Management Consulting’s Black Holes: A Question of Time and Space

Abstract

Performance improvement interventions undertaken by management consultants, like many others, can experience difficulty in ensuring that the bulk of the effort put into the intervention translates into the desired change. While consultants themselves are limited in what they can control once their work is completed, there are nevertheless activities they can carry out or at least initiate to improve the chances of change being brought about. Goal setting, self-management and action planning have demonstrated positive effects, particularly where behavioural change is required. Similarly, based on a tested model of learning transfer, other activities relating to peer support, manager support and external coaching can be encouraged and set in train.