Consulting is a group activity facilitated by a consultant to further develop an organization's leadership team, to revision and revitalize their sense of corporate mission, to proceed toward accomplishment of their corporate mission, to develop the board's functional effectiveness, and/or to assess and enhance their administrative functions.
Consulting begins with an assessment of the organization to determine its current levels of competent functioning, understanding of the task(s) at hand, and spiritual and relational well-being. This assessment includes the coach's observations as well as the answers that persons in the organizaiton provide to questions. It may also include the use of surveys, questionnaires, or other assessment instruments with interpretation by the consultant.
The consultant helps the organization set goals and strategic plans, examine the current reality of the situation, brainstorm new options, and select and define measurable actions to undertake in order to achieve the goals.
The consultant's main skills are asking good questions and listening well. The consultant's main resource is his or her own experience coupled with staying current on academic and practice developments in the areas in which the consultant is consulting. The consultant's main discipline is holding persons in the organization accountable to their (the person's) stated goals and selected actions. The goal of the consultant is not to impose his or her goals or course of action upon the persons in the organization, but rather to help the person clearly state his or her goals and select appropriate actions to which they are committed.
