Internal vs External Consultants

September 28, 2008 | Tagged Consultant, External Consultant, Internal Consultant | 1 Comment

As I continue to read about the business of consulting another of my previous notions of consultants bites the dust. I have always through of the consultants (since we were assuming the role of expert) to be someone from outside the organization. How many times have I heard/told the old joke, A consultant is an ordinary person a long way from home. Then there is the other old adage (with biblical roots), It’s hard to be a prophet in your own home town. How true. And yet, here we are, learning about the concept of internal consultants.

So these internal consultants come to the contracting table with an inherent disadvantage. Not only to they have to follow all of the rules of flawless consulting but they are automatically considered inferior in their abilities by the client. The client doesn’t really expect anything from the internal consultant because they’re local but they often work without a written contract because they trust them (or perhaps because there is no money involved). They client expects the external consultant to be an expert but wants a written contract because they are not to be trusted, especially when the time clock is ticking.

I’m liking this internal consultant role more and more. Low expectations – high trust factor. Maybe. More to ponder.

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1 Comment so far

Terry Carter on October 13, 2008 10:23 am
Yet the internal consultant has a distinct advantage over many external consultants … credibility!! If you, as an internal consultant, have consistently been authentic with those for whom you work, have been helpful to them without causing them to lose face, and have understood them better than others because of your knowledge of and ability to understand the culture in which they are embedded, then you are at a distinct advantage. This is what makes you valuable, regardless of the rate or rank of your position in the organization. I have actually seen senior vice presidents jealous of the power and influence of an internal consultant because of her credibility and the respect that others inside the organization had for her. Talk about awesome responsibility!! tjc