Questions for Reflection and Discussion for the CDI Course:
Understanding Yourself as Consultant
One of the best ways to enrich your learning is to reflect on the content of the
course, including to affirm what you are doing now and to identify what you might
do even better. Think about the following questions. Discuss them with others.
1.
How would you describe the nature of the change process to your client? Is
your description specific enough that they will know what to expect during
the process, but general enough that they will appreciate that the process is
different for each person and organization?
2.
What does it mean to know yourself as an “instrument of change”. What is it
about yourself and your client that automatically influences each of you as
soon as you meet each other?
3.
Is your preferred style of consulting to be more of an “expert” consultant or a
“collaborator” consultant? (The more honest you are with yourself, the
happier you will be as a consultant.)
4.
What kinds of clients might struggle the most with your preferred style and
what adjustments might you need to make with those clients?
5.
When you look at an organization, do you focus primarily on the
relationships among people in the organization, or on its structures and
strategies? How might that focus affect what you see and do not see in
organizations?
6.
When you are working with clients that you are least comfortable around, for
example, who have traits that you do not like, then what kinds of adjustments
might you have to make in order to be most successful in consulting with
them?
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800.971.2250
7.
What are your biases about people and organizations (we all have them)? For
example, do you believe that employee relationships are more important than
the client’s business goals? That individual initiative is more important than
team work? What affects might your biases have on your clients, and what
adjustments might you need to make so those affects are not obstacles to the
success of your consulting?
8.
When you think of your most common reaction to a client’s negative
feedback about your performance in a consulting project, what would you
need to do to best manage your reaction, for the overall success of the
consulting project?
9.
Which of your emotions are the most difficult for you to deal with? Which
emotions in others are the most difficult for you to deal with? What would
you need to do to best manage your reactions to those emotions?
10. What truly motivates you in consulting, e.g., solving the client’s problem?
Money? Getting along with others? Learning? Reputation? Teaching
others? Balance? You might even rank these motivators, so that you can
design your consulting projects to always include your top motivators.
 2014 Authenticity Consulting, LLC

ConsultantsDevelopmentInstitute.org

800.971.2250