not having done so.
4. How to navigate elective learning activities
The majority of learning activities available in a practice tend to be elective learning activities. These are learning activities that aren’t specifically tied to any major initiative. Yet they are made available to a consultant if the resources and appropriate justification is there. Some practices have elective learning organized into series of courses almost like majors. For example, if a consultant wanted to gain credibility for having a retail industry base of knowledge, there may hypothetically be a series of learning events that grants the consultant an internally recognized certificate upon completion. The opposite model is where a consultant is expected to self-determine what bundle elective learning activities is necessary for individual career success. Either way, I view deciding what elective learning activities to undertake as a balance of three considerations.
- Curiosity. You may choose to take some learning as a matter of curiosity, to see if it is an area that you enjoy and may be good at.
- Short term necessity. There will be some learning necessary to succeed in the short term on the current or near-term project.
- Longer term goals. There will be other learning necessary to achieve a mid-term career goal. For example, if a person wants to be an expert on automobile supply chain, it would be smart to focus some elective learning activities in that subject area.
It is important to note that elective learning may at times require resourcing approval, so it is important for a consultant to consider what professional capital should be expended to seek elective learning opportunities given the wide range of competing career interests.
The Bottom Line
Learning requirements and opportunities never end in consulting. The consultant is held responsible for learning what is required and prioritized while deciding what electives to pursue for smart career planning.
Hall Wang is a dual degree MBA and Master of Public Policy graduate from Georgetown University who has recently matriculated into a major management consulting firm. 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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