Consult, Manage, Change

Improving the skills and competency of Management Consultants in New Zealand

 Can you remember when you decided to become a management consultant? How did you build the required skills and competencies to delivery consulting assignments?

In New Zealand, becoming a management consultant can be an accident. Many of us had executive level jobs and then one day we decided to be a management consultant!

Having made the decision to deliver consulting assignments did we ever think that we had the required level of skills and competencies to achieve and deliver the results our clients wanted? I would hazard a guess that if we are honest the answer would be no.

One way to increase your skills and competencies is to join an industry body. New Zealand’s only dedicated management consulting industry body in the Institute of Management Consultants www.imcnz.org 

IMCNZ has a goal and aim to raise and maintain the industry standards for Management Consultants in New Zealand through the provision of skill and competency certification, consulting skills accreditation and continuing professional development opportunities and peer support.

One example of this is the IMCNZ is about to raise the bar with the launch of the IMCNZ Consulting Skills Framework Consulting accreditation.

IMCNZ will be launching the New Zealand Consulting Skills framework on 9 June 2011. The CSF has a focus on a skills framework with five levels of accreditation.

How do you know you have consulting skills and competencies? How do you prove you have consulting skills and competencies?

How do users of consulting services know that they are hiring people with the right level of consulting skills and competencies?

The answer up until now has been that you cannot prove this unless you are a Certified Management Consultant (CMC).

The answer to this dilemma is now here and IMCNZ is delighted to launch the Consulting Skills Framework (CSF) which allows consultants, former consultants, internal consultants, managers, learners and anyone who wants to receive accreditation in respect of consultancy to receive and industry based consulting accreditation from the only authorised body in New Zealand.

You do not have to be a practicing consultant or a member of IMCNZ – it’s open to all people who want a Consultancy qualification and it also provides a training and development path

The CSF is an excellent tool with which to:

1. Enable any consultant wishing to assess their skills and competencies as a consultant to use the tool
2. Provide a Personal Development programme for any person who undertakes self assessment
3. Assess the actual skills of applicants to the IMCNZ or to allow progression through membership levels.

The framework delivers consistency through a common language and reference point for skills, competencies, knowledge and experience.

If you are consulting then please take a look at getting accredited.

If you are purchasing consulting services then demand your consultants have certification or accreditation.

What is wrong and right with Public Transport??

 
Today I left the car at home and took the bus to the office in Auckland. The weather today 16 May in Auckland is very autumnal with strong wind and passing showers. Not that entrancing when a warm dry car awaits my use in the garage!

The 10 minute walk to the bus stop was nice apart from the down pour – lucky I grabbed the umbrella before I left the house.

The bus was on time – and the driver very polite. The smart card system worked. It is being replaced with the “snapper” card. The new readers where on the bus but the system is not live yet.

At 7am in the morning the traffic was light and before I knew it I was in Newmarket to change busses as the one from my suburb goes to the transport hub Britomart and due to the rain I wanted to go to the Aotea square (mid-town). I did not have to wait long for the connection but was not impressed that I had to pay another fare?? The driver told be that I was not able to transfer?

I arrived at my destination on time and the total cost of my journey was $5.20

For my return home this evening I will find a direct bus that will cost me $5.60

By not bringing my car I have saved a $13 parking fee and the petrol and running costs of my car.

 So what was right about using public transport today?

•  Bus arrived on time to pick us all up at the bus stop
• Arrived on time at my destination
• Got to meet my neighbours at the bus stop
• No stress of driving
• Got to look out the window
• Possibly reduced my carbon footprint for the day?
• One less car on the Auckland roading system today

 In my opinion, this is what was wrong about using public transport today?

•  Integrated ticketing on one platform for all modes of public transport is a must
• Printing out a timetable needs to be simplified
• Needed to transfer to get to my destination
• Was not able to transfer my original fare to my transfer bus
• Might have caught the flu from all the sick and coughing people on both busses
• Total journey time was double the usual

So how many of you use public transport? Have you started to use public transport again due to the rising cost of fuel? What are your views on cost verses convenience?

Please let me know your thoughts?

 

Manage change, be the change!

In recent days I have observed a number of poor examples of change management! Let's face it change is constant. As professionals we need to lead change and be the change. We are asked more often to be change agents. How many of us have reviewed our change skills lately? Have you read a book on change? Have you attended a course or online e-learning opportunity? The average NZ manager is poor at leading change and this has an impact on our business productivity. So how do we raise the standard?? We need to share ideas, up skill and most of all take a leadership position on change management. What are you going to do today?