The 5 key skill areas great consultants need

Sharing our skills development framework to take you from Analyst to Partner

Consulting skill development is the bread and butter of what we do at Honeycomb. Here we share the structure of how we think about it, and in future articles we will dig in a bit further.

Two dimensions for consultant development

Consultants have to develop simultaneously on two key dimensions.

1. Client work - you move from solving individual bits of a puzzle through to delighting clients across the whole spectrum of your project.

2. Internal work - you move from being an effective team player through to leading and setting the culture for a consulting firm.

As you progress through your journey from Analyst to Partner, there are a huge range of skills you need to develop on each of these two dimensions. This framework gives you a flavour:

Image 1: Honeycomb’s framework for consultant skill development on the two dimensions of client and internal work.

It is useful to acknowledge the two sides of the coin and be aware that your skill development on one needs to keep pace with the other. If you over-index on developing client-facing skills you may not have the necessary capabilities to fulfil the demands of the internal work at the next level, and this could hold you back.

Consultants must acquire skills in five key areas

Our skills compentecy framework balances development on the two dimensions - client and internal - across five key skill areas.

1. Deliver - solve complex problems for clients. Learn structured and creative problem solving skills, narrative and storytelling, and how to communicate effectively.

2. Manage - run projects and teams to keep your promises. Learn how to develop business cases, plan work, manage teams, and manage client resources.

3. Lead - set standards and inspire the team. Learn how to contribute to firm culture, develop and model resilience, and operate efficiently and profitably.

4. Grow - build reputation and grow revenue. Develop a business development mindset and toolkit, grow your network, manage your pipeline, develop proposals and have successful sales conversations.

5. Build trust - connect with clients and colleagues. Learn how to manage successful meetings, build trust with clients, and develop influence. This should run through everything you do.

Image 2: Honeycomb’s consulting skills competency framework demonstrating skill development across five key areas.

How we use these frameworks at Honeycomb

Typically clients contact us because they have a training need within their team. Perhaps a Manager or Partner has identified some skills gaps and they want to boost their team’s ability, or perhaps the team are asking for more opportunities to develop and progress their career.

Our clients are varied so we train at every level, from new Graduates to experienced Partners. We use these frameworks to help us identify the training courses that will be best suited to the particular needs of each client. It’s like a glorious Woolworths aisle of Pic ‘n’ Mix (for those of you old enough to remember), but packed with training courses in place of milk bottles and chocolate mice.

Over the next few weeks we will dig into the five skill areas a bit further, and share some of our top training tools with you. Subscribe to receive these articles straight to your inbox as they are published.

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