The most rewarding parts of being a management consultant

Would you say you are happy working at your current job? Do you work with people who listen to your ideas, make you laugh from time to time and challenge you to be better, both on a personal and professional level?

I genuinely hope you answered yes, but Simon Sinek tells me that the vast majority of people would say 'no'. If you are one of those pouty, lemon-lipped employees who are walking around with an undated resignation letter in their bag, then I encourage you to read wcy's post about "The Decision Book", which may provide some guidance on how to determine whether or not you should leave your job.

Now, I need to frame this discussion a little further before I give up the goods (yes I know you have the power to press on without reading this paragraph, but do try to hang on here). Lets just say, if we knew each other on a personal level, you might think of me as someone who wears their mood all over them and hopefully at least like one might wear a classic London Fog trench coat. So no, I am not astonished by the number of times someone, whether they be a friend or recent acquaintance, has told me I have a 'tangible presence' about me that people can feel when I walk into a room. I know based on my work experiences that this can be either my secret weapon or unfortunately my worst attribute.

Because I am known as a person of extremes (sort of like a 'punch the boxing bag until you puke' or 'cram your social schedule to the point of fearing downtime' kind of person), it is completely normal for me to experience a lot of emotional ups and downs. Some recent experiences have reminded me of the importance of doing what I can to sustain these highs and reduce the amount of time I spend in those lows, especially when it comes to my work life.

So you are probably wondering what gets me high at work in the first place? Okay, so maybe you would have phrased that a little more professionally, but you got the joke. Let me share what I believe to be the top three most enjoyable, motivating and rewarding parts of working as a management consultant.

Reason #1 - Your high performing, bad-ass brilliant and 'support you to the ends of the earth' co-workers you will have

Admittedly, this one is pretty self explanatory. People who work in consulting tend to be hard-working, critical-thinkers, socially-aware type folks who enjoy spending their time building PowerPoint decks to organize their best friend's stagette or analyzing whether the new car they are considering for purchase will fit their 'personal narrative' well enough. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that consultants also want to build a strong network of other like-minded consultants around them who they can trust and lean on when the going gets tough. Having at least a few close friends in the industry to keep you sane and be there to help bail you out of a pinch is just a basic requirement for survival.

Reason # 2 - Those opportunities you have to set aside your own priorities to meaningfully help someone else navigate their career

Yesterday I went for drinks after work with one of those bad-ass brilliant (and kind) consultants I have the pleasure of working with. To keep things semi-incognito, let's call him Stephan. Stephan is a pretty recent graduate of our local university and has been working at the firm as a junior consultant on my team for the last six months. He feels unfulfilled. He is on what sounds to be a not-so-great project where he is doing not-so-interesting work and upon seeking out a vision for our team leader to get energized of projects to come, he was told 'sometimes its okay to be a generalist.' If you're like me, you're probably feeling a blow to your personal purpose for existing just by imagining hearing that forecast of future career weather to come.

Having been in the game a few years longer than Stephan, I could have easily jumped in and started talking about myself and how I 'had been through the same thing and blah blah blah.' Instead, I listened intently and unselfishly asked Stephan lots of questions to help tease out what is important to him, what he enjoys, what he has despised so far, what he excels at and ultimately what type of work and clients he envisions our team helping over the years to come. We ended with a discussion of how we can marry the interests of each of our team members to form some kind of shared vision or at least direction because we are the only ones responsible for directing our own careers. Both of us left that evening so energized and enthusiastic about our plan for how we can take the next step as a team with everyone at the table and I volunteered to facilitate that next step. It felt really good.

Reason #3 - Those projects when you are in a perfect state of flow, thereby allowing you to deliver your best, most OCD-awesome work

Flow is that often elusive state of being where your work challenges you just the perfect amount - where it isn't so easy that you are bored, grinding through something, but you also aren't 'spinning your wheels' making zero progress. It's where you are doing something you are passionate about, and something that typically brings you some sort of income that you can comfortably live off of. You aren't a starving artist and you also don't feel like a monkey turning a crank. As a consultant and especially early on in your career, it is more difficult to find your state of flow. You don't know what work you like yet and even if you did, you have such a minimal degree of influence on your deployment. When you start to find your niche or even a few 'pillars' to brand yourself by, it becomes progressively easier to be selective about what projects you spend your time on. Unless you are crazy, you will spend that time on work you enjoy and voila! Flow.

In summary, the three most rewarding aspects of consulting are derived from the amazing people you will have the pleasure of working with (and perhaps even becoming life long friends with), the opportunities you will have to help others grow in their career (I will add that quick progression tends to be a key point of attraction to consulting) and lastly, the feeling you will get from doing rewarding work based on a career you have shaped for yourself (and informed from a vast, broad set of experiences you are likely to have!). I plan to protect or maximize each of these awesome parts of my job and I hope you will do something similar for yourself.

Inspired to quit your job for something more rewarding? Considering becoming a management consultant? Ask me what you want to know about the job or industry. I can assure you that after nearly four years of consulting (e.g. making endless PowerPoint presentations, squawking about process improvement recommendations and documenting an alarming number of 'lessons learned' at the end of projects), I can comfortably say I have a few extra scoops of knowledge-ice cream (suitable for vegans) you might enjoy with a sprinkle of enthusiasm and dash of apathy. In proper consultant-speak, 'may I suggest we take this offline'?