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Business Consultants helps the organisations to solves issues that is pleading their business to solve problems, create value, maximize growth of the organisation and all these collectively improves the growth of the organisation. Consultant is important irrespective of whether it is in IT, Finance, legal or PR, consultants try and use their best skill to provide objective oriented advice and expertise and also help an organisation to develop any specialist skills that the organisation may be lacking.
Consultants are majorly concerned about the strategy, structure, management and operations of the company, working to identify options for the organisation and suggest recommendations for change, as well as advising on any kind of additional resources required for the betterment of the organisation.
Those who are willing to choose this so called "Consultant" as their career or also planning to put your first step towards the world of consultant world of work, here are the top 10 skills needed to be an effective Consultant.
Excellent Communication Skill: Any consultant, anyone with great leadership skills, anyone willing to be anything for that matter, requires this skill i.e., Excellent communication skill. From conducting researches, interviews with client's employees, to managing the team and stakeholders, writing business proposals and delivering presentations, effective communication is highly important especially in this consulting work. There are instances wherein, projects break down or stagnate because of lack of communication skills. Hence, being a communicator will keep you away from the rest and will quickly gain a lot more better reputation than others.
Team Player: There is a saying, "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships," in the same way, it goes without saying that displaying leadership skills is a highly desirable quality one has to posses. But what's even more important is being a good team player. During some really big projects, you will have to sometimes work with team of 10' s or even hundreds of people sometimes and during those times, you will have to be an excellent team player.
Problem Solving Ability: As a consultant, you will need to carry out a vast knowledge in the field of research and data collection to understand the organisation completely that your consulting for. This again requires a lot of analytical which is focused on solving problems as well as detail orientated. In order to be successful in this field of domain, you need to be highly organised, reliable,and well-structured in your own way.
Ability to Quickly Learn: If you are coming newly into this domain, taking your first step into a consulting firm, whatever its size will be an exciting, hectic, and informative experience. You are required to show the world your abilities to conduct research and analysis, communicate effectively and work well towards your and the firm your consulting's growth.
Creative at work: Creativity, innovation, intuition, resourcefulness, whatever you like to call it.... As a consultant, you are required to be an expert in this field. As a consultant, you will be asked to solve certain challenging situations which is very unique and this might even be something new to the industry. Hence you will have to be creative to solve such a unique problems.
Decision Making: It can be quite disconcerting having to assert yourself when you are new to the job or organisation . But showing some kind of conviction and commitment to your own ideas as well as the ability to follow the same, is highly important in the field of consulting/consultancy. Doing exactly what you say you will do sounds obvious, but is essential for building trust and credibility in your own team.
Solution Focused: Almost all the consultants are goal oriented. But what really distinguishes them from others is the ability to not only focus on the tasks in hand, but also to think critically about the work.
Customer Oriented: This is one of the most important skill any consultant at any level should have. Make sure to know thoroughly what your client's requirements are through asking them relevant questions, spending time with them in their work place, and also with the working employees at the workplace. It is always necessary to be closely associated with the internal team of the organisation so you should be flexible in your approach and communicate with them in a positive way.
Flexibility in his work: Consultant's life is as demanding as anything and their's absolutely no doubt in it. Long working days, they spend hours together travelling on road from one client to another client and it is also important for them to stay active and available on call at any point of time. Working intensively towards the end goal for a large projects requires the consultant to definitely dig deep and it also necessary to show the real grit and passion towards their job.
Stress Resilient: Consultant and their job has a lot of responsibility and pressure on their head. There can be some stress as there will be tough targets and even tougher and tight deadlines within which the work should be completed. However, you should be able to keep a cool and composed head along with a effective communication, by looking after your health both inside and outside the workplace and also make sure you enjoy some downtime, you will create the emotional strength to deal with all sorts of undesirable situations.
These are some of the top skills that is required to be an effective consultant and be successful in your own domain.
Conclusion
Apart from all the above mentioned things, a consultant’s job is to advise a company on improvements that could be made to its business. However, the scope of work in consultancy is varied and consultants now a days can be found in almost all kinds of business sector. This variety of work ensures that a career in consultancy provides diverse and interesting opportunities to any hardworking graduate.
Given today’s technology, the only thing constant in business is change. One can only expect the unexpected. We at Infimind Institute of Management Consultancy can help your company identify potential challenges and obstacles. We will work with you, hand-in-hand, and help achieve your goals and create a better future, all at the most affordable prices.