Environmental Understanding

There are periods of time where I think that I've faked being a management consultant. It's amazing that I've gotten to my age in a profession that is for all intents and purposes highly competitive and full of smart people. There are times where I feel that someone is going to figure me out- and not in a good way.

I stayed at a big firm long enough to accept how things were done and challenge why up to a certain point. But I never had the thought of, "This is just plain wrong." I think that's because a defined hierarchy and decision-making process existed. It was easy to understand who made the final decision. In addition, I worked in an environment of like minded people. The rigor in the recruiting process played a large part in that. In a big firm there are more partners, sr. managers gunning to become partners, and even business analysts gunning to skip all of the levels before partner to become partner. That structure and resulting culture stayed constant.

But what happens when this structure doesn't exist? What happens when a company thinks it's a meritocracy, but in reality it's an unspoken autocracy? Or better yet, a triumvirate? What happens when the staff becomes too large for the triumvirate to manage because there are not enough trusted lieutenants? This environment may not be created intentionally. But it's created nonetheless, whether organically or unintentionally. Some may call it growing pains. I call it leadership oversight. 

Here's what happens:

1. Practitioners accept their situation and do not question why - apathy builds.
2. Well-intentioned initiatives start with huge momentum and then die.
3. Highly motivated people look at the situation and leave after they figure out what they've gotten into.

So what's the solve? 

I think that highly motivated people are continuously looking for their purpose in life. In addition, they are looking to work with like minded people.  I'll also reference Dan Pink by saying that people are looking for mastery and autonomy. I read in another book that management consulting  and investment banking provide environments for overachievement (How Children Succeed). Seriously --how many of us came out of big firms with an inflated opinion of ourselves? I know that I did. 

I think that's why there are a lot of people like me that can survive in consulting for years and come out still not knowing what they want to do in life--- sad, but true. Not everyone in this world is pursuing lots of money or the life of a road warrior. (On the flip side, not everyone desires to be stuck in middle management for their entire lives). 

My point is that you just can't provide people with autonomy without giving them an environment to find purpose and become a master of something. Too much autonomy doesn't really get you anywhere. Well, you could be a master at hustling, but all of us can't be Jay-Z. I've definitely learned that much. 

To me it's simple. The purpose of any consulting organization, other than to maximize profit, is to make you a better business executive, technology guru, business development person, or better whatever then you were when you first started. After all, not everyone is a lifelong consultant. If you are not getting that, then it's time to reevaluate your situation.