the psychology of a consultant the psychology of a consultant fiona beddoes-jones imperial college...

The Psychology of a Consultant

The Psychology of a Consultant Fiona Beddoes-Jones

Imperial College London, June 2012 [email protected]

Fiona Beddoes-Jones, FRSA

Business Psychologist24 years consultancy experienceM.D. of The Cognitive Fitness Consultancy Ltd.

Author of Thinking Styles®, Think Smart™, Cognitive Team Roles® and the Authentic Leadership 360™

This was a session written for, and delivered to, the Consultancy Club’ at Imperial.Additional elements and group input is highlighted on the slides in RED – Ed.

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• What kind of a consultant are you?

• What can you learn from this evening that could make you even ‘better’?



People weren’t really quite sure – so they were happy to ‘go with the flow’ and find out –After all, there were refreshments afterwards, so it was worth staying


What are cognitive styles?

“Consistent individual differences in preferred ways of processing information”

Messick (1976) Personality consistencies in cognition and creativity. In S. Messick (Ed.) Individuality in Learning. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.



We used the concept of ‘cognitive styles’ as a framework for people to recognisecertain personality traits and behaviours in themselves and others.


What are cognitive styles?

“Differences and similarities in the ways people think ……. Some of which are habitual preferences and some of which may be actively disliked”

Beddoes-Jones, F. (2003) Developing the Thinking Performer. CIPD Professional Standards Conference 2003.



If you like doing something you tend to do it more often. Practice, and enjoying it, will make younaturally ‘better’ as you hone your skills and get more experience. Thinking skills are just the same.

This idea of ‘disliking’ certain types of thinking is an important one. A bit like brussel sprouts,you can’t suddenly wake up one morning and like them if you hated them the day before!

You have to REDUCE your DISLIKE of thinking in a certain way before you can begin to developyour flexibility around it.




Exercise – What kind of a consultant are you?

I asked people to rearrange their seat so that the room now reflected their position on the see-saw.


What does Thinking Styles Measure?

•Your unique profile

•x 26 different kinds of thinking

•People vs Task balance

•Personal preference levels: likes and dislikes

•Comparative scores



Every person’s profile will be UNIQUE to them




Personal Preferences - % Spread Scores

This is an example of what Thinking StylesMeasures.

This is the ‘likes& dislikes’ pageand identifiespersonal preferencesand degrees of natural flexibility.




Comparative Scores - STENS

STEN refers to a ‘std 10’ rating scale.

68% of people’s scores will fall within the ‘average range’-in the middle

We NOTICE ‘outliers’- those scores whichfall above or below the average range




Preferences by Rank Order

This page shows the kind of consultant that someone will be!

People’s highest preferences link directly to their BEHAVIOURS, their use of LANGUAGE and also, importantly, to their VALUES – the kind of thinking and behaviours that they value in themselves and OTHERS


Cognitive strategies and behaviours

•I love getting to grips with the intricacies of things. For me it’s the details that make things interesting

•Ever since I was at school I’ve disliked details and had difficulties remembering them. They just don’t interest me that much.



These are just some examples of real quotes from real people – I asked people to raise their hands if the statement was true for them – the pattern is that TASK focused people will usually agree with the top statement. The LESS task focused someone is, the more likely they are to also agree with the bottom statement. As you have a unique profile though, this may not be true of you!



•I often visualise the things I am planning to do

•My thinking is usually sequential

•I have my own internal standards by which I decide what’s right

•I tend to know the answer first and work things out backwards





•I can be quite argumentative at work

•I tend to share information with others

•My desk often has untidy piles of work on it

•I will usually work within a team environment if I can



We briefly explored each of the statements and what they indicate about someone’s thinking styles preference and also what else they (statistically) link to, as this is what creates the TYPES of consultant that we will be exploring next.


Type 1

•Logical•Detail Conscious•Digital fluency•Auditory•Prefers Complexity



This type is often very TASKfocused, and is found in job roles such as accountancy, the law, medicine, engineering, purchasing & supply, logistics etc.

Any role that ISN’T particularly PEOPLE focused (as they care LESS about people’s needs and well-being)

They are often CEO’s and very senior managers, as they have been promoted by dint of achieving their goals & targets.


Type 2

•Strategic•Creative•Intuitive•Visual•Sorts by Simplicity



This type tends to sit somewhere in the MIDDLE of the see-saw and is found in all kinds of job role where working well with people and also achieving the task is important.

They are often CEO’s and very senior managers, as they have been promoted because they are good at communicating their Strategic Vision and they tend to be good at engaging people’s hearts and minds.


Type 3

•Internally Referenced•Challenging•Competitive •Proactive



IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE MORE THAN 1 TYPE!

This type is usually also quite TASK focused.

This type ISN’T particularly PEOPLE focused either (as they want to win and can be quite DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH – especially as they always think that they are right!)

They are often senior managers, as they are so competitive and don’t really care who they have to trample on to get to the top.


Type 4

•External•Collaborative•Conforms & dislikes conflict•Reactive



This type is very common.

This type is quite PEOPLE focused and they really care about people’s needs and well-being.

They usually get on with most people and are ‘easy’ to work with and great to have in a team.

They are rarely senior managers, as they dislike conflict and are reactive in their style rather than being proactive and pushing for promotion.


Type 5

In the ‘middle’

They possess the cognitive flexibility to do it all, despite their own personal preferences



This type cares about getting the job done and also cares about the people they work with.

You find them in all walks of life and in all job roles.

They are however, quite RARE, unless they have taken active steps to develop their cognitive flexibility – (which is where Thinking Styles is so useful – Ed.)

Implications of your Types

•The way you approach tasks•The way you approach people•How you develop relationships•The kind of people you will get on with•How you lead and manage



This is a whole day’s workshop on it’s own! The last one is probably the MOST important as it effects your career and other people’s well-being. It also links directly to your AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP style – Ed.

Project Management Exercise

What personality / cognitive style profile makes the ‘best’ Project Manager?



This was a fun exercise! I asked people to work with those people sitting near them (so we had homogeneous people/task groups) The group’s thoughts are on the next slide but one

Some Common Pitfalls in doing this exercise:

•I’m a good Project Manager, therefore the ‘best’ kind of PM would be just like me

•Under-valuing and dismissing the other styles / types



Project Management Exercise

What personality / cognitive style profile makes the ‘best’ Project Manager?



The Task focused group said a combination of Types 1 and 3 whist the more People focused groups decides on a combination of Types 2 and 5.

One student said that they would love to work for a Type 2 boss, but had always been unlucky enough to work for a Type 1 boss (which is very common I’m sad to say - Ed.)

Funnily enough, the group in the middle decided on Type 5!…………………………………………………………………………………………………

What do you think is the answer and WHY? - As has already probably become evident, your response will most likely link to your own preferred Type!

Questions from the Floor

•What advice would you give someone who wants to set up their own consultancy?



Get the sales & marketing right! Doing the work is often the easy part – getting the work in the 1st place is the hard part. Also, you will need to specialise, the world has changed and people don’t want generalists any more.

Also, you will need to be ‘better’ than your clients – more knowledgeable, harder working, more professional …… in short, a role model as to how it’s done.

• What have you learned in more than 20 years experience of consultancy?

That RELATIONSHIPS are ultimately the key. It never occurred to me, when I began consulting, that more than 24 years later, I would still be friends and colleagues with some of the people I had met and was working with back then (when Celerant Consulting was still Peter Chadwick Ltd.)

Some of the 26 recommendations that I have on LinkedIn are from people I first met and worked with more than 20 years ago.

Summary

•Just a taster here•There are no right / wrong profiles – only implications & consequences (for yourself and others)•Remember the link to your management & leadership style, especially your Authentic Leadership style•More at www.cognitivefitness.co.uk

and www.thinkingstyles.co.uk



Grateful thanks go to Mohit Asija from Imperial College who organised the session, and to the students who attended and enthusiastically took part to co-create the event

I hope this has been useful. My best wishes as always, Fiona BJ

the psychology of a consultant the psychology of a consultant fiona beddoes-jones imperial college...

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