Are you a defensive problem-solver?

Many consultants become very good at justifying why something cannot be done. But this is highly annoying to leaders, and it destroys trust. Let's explore how you can fix that.

As a consultant, I had one blind spot I was completely unaware of.

Apparently, I was a defensive problem solver.

I became very proficient at justifying why something couldn't be done. I would shoot new ideas down before they could take off.

I was worried that my partners would throw hundreds of random things at me and expect me to do all of them. I didn’t want to be buried under piles of work when I was already at maximum capacity.

I didn't want to overpromise and underdeliver. Any new idea meant additional work and an opportunity to fail. So, it was only natural to protect my workstream from scope creep.

I was pretty proud of myself for being witty and smart.

Sounds logical, right?

But then, when I became a manager, I realized how wrong I was.

Now, it was me who had to generate lots of new ideas.

Oh boy, it was hard enough to do it on its own.

But it was even harder when you had a bunch of naysayers on the team. They would tell me hundreds of excuses and offer no new, original ideas.

And I had to argue with them instead of thinking creatively.

It was annoying, frustrating, and energy-draining!

Later, I learned to recognize these consultants and avoided working with them at all.

I craved working with independent thinkers and doers who would push the problem forward without needing me to pull them.

It's a rare but valuable skill.

---

If you are an MBB consultant and feel sick of struggling with performance, I would like to speak with you.

Book a Free 1-1 Consultation to discuss how exactly I can help you. There is no commitment, and you can ask me any burning questions in a risk-free environment.

---

And then it hit me.

Omg, I was one of those defensive consultants myself - a ballast, not an engine.

I was so embarrassed and angry at myself.

I was not good enough for my own standards as a manager.

It hurts to remember countless situations when I didn't push my thinking forward. I think I could have prioritized my work better, even though I felt too exhausted. I tried to work hard when I needed to work smart.

Who knows how many opportunities I have missed by letting my leaders think I wasn’t a proactive problem-solver? That was probably the main reason I couldn’t get them excited to support me. And I had no idea what my problem was.

Unfortunately, nobody explained this to me.

If you recognize yourself in my story, don't make my mistakes.

Instead of finding reasons why you CAN'T do something, think about what you CAN do.

Here are a few practical tips you can use.

1. Be curious

Try to understand what your leaders are commanding.

They are smart and experienced and sometimes might come up with good ideas.

Ask clarifying questions. Play back your understanding.

Doing that will give your partners some comfort that you get them.

This is already a big improvement. You will not come across as defensive and passive.

2. Manage expectations but softly

I don’t say you can’t manage scope and expectations. But don’t push back bluntly. It will be counterproductive, only triggering your leaders to bash you even harder.

Instead, think out loud:

"Ok, I think I understand what you want me to do. If I need to do this, I must get this data. But where do I get this data? I might ask clients, but I don't think they have it ready. They will probably collect it for days if not weeks. I will try to do what you ask, but to manage your expectations, it may not work out. Would you agree?"

In this way, you explain the complexity of the task but do it more collaboratively.

Suddenly, your manager realizes his genius idea is not so genius after all. Maybe he shouldn't deploy your scarce capacity on this fishing expedition.

But it's not you who told him his idea is not smart. It's something he came up with on his own. You don’t create unnecessary animosity.

But notice how you aren’t telling him his idea is stupid. You’re simply letting him know what’s possible, given the situation. You don’t need to create unnecessary animosity.

And then, if your managers still insist, you add it to your list of priorities and negotiate which are more important, the old priorities or new ones. We discussed the effective prioritization approach in detail in this post - Master prioritization.

3. Offer your own ideas

Instead of rejecting your leaders' ideas, try to build on top of them, offer your better ideas, and reframe their thinking.

It's a little bit harder to do. It will require you to think on your feet. But, if you set this as your aspiration and practice enough times, you will learn how to do it well.

If you do all of these things, your leaders will think you are a smart and versatile problem-solver. You understood their ideas, offered new ones, and tried to find practical solutions. Amazing!

You become an aggressive problem solver (I don’t know if this term exists; if not, let me coin it), instead of a defensive one.

As a result, you will strengthen your relationships with leaders and build their trust. This is the first step in building long-lasting sponsorships, and then your consulting career will soar.

There are many unspoken rules and expectations in consulting.

I wish someone had told me what I was doing wrong. But for a long time, I didn't have people around me who cared enough to tell me these things. And it's a tough path to walk alone.

That is why I developed a coaching program for MBB consultants to help them learn faster and better.

If you are an MBB consultant and unsure what you need to improve to accelerate your performance and growth, I want to speak with you.

Book a Free 1-1 Consultation to discuss how exactly I can help you with my coaching program. There is no commitment, and you can ask me any burning questions in a risk-free environment.

Read this post to learn more about the Hero’s Journey coaching program.