Entrepreneurial Consultants in a Hybrid World – Our New Normal

In some ways, consultants have always operated in a hybrid world – working at their client sites throughout the week and then coming together with their colleagues in the office or on the phone. Since the pandemic, this has gotten even more complicated with multiple online platforms for day-to-day work, workshops, and conferences.

Thriving in this new hybrid model does not just happen – it requires clear leadership direction, investment in a collaborative culture, new soft skills in relationship building, and a workforce that desires to reach out and connect to tackle new projects and challenges.

As the CEO of a consulting firm, I talk about this topic frequently – with the leaders in our firm, with our associates, with our clients, and with interns. The skills that enabled someone to thrive in an in-person consulting environment, where they spent most of their time with their clients and sitting side-by-side with their supervisors, are very different than what is needed in a growing hybrid world. Risk taking, outreach, relationship building, selling ideas, and resilience have become more critical in this new and evolving environment. In this new culture of work, employees and aspiring employees need to demonstrate the ability to reach out, collaborate, be engaged and involved, and seek and provide feedback.

As we plan to become fully hybrid and our team continues to adapt to this new environment, I have seen a shift in skill needs. Relationship building, softer skills, and entrepreneurship are essential for all our consultants. Problem solving, collaborating with clients and project teams, developing and expanding the capabilities of their consulting company, and winning new projects with their current and new clients are becoming more important. Some of the key characteristics of entrepreneurial consultants that we look for include:

• Ability to work in a hybrid (remote and in-person) environment, lead or participate in teams, develop strong relationships, and remain self-disciplined and focused at all times

• Thrive in ambiguous and complex environments, take risks, are resourceful, and demonstrate flexibility even when facing challenging deadlines

• Model a learning and growth mindset, grit, resilience, and persistence in the face of new projects or challenges

• Manage work in multiple workstreams at one time, contributing to meaningful contributions to client and project success in parallel with developing a consulting firm

• Seek leadership opportunities and find ways to constantly improve and innovate independently and in collaboration with others

• Demonstrate the ability to focus and pay attention to detail while remaining focused on a strategic, big picture

As we evolve our Talent Strategy to develop these skills in our current team, they also inform our hiring process. A few of our new initiatives that help our new hires and current team members thrive as entrepreneurs in our hybrid environment include:

• Agile Conversations – A peer group with an executive coach that focuses on our executives and rising executives to learn develop stronger relationships and face new and challenging situations that require direct and sometimes fierce conversations with team members, fellow leaders, and clients

• Listening Sessions and Brown Bags – Discussion forums and listening sessions that focus on special topics such as leadership opportunities, employee engagement, innovation, and strategy to allow employees at any level to be part of important conversations and to generate and share new ideas

• Remote Watercoolers and Virtual Hallways – From set-aside time with executives for career advice, to informal group chats at an online watercooler, to our newest innovation of Virtual Hallways that allow people at all levels to meet others and exchange ideas

• Developing Future Leaders – A peer group that we recently renovated to incorporate resilience, grit, engagement, relationship building, and strengths-based leadership, which provides an opportunity for current and emerging leaders prepare for creating an environment where future leaders in our consulting practice can learn and thrive

I am proud to see my team take advantage of these opportunities and adapt to this changing environment. This new normal is more complex but in some ways more rewarding. Connecting personally with employees and teams helps me become a better leader and learn what our workforce needs. I look forward to sharing more as we pilot new ideas and innovate in this hybrid world. I am excited about what this means for our own development – and how we can continue to be a model for our government clients as they navigate the new normal on a much larger scale.