informal coalitions

The consulting dilemma - to challenge or collude?

How can consultants create value for clients who seek certainty, predictability and control in a complex, uncertain and ever-changing world?

Difficult times

Managers’ ‘backs are against the wall’. They are under pressure to deliver. At times like this, many are tempted to ‘batten down the hatches’, and to retreat into the familiar world of formal plans, programmes and routines to see them through. "Do it better and get it right" becomes the order of the day, as they seek to cope with the never-ending demands of a world that is full of ambiguity and in constant flux.

At times like these - and somewhat ironically - external guidance and support is often one of the first things to be cut. But, if and when the call for help comes, what should the consultant's answer be? Faced with their own need to win business and earn fees to survive, how should they respond to this seemingly sensible but deeply flawed approach? Should they collude with the manager’s view of the world? Or challenge it?

Managing to lead

I've just bought a copy of Henry Mintzberg's latest book, Managing. 

In the intro, he argues the case for management to be reinstated as an equal partner with what he sees as the over-hyped notion of leadership in organizations. Amen to that. 

This is a refreshing change from those who, like Warren Bennis, see leading and managing as separate and distinct roles - with the former seemingly inhabiting a somewhat higher and more praiseworthy plane than the latter:

"I tend to think of the differences between leaders and managers as the differences between those who master the context and those who surrender to it."