The standard advice people usually give is to read as many books on Consulting frameworks and project management as you can. While books have their own place, let’s consider the specific situation and the expectations that the Consulting firm will have from you in the first few months. 

As an engagement manager, you will most likely be:

  1. Leading projects to solve complex problems for your clients
  2. Responsible for a mid-sized team (3–4 people to start)
  3. Managing and leading all executive communication for your project
  4. Responsible for all final deliverables and the messaging of the ‘solution’ for your project before Senior Manager/ Partner review
  5. Trying to make a good impression on your internal stakeholders and sponsors ( Consulting firm Partners and Senior Managers)

This is where most external hires get it wrong. And I say this because I’ve made the same mistakes! Download my free pdf on 10 reasons why external hires fail in Year 1 of Management Consulting at 10 reasons why external hires FAIL in year 1 of Management Consulting to understand this better.

Now let’s address each point above and the skills required to be successful in these areas.

  1. Leading projects requires you to showcase your industry expertise and using Consulting frameworks to apply your experience to solve client problems. This is where all the books and articles you read on Consulting would be most applicable and useful.

    In many cases, Consulting firms have their own frameworks and it would benefit you tremendously to ask for sample deliverables from the Senior Manager or Partner to understand their presentation style and how they have approached similar projects in the past.

  2. Being responsible for a 3 to 4 member team requires you to showcase leadership, team management, and mentoring skills. In many cases, you’ll find gems in junior resources (Consultants and Analysts), who will help tremendously with getting you up to speed with the ways of your firm - from formatting deliverables to showing you how to navigate the many systems and requirements of Consulting firms.

    Make them your best friends and you will accelerate your success 2x. And be sure to champion their career in return!

  3. Leading executive communications asks for excellent client management and relationship building skills. Clients are humans first, and in most cases, appreciate the time Consultants (especially the more senior ones) invest in understanding the bigger picture behind their decisions, their concerns, and vision vs. just focusing on 1 small project.

    This is how follow-on projects and repeat work is won. At the end of the day, for existing clients, winning the next phase of work depends 100% on the value your team has delivered so far and how strong your client relationships are.

  4. Being responsible for all final deliverables and the messaging of the ‘solution’ for your project requires excellent storyboarding skills. In my opinion, this is the most important skill a Consultant can have.

    An excellent client deliverable will articulate the client’s complex problems in a simple, clear manner; walk through the options available as solutions; analyze the pros and cons of each solution and present the most favorable option for the client - all in a language that can be understood by senior stakeholders who are not ‘in the weeds’.

  5. Most new Engagement Managers get so lost in handling points 1 to 4 above (and I will agree it’s a LOT!), that they forget their internal stakeholders and sponsors! I have certainly done that and lost at least 2 years of my overall Consulting career by not nurturing those relationships.

    Remember the Consulting firm Partners and/or Senior Managers who hired you and will eventually be the ones advocating your case for promotion/compensation at the year-end performance reviews? Start building those relationships on day 1. This is where you need networking skills. If you shudder at the thought of “network to get work” read Why is Networking so hard? 

Good luck with your Consulting career! What other areas are tricky for you to navigate as an external hire? Add a comment or write to me at punya@byondgood.com.

P.S: Enjoyed this? Here are a few ways you can get more:
 
Want to know more about Management Consulting? Check out the BYOND GOOD BLOG at https://www.byondgood.com/community/public
 
Get more free resources at https://www.byondgood.com/freeresources
 
Navigate your first year in Management Consulting like a pro!
Learn the most practical, actionable skills you will need to succeed as a new Management Consultant in just 7 days with CONSULTING KICKSTART™️ . Learn more at www.byondgood.com 
 
 Punya is a former management consultant with 15 years of experience at 2 Big4 firms, serving top Fortune500 clients. She has lived and worked in 6 countries and changed 3 careers working across several industries. Punya is passionate about coaching new and aspiring Consultants to succeed in Management Consulting.