What You Leave Behind Matters More Than Ever These Days

A recommendation and a great Powerpoint deck isn't enough

We are currently running a series of interviews with consulting industry leaders to gather insight for the Consulting People Report 2026. During a recent one, I heard something that’s stuck with me. We were talking, as is inevitable, about technological disruption and the impact of AI. The leader I was interviewing used this fantastic phrase:

“What you leave behind matters even more now.”

Consultancies have always aimed to deliver value. But clients are increasingly (and rightly) demanding more: more demonstrable impact, more proof of change, and more capability that lasts beyond the end of a project.

Perhaps, “What am I leaving behind?” is one of the most important questions consultants can ask themselves today. Yes, AI is disrupting the sector, but the job of consultants is still to add value to their client.

In this noisy world, I think it’s a question that cuts through. It’s not about what you delivered. It’s not about what you recommended. It’s about the legacy you create in your client’s organisation once you’ve gone.

Here are five things I believe every consultancy should aim to leave behind.

1. Change that actually happens

If an organisation hasn’t changed in some tangible way — behaviour, structure, technology, process — it’s hard to argue that value has been delivered.

That might seem obvious. But even at the strategic end of the spectrum, we often mistake agreement for commitment to action. The report gets signed off. Everyone nods. And nothing happens.

For real change to take root, you need buy-in across multiple levels of an organisation. And not just a moment of consensus, but a committed and sustained ‘Yes’ from every key decision-maker.

This is where the ‘7 Types of Yes’ framework can be useful to surface whether some people are just nodding along. If you don’t have a room of ‘Type 1’ and ‘Type 2’ yeses, the proposed change doesn’t land. And nothing is left behind.

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Read Agreement isn’t the same as commitment for more on the 7 Types of Yes

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In more operational contexts, new ways of working and new technology have to be embedded. There’s a growing recognition that traditional ‘technology-agnostic’ consulting isn’t good enough. It often results in a recommendation, and clients don’t need another recommendation. They need working solutions. That might mean actually designing and implementing an application. Where in the past consultants have been known for leaving behind a PowerPoint deck, they now need to be known for the systems and tools they embed.

Actionable takeaway: Ask yourself — what visible, lasting change would a client still feel six months after you’ve left?

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2. Measurable value, not just potential

Consultancies often talk about the potential value of a programme, but less often about what’s been realised or created.

That’s changing. As data quality improves, so does the ability to baseline, benchmark and track the results of a project. ‘Value’ is no longer something you point to in the distance. It’s something you should (and now can) measure and demonstrate.

One simple but powerful test of your value proposition is this: could it work on a contingent fee basis? Even if you wouldn’t actually contract that way, it forces a clearer articulation of what’s being delivered. If you can’t explain how your client will know value has been created, why should they believe it?

Time and materials may always have their place, especially for speed and simplicity. But consultancies that can tie their impact to measurable results will set a higher standard and likely win more trust.

Actionable takeaway: Design your propositions as if you had to prove ROI. If value isn’t measurable, it may not be value at all.

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3. An upskilled, not dependent, workforce

The best consultancies don’t hold all their cards close to their chest and operate to create dependency, but recognise the need to upskill the client team along the way. They create capability. And in a world where knowledge is increasingly commoditised, that’s a key differentiator in itself.

Sharing methods, tools, and approaches signals an abundance mindset. It reflects a belief that lasting client success is the best route to long-term relationships. And when clients see their own teams operating with new skills and confidence, they’re more likely to re-engage — not less.

Actionable takeaway: Be intentional about capability-building. Don’t just share the answer. Share how you got there and embrace an abundance mindset.

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4. A team that feels inspired

Building on the above, the most transformational consulting projects leave people upskilled and inspired. Your job is to raise the bar (for individuals and the organisation) and inspire people to reach it. If you can create a feeling of belief and optimism, and stir up the energy needed for change, that will create a legacy that far outlives your time there.

This is harder to achieve (and measure) but it’s worth aiming for. When your work shifts not just the how, but the why of an organisation, it becomes part of how people think and feel. That’s not something AI can replicate.

Actionable takeaway: Don’t underestimate the importance of the emotional impact you make. People remember how your work made them feel. Consider this and plan for it.

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5. Trusting relationships

Relationship-building is a given in most consultancy work and we all know strong relationships are a route to future sales. But they’re also a litmus test for the quality of what’s been delivered.

When clients trust you, it usually means they’ve seen real value and real change. A sense that you understood what mattered to them, and not just at an organisational level, but personally.

Creating this kind of relationship requires more vulnerability and intimacy. It means paying attention to what clients hope to get out of a project (professionally and personally). It means delivering outcomes that elevate both the business and the individuals within it.

Actionable takeaway: Ask clients what they want to get from the engagement. Support them to achieve it.

Final thought: Great outcomes require great clients

There’s one final point worth naming. We tend to think about these outcomes as dependent on the skills, knowledge, and excellence of the consultant. But, in truth, it also takes great clients and great client leadership.

The intelligent client principle has been around for a while. That idea of understanding what you’re buying and demanding value, balanced with a real intent for collaboration, openness to trust, willingness to embrace change and take on some risk, and commitment to lead and role model through that.

If I think about the best projects I’ve worked on, through the lens of ‘what did I leave behind?’, one thing they have in common is they were the best clients I’ve ever worked with.

So, I guess the final thought is this: If you want to do great work, pick your clients carefully. At Honeycomb, we’ve learned to say ‘no’ to a handful who aren’t set up in a way which will enable us to deliver our best outcomes.

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