It takes 12 months to become a high-performing consultant
Being average in MBB firms is extremely uncomfortable. Becoming high-performing will make your experience much more pleasant. But, consultants often don't know the path to high performance.
A few years ago, I was appointed Ryan's career advisor (altered name).
My role was to collect feedback, prepare his case for review, and advise on the development.
Ryan was a first-year consultant. He was showing solid average performance. The feedback was good but lacked enthusiasm from leaders.
It bothered him that nobody from leadership cared about him. He always struggled to find his next project.
We started working together, and I coached him through my 3-step Zero to Hero transformation.
In 12 months, Ryan had received his first high-performance rating.
He was ecstatic!
The best thing he enjoyed was the high staffing demand, which allowed him to choose projects he really liked.
The timing was perfect; the consulting crisis had just arrived, and he felt safe in this highly competitive environment.
Let's explore my 3-step transformation approach in more detail.
On average, it takes around 12 months to become a high-performing consultant.
Too long, you might think?
Well, it takes time to build a reputation and for partners to recognize it.
If you are an MBB consultant and want to achieve high performance, book a free 1-1 consultation to discuss how exactly I can help you. There is no commitment and you can ask any burning questions you might have.
Here are three main stages you must go through in these 12 months.
1. Stabilize
First-year consultants make many basic mistakes.
They misunderstand expectations, solve the wrong problems, make incorrect assumptions, and choose random layouts, among many other things.
These mistakes trigger new comments and iterations, creating new stupid work.
It’s a snowball effect.
This kills their productivity and destroys their reputations. This is so damaging that it must be stopped immediately.
The key here is to learn to accept tasks well, prioritize fiercely, and produce high-quality outputs.
Stabilizing will feel like a huge relief. Your stress and anxiety will reduce dramatically.
You will become ready for the second stage.
2. Accelerate
To become high-performing, it's not enough to do good work.
But, many lateral hires think doing everything leaders tell them to do is enough.
Many lateral hires think they must do everything leaders tell them to do.
They get sorely disappointed when their hard work doesn’t translate into the desired outcomes.
To stand out from the crowd, you must impress and overdeliver. Push for high-quality outputs and unique insights.
When you impress your leaders, they can't help but see you in a different light. They start respecting and trusting you even more.
They become your advocates who pound tables for you in your next evaluation reviews or staffing conversations.
You will start feeling pretty confident and comfortable in consulting.
3. Outperform
At this stage, you’ll be able to maintain this high level of performance no matter what external circumstances arise.
You will be able to outperform even on bad projects with poor leaders and nasty clients.
You will be several steps ahead of your managers and partners. Your clients will adore you.
It becomes easier for you to achieve your goals and steer your career.
Finally, you will feel confident and fulfilled.
Going through the consulting journey alone is extremely difficult. I would’ve never achieved high performance without great mentors helping me.
That is why I developed a coaching program for MBB consultants to help them transform and achieve high performance in 12 months.
If you are an MBB consultant sick of being stressed, anxious, and lost, I would like to speak with you.
Book a Free 1-1 Consultation to discuss whether I can help you through my coaching program. There is no commitment, and you can ask any burning questions.
Read this post to learn more about the Hero’s Journey coaching program.