Consulting Survival 101: A Project Manager’s Perspective

By Jamie Spagner, PMP, CSM, CSPO, LSSGB

Those of us who have worked in the corporate world—or any type of workplace, really—for an extended period of time know that longevity is not a guarantee. Your job within a company may change due to corporate restructuring, personnel/job role updates, or any number of other factors.

A silver lining may be consulting. For many people, consulting is a logical step to extend a successful career. If you have worked in project management positions throughout your career, transitioning to consulting may be able to provide you more freedom and flexibility, as well as the opportunity to offer your expertise to the people and organizations who need it the most.

It’s easy to believe that your decades of experience and the various letters—PMP, CSM, SHRM, etc.—after your name will be all you need to prepare for this exciting new chapter. Of course, it’s not always so simple.

After 15 years in the corporate world—and six of those years consulting—I’ve discovered some lessons that most consultants learn the hard way:

• Do not take things personally: As human beings, we are emotional. One of the best things I have done to improve overall satisfaction in both my personal and work environments is learning not to be governed by my emotions. As a project management consultant, part of my job is making recommendations; sometimes these recommendations are followed and sometimes they are not. Either way, I try to be more logical and less reactive to the way a situation makes me feel.
• Humility over hubris: There will be times when you know more than your client, but boasting about this is rarely a good idea. As consultants, we are teachers, not show offs. Timing is everything—use your intelligence to know when to show your intelligence.
• Practice patience: Organizations move at different speeds and as a consultant, we advise, but rarely get the chance to set the pace. Be patient and stay engaged—this way, you will have more impact ensuring the final decisions your client makes are the ideal.
• Trade in your ‘Nos’: As a consultant, you should be prepared to offer an alternate solution to your client, rather than immediately telling them ‘no.’
• Champion your client:Consultants should support and champion our clients’ successes, not take credit for the wins. Remember, when people say a home looks lovely, it’s the homeowner who takes the credit, not the architect.

Practicing these tips may not guarantee your success in the consulting world, but they may help keep your sanity, and, quite possibly, your job. Remember, these are just recommendations, so use them or don’t—I won’t take it personally (she said, taking her own advice).

About the Author:  Jamie Spagner is an Executive Consultant for KAI Partners, where she works as a Project Manager for a public sector health care client. She graduated from California State University, Sacramento with the Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies/Public Relation. She is a loving mother of a teenage son named Wyatt. In her spare time, she enjoys shopping, spending time with family/close friends, and working out.