Section 2: Practitioner papers Phases of professional development in consulting

Stephen A. Stumpf Booz-Allen & Hamilton, New York, New York, USA
Keywords

Continuing professional development, Consultancy, Professional service firms

The concept of career stages or phases is extended to the career progression challenges faced by consultants in professional service firms. Professions such as consulting typically have rigorous entry requirements, demand newcomers to be individual contributors and revenue generators early in their careers, and often enforce up-orout advancement policies. The nature of the work done changes significantly with advancement with the more senior professionals being responsible for the generation of demand for the firm's services, the management of projects and people, and leadership of the institution. None of these activities is typically part of the formal education required to become a consultant, nor of the standards governments may enforce for one to remain in practice. These work changes and progression challenges are explored within five phases of professional development phases that parallel the personal growth and job challenges one confronts in moving from newcomer to senior professional.

Abstract

The thoughtful ideas of Scott Eggebeen, John Helding, Stephen Hurley, Edward Mone, Mark Nevins, and John Savage are greatly appreciated. The ideas presented herein are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the formal viewpoint of Booz Allen & Hamilton.
Career Development International 4/7 [1999] 392399 # MCB University Press [ISSN 1362-0436]

The interest in the ``consulting'' business professions such as public accounting, investment banking, and general management consulting has grown to the point that about half of the students graduating from the world's 25 top-rated business schools report a form of ``consulting'' to be their first career choice. The growth in demand for consulting work has outpaced the supply of students leading to a war for talent among the more elite firms. Once a somewhat private profession, consulting has become widely investigated, much talked about, and under public scrutiny (Maister, 1993; 1997; O'Shea and Madigan, 1997; Rackham et al., 1996). This market interest has stimulated research on professional service firms, and on what makes for successful careers in consulting. Most of the elite consultancies have reviewed their and others' professional development practices, within and outside of professional service firms, with the goal of understanding and enhancing their own firm's professional development effectiveness. Summaries of the these efforts the data collected, interpretations of it, development plans, and the execution of concrete actions to address key issues are selectively available to those with a need to know or involved in the design of professional development programs. This article focuses on an emerging understanding within the consulting profession of distinguishable development phases. It was driven by a desire to answer two general questions: 1 Are there predictable stages or phases that all consultants experience in their growth and mastery of their work? Answers should help frame the needs and development requirements of consultants and enable a more systematic approach to consultant development throughout their tenure in the profession. 2 Is it possible to understand and decode the ``art'' and the ``science'' of consulting? Answers should lead to greater understanding of how consultants do what they
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do, which should contribute to professional development planning, recruitment, and orientation.

The nature of consulting

Five core elements characterize much of what is thought of as consulting: consultants bring expertise and insight, their ideas have impact, they often help to create shared visions, they show that they care, and they can provide new energy into a client organization. While some of these elements are more science than art (e.g. insight and impact derived from the content of a service offerings and practice structure), others are more art than science (how to create shared visions, demonstrate care and support, or inspire and energize). What is clear from the literature is that to deliver both the science (content) and art of consulting, people need to feel supported and developed effectively (Maister, 1993; 1997; Nevins, 1998; Rackham et al., 1996). While consultancies vary, there are some fairly common aspects of consulting that distinguish it as a profession. Most consultancies are up-or-out partnerships. Within a window of six to ten years, a newcomer experiences many client engagements and develops several skill sets that link to the changing nature of the work he or she is expected to do. Entry titles are consultant or associate a position focusing on research and analysis. Advancement to the position of senior associate or job manager requires competency in structuring the work of others and leading an engagement team. Advancement to the role of principal or director is associated with managing the client relationship, developing more junior staff, and beginning to source new work. To the extent that one is successful in bringing in business and developing junior staff, they are considered for selection or election into the partnership. The role of partner or managing director is the most difficult hurdle. It involves becoming an equity partner and owner of the firm (many consultancies only permit active partners to own stock), an officer of the firm, and there are unique rights and responsibilities associated with

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ownership. While there are publicly traded consultancies, the ideas herein are most closely associated with partnership firms. The model proposed, an extension of the work of Greiner (1972), characterizes five phases of development through which consultants navigate with varying degrees of intensity and difficulty. Firms and their people pass through stages of evolution prolonged periods of growth where there is little major upheaval in organizational practices, and through stages of revolution periods of substantial turmoil in organizational life. The model proposes that consultants might well experience a similar phenomenon in their development within a professional services firm. Following Greiner's work, we posit that there are periods of mastery (and the accompanying stability within that professional development stage) followed by periods of turmoil, challenge, and even crisis when continued progression requires new areas of mastery not yet developed. Meeting challenges, or the resolution of a crisis, requires a commitment to renewed professional development followed by the mastery of new skills. Failure to do so results in being plateaued, and frequently departure from the firm. The pressing professional development questions are, ``How do we help consultants identify and resolve each of their professional development challenges?'', and ``What are the key personal and professional accomplishments that suggest successful resolution of these challenges?'' It is worth noting that in our research the phases identified are not necessarily linear as one might think of them when they are presented in script form as a single model. Each phase may not be truly resolved, people may re-loop occasionally, and the sequence may vary in terms of the issues confronted.

be understood and mastered. Figure 1 summarizes the key challenges and how these challenges are frequently resolved over time. Development begins during the recruiting process through informational sessions, briefings, and selection interviews. Once an offer is made, development continues through various ``sell'' activities intended to win candidates over to the firm and away from competing offers. The need to be wooed and wanted by the firm, and to be included in its activities, is a strong feeling expressed by many recruits. Even after an offer has been accepted, recruits who have not yet begun work express a need to be frequently in contact with members of the firm. On entry, new consultants are expected to learn: core craft skills; areas of practice; analytic approaches and methodologies; and the client engagement process. New consultants are expected to have (or develop) computer and software literacy, to navigate their way around their home office, and to become familiar with the knowledge-on-line (KOL) relevant to their areas of interest and assignments. A person's level of knowledge and competency on entry (based on the recruiting channel from which he/she was sourced) may significantly alter the amount of time it requires to meet the challenges of each phase. Yet, it is likely that passage through each phase will still be necessary and it will involve significant challenge. The culture of a firm is sufficiently strong and unwavering that even experienced new hires (e.g. senior associates or principals) report that their joining-up period involves significant new learnings and adjustments. New consultants typically report that this is stressful yet exciting work that occupies much of their first few months. Their sense of competence founded on prior work and educational experiences is both the source of their confidence and a primary reason for their selection. They report feelings of relief (I have a good job, I made it) and excitement (I cannot wait to be staffed, I want all the action I can get). It is likely to be this sense of prior accomplishment and excitement that gives rise to the initial challenge we label fit the congruence between how people come to understand themselves and how they understand the firm. During the joining-up process, and up to a year thereafter for some consultants, consultants report events that disconfirm their sense of competence. These disconfirming experiences give rise to painful questions such as: Who am I here? (Didn't

Phase I firm entry and finding oneself

Five phases of professional development

There is a substantial literature on career stages within professions highlighting the important moderating effects of career stage on work satisfaction, work performance, and role perceptions (Dalton et al., 1977; Stumpf and London, 1982; Stumpf and Rabinowitz, 1981). Based on our research, these phases (or stages) of professional development for consultants include: entry, client work, team leadership, client relationship building, and firm leadership. Each phase has at least one area of major challenge, turmoil, and excitement and each area has a set of skills, competencies, emotions, and perspectives to

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Figure 1 Phases of professional development

they hire me for who I am and what I bring?, Why is who I was not sufficient?); Can I be myself here? (Is there some sort of person that I am supposed to be?); Do I have a voice here? (How long must I persist until I earn my stripes?); and Do I want to belong to this organization? When asked about their early experiences, many report feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and isolation intermixed with feelings of success and excitement. They are anxious and concerned about their ability to perform, while simultaneously proud and excited by the client work they are doing. They like the work but feel some ambivalence about the firm and their decision to join. Some lose confidence in themselves and experience selfblame, or blame the firm. When asked how they coped, most indicate that establishing a personal ``professional support system'' is key. This is sometimes through relationships with peers and mentors in the office (most common in smaller offices). Alternatively, it may be the practice group or professional community that provides a support system (most common in situations where the practice/community takes ownership for the new consultants) or the engagement team (most common on smaller engagements where the principal/job manager actively mentors new consultants). Opportunities to informally network inoffice brown bag lunches, special interest groups (SIGs), engagement team socializing at the client site are also important activities for creating a personal support system.

Most firms recognize that they can and should provide support and encouragement through this phase. Many principals, senior associates, and second year associates are aware of the issues and encourage new professionals to reach out to them. There may still be a significant need for the more seasoned client staff to be proactive in reaching out to new consultants helping them to focus on what it will take to make the firm work for them. Meeting the challenge does occur, as may new consultants report. Most say it is a combination of things that happen that leads to their feeling included and experiencing a sense of belonging: they get on an engagement team that does good work and they feel that they made a meaningful contribution; they make friends in the firm and begin to feel part of the office/practice/professional community; and, they come to believe that they can access useful intellectual capital and have the analytic capability to use it wisely. They develop feelings of belonging and establish a footing in the firm. Those that do not ``secure a footing'' within the first six months often report that consulting may not the right career for them, or that it has not turned out to be as expected, or that this is not the firm for them. Once these doubts lead into intentions to leave and job search activity, the likelihood of resolving the fit challenge is greatly reduced.

Phase II client work and gaining traction

The key development tasks of phase II are to participate on two or more engagement

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teams, and to contribute as a productive performer and team player. Consultants learn to integrate their firm's methodology, logic, and format into their work with clients. They become aware of the economics of the business (billing rates, utilization targets, leverage) and begin to evolve their own consulting style. Many express a sense of pride at being a productive member of the firm. The bumpy times tend to be around analyses/work that is not valued by the more senior client staff, experiencing poor job/ engagement management, dysfunctional team behaviors, work-play imbalance, and/ or doing work that does not seem to be used or add value. The challenge of this stage is in overcoming feelings of low confidence and incompetence. This is accomplished by establishing credibility as a productive team player something that may take from one to three years. The issues raised, often only to oneself, are: Can I do the work? Am I valued here? Do they want me on their team? How do projects get assigned anyway, and why am I not getting better assignments? Do I want to stay at this firm? Can I work with the people that I want to? What if I don't like working this way? What is at stake is not trivial yet it sometimes seems so to those that have met the challenge and moved forward in their professional development. Consultants report a need to be a viable part of the internal marketplace, to be ``owned'' in some ways by more senior client staff. They want to be included, to have some influence over their assignments, and to feel that more senior others care about them. They want to be a protege. Given the inevitable diversity in personal styles, work habits, and cultural norms, consultants often experience difficulty adjusting and blending their respective selves and approaches to others and their client work. At risk are one's peer esteem (if not viewed well by others), and internal marketability (if a perception develops that one lacks key analytic or teaming competencies). When these self-esteem issues are coupled with the challenges of providing our clients with the absolute best advice, you have another difficult transition phase. Consultants report many coping strategies from a continual reminding of oneself that ``no one knows it all'' to ``it's all part of the learning process.'' They persevere and recognize that they can reach out to others for help not just technically, but emotionally. Coping also occurs via developing a meaningful relationship with one's mentor, or finding multiple mentors from which to learn

and in whom to confide. With this mentoring support, they learn to celebrate incremental successes. They overcome the confidence/ competence challenge by seeking feedback on their teamwork and analytic skills, being open to talking about ways to improve, and making changes before things develop into something more serious. The key role for more senior client staff is to be engaged and involved in new consultants' engagements, offices, practices, and professional communities. The interest expressed can be in the form of mentoring, being the ``master'' from which the apprentice learns, and direct coaching as well as informal discussions of ``how is it going'', ``how can I help'', and the like. It is important for new consultants to know that the firm is interested in understanding how they view their developmental goals and practice activities as a result of their early client work. Resolution of this phase results in a sense of capability and contribution. Consultants say that they know they have succeeded at this phase when they have a sense of internal and external ``traction''. They have momentum. Those that are having trouble meeting this challenge generally suspect it by the end of their second year. They are not getting the assignments they want, have little influence in their staffing, and begin to question the decisional wisdom of their seniors and the firm.

Becoming the team leader of a group of client personnel and consultants engaged to solve problems and create change in a large organization is a major developmental challenge one that is discontinuous from previous challenges. It requires that consultants become able to independently respond to inquiries, lead a joint or integrated project team, leverage a project into a longer term relationship, provide team leadership and learning opportunities for junior staff, and mentor others. The objective, beyond delivering value to clients, is to build a solid reputation and track record as a job manager. By now consultants have handled multiple client relationships, performed a variety of roles, and in some cases, been a team leader. The challenge of this phase is to regularly play the lead role on a number of teams while nurturing the development of junior or new professionals. One might take on some team leadership responsibilities as early as a year into their consulting career, and most continue these responsibilities up through their fifth or sixth year. Progression into the fourth phase (client relationship

Phase III team leadership and developing others

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building) does not necessarily reduce or eliminate any of the challenges of team leadership. The challenge of the team leadership and developing others phase is handling the complexity and meaningfulness of the work while managing the job and leading the team. While consultants are stimulated and energized by the complexity of the issues they are working on, they also indicate that the demands are fierce. Work/family balance is an issue in all stages, but now the pressures peak from both the job and family domains. Key questions include: Why am I sacrificing so much? Is it worth it? Do I know enough? Am I structuring the work adequately? Do members of the team feel that they can make significant contributions? Are we meeting the client's expectations? Am I providing enough direction and support? Does the team know where it is heading? For that matter, do I? What if they are doing something that I would not do? The challenge of complexity and meaning is most difficult when the consultant feels burnout and fatigue. Some begin to question the value of the intense workload and inherent conflict of client interests, team member needs, and personal coping ability. The personal risks seem big. A team leader can lose control of the budget and take a hit of a deficit, or can run out of time and face the consequences of serious overload, or let go of some important content related to the project because she cannot do it all. Consultants report a variety of coping strategies and express a need to develop more coping capability. They reach out to peers, consult with mentors, and use their practice leaders and partners for advice and support. To overcome the challenge, they must create and become comfortable with their own personal vision of what they want from their work and non-work life. This involves deep reflection on their professional identify and capability to do general management consulting. As they create new and usable knowledge from their work that they make available to the firm, their teams, and our clients, they begin to simplify the overwhelming complexity of their role. They strive to understand what combination of projects, topics, roles, income level, personal space, and down time works best for them to reach their optimal performance and financial goals. Each person's answer is unique. Resolution of this phase requires one to develop a sense that this work is sustainable, and a belief that ``I can do this indefinitely''. One's energy must come from balancing the roles of expert with that of job manager and team leader. Then the challenge of meaning

can be resolved. Expecting to derive energy primarily from the content of the job itself is a denial of the reality that this phase requires increasing amounts of time to be invested in running a project and developing/mentoring others. Many find coping with the challenges of complexity and meaning to be too much of a personal sacrifice. What was ``fit'' at the early stages of their career, is now a lack of fit as the job requirements have changed from that of an analyst and advisor to now including roles of a job manager and team leader. For those who are successful at resolving these challenges, moving on to the next phase may appear to be seamless as being a good job manager and team leader is observable to clients. One's relationship with one's clients is often strong particularly as it relates to delivering value and having client impact. Yet real progression into client relationship building again requires new skills that of a marketer, salesperson, and customer service provider.

The next set of challenges involves building and sustaining a consulting relationship with several executive clients that goes beyond oneself or one's team. One is expected to be developing a book of business that benefits the firm. This requires that a consultant successfully negotiate important projects or programs with key decision makers, scope out the deliverables, price the work, line up resources to deliver, and oversee the implementation of the proposed work. Marketing, selling, service, and relationship building skills are all critical. Large team program management skills, potentially involving many project teams, are also important. Quality control and successful follow through on significant pieces of work is vital. Simultaneously with the above internal efforts, the consultant is attempting to position him or herself as a coequal in the relationship not as a supplier or subordinate to the executive. Consultants experience increased anxiety at this stage as they work to establish a basis for trust and collaboration that goes beyond ``content'' or the proposed impact of successful completion of the engagement. They need to connect with the client's longer term vision, and position themselves and the firm as a partner in achieving that vision. Personal relationships, which are open and caring, become part of the client relationship. Consultants struggle with their own power, authority, and dependency needs. They are expected to ``act like an owner'', yet they do

Phase IV client relationship building and building the institution

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not have the positional authority of ownership. Key issues include: Do the partners want me to become one of them? Does the client trust me? Are they being straight with me? How do I know it is working? Am I giving good counsel/value (beyond the technical content and analyses performed)? Am I an equal with my client/with the partners? Can I talk straight to them? Am I challenging them as I would a peer? Do they see me as a peer? From a self-esteem perspective, what is at risk is the loss of client esteem and the perceived value of the engagement. Consultants report a fear of disapproval and rejection (most selling efforts do not lead to immediate sales), and worry about being perceived as one down or one up from their counterpart either of which is often less effective than being perceived as a peer. They worry about the loss of the engagement, and the continuity of both the work and the relationship they are continuing to build. They express concern about their reduced involvement with the actual content of engagement feeling that they must trust junior staff for their success. Consultants cope by keeping one foot on the ladder to becoming a partner, and one foot out the door to alternative employment. Working closely with their mentors and seniors provides both a sanity check and emotional support. Many use their client teams to support their growth leveraging the new talent that they have helped to develop. The informal network is the source of support for some lunching with peers and venting about the issues, talking with other principals and partners about what to do, or calling a lead or senior partner for perspective. Some coping takes the form of conferring with client peers and competitors which frequently creates options for career progression outside of the firm. Doing this without jeopardizing one's career creates its own challenge. Resolution does occur over a three to six year period as consultants shadow and learn from more senior staff, and see clients valuing the work that they have done through their teams. Many consultants are elected to partnership before the challenges of this phase are fully met. With experience, the firm and the consultant get smarter about assignments and refine who works well in which settings upping the odds that an institutional relationship can develop. A sense of mastery is felt during this phase when consultants report that they enjoy a feeling of mutuality with their clients out of the shared experience of solving or building something together and respecting each

other's contribution to that effort. In addition to billings and revenue, consultants report that they get psychic energy and income which comes from the sense of connection, power, and esteem they have with their clients. They know that they are capable of handling almost anything that comes their way and can make significant contributions in the eyes of their clients. Some struggle to meet these challenges for many years as they satisfy the firm's needs through excellent job management and team leadership under the umbrella of a senior mentor or advocate. Eventually they resolve their issues, or find more meaningful work (for them) on their client's staff. Occasionally the issues revert to one of fit rather than authority and dependence. Is this firm the right place for me compared to other general management consultancies? A more common question is, what's next? I can do this but I want more out of work and life. The fifth phase derives from both formal and informal roles within the firm. Formal firm leadership takes the form of assuming managerial and administrative tasks associated with running a professional services firm (Maister, 1993). Most consultancies have several formal roles involving leadership with such titles as officers in charge, client service officers, group practice leaders, group director of operations. There is also likely to be a ``leadership team'' where the leadership roles for administering the firm are assumed by the more senior staff, and participation in significant ``boards'' and ``committees'' cut across most staff levels above senior associate. Informal roles, in contrast to the formal ones, require firm leadership through active involvement and contribution to the ongoing administration of the firm e.g. through assistance in recruiting, doing presentations as part of our formal training, mentoring, apprenticing, intellectual capital development, and the like. Whether in a formal or informal capacity, a challenge occurs over the tenure of a consultant both pre and post partner election. We call it a challenge of commitment and ownership as it can be described as a point in time when consultants come to terms with the nature of their contribution to the firm. Key questions at this stage are: Do I feel this is my place? Do I see myself as an employee or owner of the firm? Do I care enough about this place to want to give back in meaningful and important ways? Is there an important perspective that is needed, and can I provide it? Am I doing enough to grow the firm? Have I been an effective citizen of the firm? Have I

Phase V firm leadership and giving back

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done enough for newcomers, and will I continue to do even more? Do I try to promote the firm's strategic aims? Consultants struggle with conflicting demands on their time serve the client or serve the firm? Develop my staff or develop firm talent independent of their direct assignment to me or my practice area? Some report ambivalence about the requirements for firm leadership in terms of more time and energy required from a seriously out of balance work life. Feelings of competitiveness, inequity, and envy towards the formal hierarchy also exist. The personal risk for those in formal leadership positions is losing perspective the firm becomes their life as well as getting out of touch with members of the firm. The personal risk for those who take informal leadership roles is not feeling rewarded for

their efforts in ways which promote feelings of true ownership. Coping strategies depend on gaining clarity about individual goals and staying true to them. Know thyself. During this phase many people report a strong sense of selfsatisfaction and success. They feel that they ``made it''. When burnout occurs it tends to be managed by recognizing that no one can do it all and that taking leadership roles requires some rebalancing of priorities. Resolution in this phase produces a sense of generativity and regenerativity. The knowledge that one's efforts are contributing to the growth of both individuals in the firm and the firm itself must be sufficient reward to continue leading. It is the participation in such leadership roles that builds the commitment necessary for excellence.

Table I Phases of professional development: what is really happening? Phase I. Firm entry and finding oneself Challenges Fit Who am I? Can I be me here? Do I have a voice? Do I want to belong? Confidence and competence Can I do this? Am I valued? Do they want me? Do I want them? Response Excitement Relief Loneliness Ambivalence Anxiety Inadequacy Pride Exhaustion Despair Confusion Overwhelmed Personal risks Coping strategies Resolution Sense of belonging Finding one's place Loss of self confidence Reach out to friends and peers and self esteem Remember strengths Blame self or firm Personal ``therapy'' Talk with mentors Loss of peer value and esteem Loss of internal marketability Desire to learn Perseverance Recognize you don't have to do it all by self Celebrate successes Seek feedback from peers Reach out to peers Talk to seniors/ mentors

II. Client work and gaining traction

Sense of capability and contribution Internal traction

Inadequacy III. Team leadership and Complexity and Stimulation developing others meaning Energy Do I know enough? Fatigue Am I structuring the Conflict work adequately? Am I providing support? Is the sacrifice worth it? Power IV. Developing client Authority and Anxiety relationships and dependency building the Does the client trust Fear of disapproval Fear of rejection me? institution One-down or one-up Am I giving good counsel and value? Am I an equal? What is next? Self-satisfied V. Firm leadership and Commitment and Success giving back ownership Do I feel that this is my Conflicting demands Burnout place? Ambivalence Do I care enough to give back? Can I provide a voice? Am I doing enough? [ 398 ]

Loss of control (time, money, content)

Sense of sustainability and ability to provide the thought leadership

Loss of client value and esteem Loss of continuity

Reach out to peers Talk to seniors/ mentors Get a coach

Sense of mutuality and psychic return

Loss of perspective Getting out of touch

Sense of generativity Gain clarity about and regenerativity goals Recognize ``can't do it Participation all'' Reach out to peers Seek feedback

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Towards an apprenticing model

The five phases of professional development summarized in Table I provide a preliminary structure for an apprentice model. While the phases may not be as sequential as the table implies, they cover many of the challenges and developmental needs one faces in a consulting career. These phases can serve to highlight different apprenticing roles and responsibilities across a consultant's career. By focusing on the challenges and typical responses, the firm can help consultants develop more realistic expectations of their career, and in what relative timeframes of their career these challenges will likely manifest themselves. One role for the ``masters'' in an apprentice relationship is to foreshadow the personal risks that occur in each phase, and to support those who become emotionally or professionally distraught. They would be able to let their apprentices know that others often experience the same challenges, and then help them develop or find successful coping strategies. Only a small subset of possible coping strategies have been suggested herein (and in Table I). Others would be identified or invented to help apprentices work through

their individual concerns as a function of the specifics in their relationship with us.

References

Dalton, G., Thompson, P. and Price, R. (1977), ``The four stages of professional careers a new look at performance by professionals'', Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 17-33. Greiner, L. (1972), ``Evolution and revolution as organizations grow'', Harvard Business Review, July/August. Maister, D. (1993), Managing the Professional Service Firm, Free Press, New York, NY. Maister, D. (1997), True Professionalism, Free Press, New York, NY. Nevins, M. (1998), ``Teaching to learn and learning to teach: notes toward building a university in a management consulting firm'', Career Development International, Vol. 3 No. 5, pp. 185-93. O'Shea, J. and Madigan, C. (1997), Dangerous Company, Random House, New York, NY. Rackham, N., Friedman, L. and Ruff, R. (1996), Getting Partnering Right, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Stumpf, S. and London, M. (1982), Managing Careers, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. Stumpf, S. and Rabinowitz, S. (1981), ``Career stage as a moderator of performance relationships with facets of job satisfaction and role perceptions'', Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 18, pp. 202-18.

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