FAQs
- You have been a consultant for 15 years and recently decided to focus on working with educational organizations. Why?
- What are the key challenges that educational organizations face today?
- What should we do to overcome these challenges?
- Is education different? Do educational organizations have unique challenges that are not true for other sectors?
- Our school seems to be stuck in a rut - we never do anything different, and our teachers and students seem to be bored with the same old routines. How can we become more innovative?
- How can we improve employee morale?
- How can we reduce or eliminate waste and inefficiency?
- How can we do a better job retaining our teachers?
- Our district superintendent tells us that we should develop a strategic plan, but most of us think it is a waste of time. What do you think?
- The parents of the students in our district are not involved with their children's education. Is there a correlation between student performance and parent involvement? If there is, what can we do to engage these parents?
- Our school district seems to be issuing edicts which make no sense to those of us who work in the schools. It seems as if the strategies they have developed do not match their actions.
- How can we have better coherence in our instructional programs?
- How can we better communicate with our stakeholder groups?
- What can we do to develop more and better leaders?
- In the last 5 years, our administrators' duties have multiplied 10-fold - they are expected to be instructional leader, in charge of school site operations, and other key areas of responsibility. How do our administrators balance the myriad of duties they must perform and still remain the instructional leaders at their schools?
- What is a management consultant?
- What kind of management consultants are there?
- How can I tell if I need a consultant?
- How do I determine what needs to be changed?
- How do I find a competent consultant?
- How do management consultants charge for services?
- How do I screen recommended consultants?
- How do I make the final selection?
- What kind of an agreement do I make with a consultant?
- How do I assure successful completion of the project?
- How do I assure confidentiality and avoid conflict of interest?
- How do I evaluate the project's success?
Q: You have been a consultant for 15 years and recently decided to focus on working with educational organizations. Why?
A. I teach courses at several universities, and am inspired by the impact I can make on my students. Therefore, when I was asked to work on a project for the Los Angeles Unified School District, I felt a connection with education on a deeper level than I previously had felt when consulting in other industries.
I come from a long line of educators, and am excited by the opportunities available to me to make valuable contributions to improving education. I believe that this critical sector needs significant change if we are to evolve in a positive direction as a country. Having consulted in a variety of industries, I bring fresh perspectives and new ideas to a sector that needs to change. Finally, I am excited by the potential to help millions of people become what they want to be in their lives.
Q. What are the key challenges that educational organizations face today?
A. Our educational institutions face a myriad of challenges and are, for the most part, not living up to their potential which negatively affects our children and our future.
But here is the good news: We have the ability to transform them into high performing organizations designed to educate students who can meet the challenges of the 21st Century.
NCLB
Finding Qualified Teachers
Teacher testing
Class sizes
Time in the classroom
Adminis-trivia
Our current model is based on an agrarian society where children were expected to be working in the fields during the summer months. This model allows for long periods of time off, during which children generally forget what they learned the previous year. Therefore, teachers must spend valuable time reviewing old material - time that could be spent gaining new knowledge. This is frustrating for both teachers and students alike.
In addition, class sizes are too large, especially in grades 4-8. These grades are particularly challenging - both academically and emotionally - because there are more demands on children who are still growing and are not yet fully mature. Teachers must be able to give students more individualized attention and assistance in these critical years.
Finally, teachers at every grade level are bogged down with unnecessary paperwork; and administrators have too many responsibilities. One study we did showed that the workload for administrators has increased 10-fold in the past 5 years. All this "adminis-trivia" distracts our educators from their primary mission - teaching kids! We must do everything possible to help them return to the mission that attracted them into education in the first place.
Q. What should we do to overcome these challenges?
A. There are several things we can do!
First: Revamp the curricula to ensure that all children in a school district are being taught to grade-level standards.
Two: Ensure there are accelerated courses, honors and advanced-placement courses and gifted programs in every school.
Three: Reduce class sizes to ease the burdens on our teachers and improve learning of our students. No teacher can adequately teach 35 students at one time.
Four: Equip our teachers with superior curricula and instructional models, and provide them with year-round professional development to improve instruction.
Five: Expand school choices by creating charter schools and placing magnet schools in neighborhood schools. These steps will also provide our children with quality choices - no matter what their family income levels are.
Six: Develop true leaders in education who are ready to step into administrator roles.
Q. Is education different? Do educational organizations have unique challenges that are not true for other sectors?
A. Although their mission may be different from other sectors, in the final analysis, schools and school districts are still organizations who face challenges similar to those in industry: no strategic plan... no shared vision... low employee morale... poor leadership... high employee attrition... poor implementation of programs... ineffective communications... ineffective processes... ineffective or not enough resources... and poor performance.
We should also be aware that educational organizations function similar to "businesses"; they are made up of people organized to do work; require funding to operate and create a "product" (in this case, an educated young person); and have "customers" for that "product" (society, parents, political entities, and businesses).
Their "business processes" are related to how they teach their students, and their "manufacturing plants" are their schools.
Like any industry, there is specialized knowledge required; but for the most part, the leadership and organizational principles that are applicable to other sectors are equally applicable to educational organizations.
Q. Our school seems to be stuck in a rut - we never do anything different, and our teachers and students seem to be bored with the same old routines. How can we become more innovative?
A. If you want to become better innovators, then you must focus on the three keys to innovation:
The generators (the personal qualities that foster innovation)
The cycles (the phases an idea goes through to become an innovation)
The context (the internal forces that enable or hinder innovation).
If you can understand these three key elements, then you'll be able to determine what you are doing well and what you can improve - and then you'll be able to leverage your strengths to improve the areas where you are deficient.
Q. How can we improve employee morale?
A. I have always believed that "People support what they help create." Therefore, the first step to improving faculty and employee morale is to involve them in your decision-making and implementation processes.
Second, improve communications with ALL key stakeholder groups. Communication is not just talking, it is both talking AND listening. Ensure communications are two-way (and that you are truly listening to other people's opinions), and them implement those ideas when they make sense.
Three, remove the "adminis-trivia" and needless bureaucracy that prevent people from focusing on what they love to do - teach!
If you do those three things, faculty and employee morale will improve, and your job will become much easier.
Q. How can we reduce or eliminate waste and inefficiency?
A. A more useful question might be, "Are you getting the best ‘bang for your bucks?' "
Budgeting is the "affirmation" of an organization's strategic plan, and should be the final step in a strategic planning process prior to starting the implementation phase.
Therefore, if you want to significantly reduce or abolish waste and inefficiency, structure your budget to fund only those strategic initiatives that you have identified as your top five priorities - and eliminate the rest.
Q: How can we do a better job retaining our teachers?
A. There have been a number of studies on faculty retention which found that pay isn't nearly as important an issue as are the teaching and learning environments. The key ways to retain high performing faculty are:
- Improve the quality of relationships among staff.
- Remove the needless adminis-trivia and bureaucracy that inhibit teachers from doing AND enjoying their jobs.
- Give teachers the opportunity to participate in decision-making at their schools.
Q. Our district superintendent tells us that we should develop a strategic plan, but most of us think it is a waste of time. What do you think?
A. Emerson once said, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." If you want to fly to New York City, you certainly would not attempt the trip without first filing a flight plan, understanding the weather conditions between here and there, fueling the airplane, and getting clearance from Air Traffic Control!
Strategic plans are an organization's flight plan, and become the basis for its shared vision and implementation strategies. Without such a plan, you are flying blind.
Perhaps your president is pushing for a strategic plan without having first developed a vision - with university-wide participation - about the direction your institution should take. This is a good opportunity for faculty, administration, and other stakeholders to engage in discussions about that vision.
That is a necessary step in developing a shared vision which is critical to successful implementation.
Q. The parents of the students in our district are not involved with their children's' education. Is there a correlation between student performance and parent involvement? If there is, what can we do to engage these parents?
A. Numerous studies of both urban and non-urban school districts have revealed that there is a strong correlation between the level of student performance and the extent of parental involvement.
The best way to begin involving busy parents is to start communicating with them directly. What might that mean?
It could mean teachers going to children's' homes to give parents reports about their kids... or, it could mean administrators calling parents regularly to give them updates about their children. If that's what it takes, then please do it!
The more knowledgeable parents become about their children's education, the more they will become involved and invested in their children's academic success.
Q. Our school district seems to be issuing edicts which make no sense to those of us who work in the schools. It seems as if the strategies they have developed do not match their actions.
A. Have you ever been to one of your children's high school band concerts? How does the level of their playing compare to that of a professional symphony orchestra?
For an organization to perform in an outstanding manner, its strategies, people, and processes must be working in concert. We all want our organizations to be as good as - say - the New York Philharmonic; but without an overall alignment of its administrative and instructional strategies with its business and people processes, and funding, institutions will operate on par with a high school band whose members had just picked up an instrument for the first time.
If you align your strategies, processes, and people, you will be amazed at the results!
Q: How can we have better coherence in our instructional programs?
A. This is a challenge which faces many educational institutions. This is a result of too much focus on accountability and not enough focus on planning which results in what can only be called the "unintended consequences of implementing ill-conceived and poorly implemented out programs.
We take a systems approach to designing and implementing curriculum and programs. Newton said it best, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." All ramifications must be thought through PRIOR to a program being implemented. No one wants to be caught up in unintended consequences.
Q: How can we better communicate with our stakeholder groups?
A: Communications takes both talking AND listening. A better question is do you know how to listen?
Socrates said that when you are talking you're not communicating. Try listening more to your key stakeholder groups, and your communications will be far more effective.
Remember the adage - people support what they help create. It truly works.
Q. What can we do to develop more and better leaders?
A. This is a significant challenge facing higher educational organizations. In the next 5-10 years, nearly 40% of senior administrators will be retiring which, because there is no viable leadership training or succession planning, will result in a significant leadership vacuum.
The best institutions have active succession planning which includes both leadership training and formal mentor programs. Faculty members are identified early and groomed for leadership positions through work on university committees, and many institutions have revised their annual evaluation to include evaluating employees in the area of leadership.
Still, this is not enough. Pogo said, "we have met the enemy and he is us." Getting the culture to accept leaders from within their ranks is important. This can be done by including key stakeholders on the hiring committees, and giving them an active say in who is ultimately hired.
Q. In the last 5 years, our administrators' duties have multiplied 10-fold - they are expected to be instructional leader, in charge of school site operations, and other key areas of responsibility. How do our administrators balance the myriad of duties they must perform and still remain the instructional leaders at their schools?
A. Many administrators have told me that the demands on their time have increased significantly as a result of programs such as No Child Left Behind.
There are multiple things districts can do to free administrators up to do the important things which affect student performance and learning. One of the key things is to reorganize school-site administrators' duties to free them up to do what is important, and in so move decision-making to the appropriate level. Another thing districts can do is hire new staff to relieve administrators of non-essential duties, and reduce the "adminis-trivia" which makes so many demands of their time.
By doing so, school-site administrators' performance and morale will improve, as well as potentially providing more leadership opportunities for employees which will build leadership capacity.
Q. What is a management consultant?
A. A management consultant is a professional who, for a fee, helps the management of client organizations define and achieve their goals through better utilization of resources. The consultant may do this by helping to define and identify current or future problems and/or opportunities, and recommend solutions.
Management consultants are change-agents who not only propose change but help implement it as well. As an independent professional, a management consultant's sole concern is the welfare of the client's organization.
Q. What kind of management consultants are there?
A. Management consultants may be sole practitioners who work with a small staff or members of a consulting firm who work with professional colleagues and a large support staff. They may be generalists able to work with top management on a wide range of concerns, or specialists whose background and experience focus on more specific areas of management.
Common consulting specialties include:
- Strategic & Business Planning Sales & Marketing
- Financial Planning & Control Research & Development
- Organization Planning & Development Physical Distribution
- Wage & Salary Administration Electronic Data
- Human Resources/Labor Relations Administration
- Incentive Compensation Manufacturing
Q. How can I tell if I need a consultant?
A. There are no hard and fast rules for deciding whether to bring in a management consultant. Here are some common situations suggesting that a consultant may provide help:
- Management feels that performance could be better but is not sure what to do to gain improvements.
- Management does not have the specific knowledge and skills necessary to solve the problems it has identified.
- Management has the necessary knowledge and skills but not the time or staff available to solve the problems it has identified.
- Management efforts have not produced the desired long-term improvements.
- Management requires an independent third-party opinion, either to confirm a decision or to provide an alternative.
Often a situation will require that a consultant be retained until in-house capabilities are enhanced by a permanent staff addition.
Q. How do I determine what needs to be changed?
A. At times, you will be able to specify the issue, such as a puzzling increase in workplace injuries. Often, however, this will not be possible. In such cases, listing symptoms or desired goals will usually indicate the type of consultant you need.
Be aware, though, that often a consultant's biggest contribution is to help clients define problems or opportunities. Your initial conversation with a consultant should tell you if your problem has been properly defined.
Q. How do I find a competent consultant?
A. You can turn to many sources for help in selecting a consultant. Your organization's attorney, accountant or banker may be a good source of referrals, as may your trade association. To widen your search, you can turn to one or both of the following organizations:
Institute of Management Consultants USA
2025 M Street NW, Suite 800
Washington D.C. 20036-3309 USA
Voice: 800-221-2557 Fax: 202-857-1891
Email: office@imcusa.org Website: www.imcusa.org
IMC USA certifies the professional competence of individual consultants, accredits professional practices, and certifies individuals within those accredited practices.
They have a referral service on their website.
International Council of Mgt. Consulting Institutes
858 Longview Road Burlingame, CA 94010-6974 USA
Voice: 650-342-2250 Fax: 650-344-5005
Email: icmci@icmci.org Website: www.icmci.org
ICMCI, the global association of national consulting institutes, provides referral sources worldwide.
Q. How do management consultants charge for their services?
A. A management consultant's fee will be influenced by a number of factors, including the client's need for special knowledge and experience; how much competition for clients there is; the consultant's reputation; and, if known, the benefit to the client of a successful outcome.
Consultants may be engaged for a specific project, or retained for an indefinite period to provide continuing advice to management. Many management consultants base their fees on an hourly or per-diem rate, with out-of-pocket expenses (travel, entertainment, communications and special services) billed separately. In a typical engagement a consultant will charge a portion of the total fee when the project begins and throughout the project until completion.
An experienced consultant should be able to estimate the length of time of a project and quote a "not-to-exceed" figure or a figure that when reached triggers a joint evaluation of results-to-date and an estimate of time and fees needed to reach a satisfactory conclusion. Some may quote a range. When the dimensions of a project are hard to define, the quotation may be on an hourly or per-diem basis until the scope of the project can be determined and agreed upon.
Q. How do I screen recommended consultants?
A. Select for interviews two or three consultants whose experience comes closest to matching the situation you have defined. It is important to determine that each consultant, not just the firm, displays a thorough familiarity with the situation. The references each candidate provides should confirm the consultant's previous success in a similar context. You will want to learn the outcomes of relevant consulting engagements, whether the consultant used honesty and tact when making recommendations, and how well he or she worked with the organization's people.
You will want the following information: the consultant's experience in handling similar situations; what references say about the consultant's ability to make things happen, and whether the consultant has established personal rapport with management during the initial interviews. Experience is important, but not to the exclusion of the other considerations.
Q. How do I make the final selection?
A. Once each consultant's references have been checked and experience confirmed, use the following considerations to make your the final selection:
- Breadth of experience that encompasses and goes beyond the situation as defined.
- Demonstrated ability to complete assignments on schedule and within budget.
- Demonstrated ability to develop practical recommendations and to have them implemented successfully.
- Demonstrated ability to work with people diplomatically and effectively, with minimum disruption of ongoing operations.
- The degree of trust and rapport established with management during initial contacts.
Q. What kind of agreement do I make with a consultant?
A. The consultant's proposal should spell out, in as much detail as needed, such things as:
- The objective and scope of the assignment.
- What the consultant will do, what the client will do, and what they will do jointly during and following the project's completion to assure its success.
- The nature of completion or agreed upon evidence of delivered value.
- The anticipated charges, basis of charges, expenses, and terms of payment.
- The conditions under which the client or the consultant may cancel the agreement.
Q. How do I assure the successful completion of the project?
A. You can assure the successful completion of a consulting engagement by doing the following:
- Make certain that everyone in the organization will provide what the consultant needs in order to gather information and make recommendations.
- Inform all concerned, either through a general meeting or personal memos, that a consultant has been engaged, and explain the nature or purpose of the engagement.
- Allay any anxiety that may result when employees learn that a consultant has been engaged.
- Be available to the consultant to review progress, clarify information, or help in resolving temporary difficulties. Candidly voice concerns to the consultant.
- Avoid pressuring the consultant to discuss findings or recommendations until the consultant has thoroughly researched the situation and is ready to do so.
Q. How do I assure confidentiality and avoid conflict of interest?
A. All reputable consultants consider the detailed knowledge they gain about a client's operations and staff to be confidential. Such information is not to be discussed with, or disclosed to, a third party without the client's express permission. These are requirements of the Code of Ethics to which all reputable consultants subscribe.
Q. How do I evaluate the project's success?
A. The success of a consulting project can be measured in many ways. Frequently, the change that results from an engagement is obvious - for example, measurable savings realized, new business generated, or delays eliminated.
Some projects, however, may have payoffs that are only realized gradually. In such situations, you should be able to see progress in achieving the project's goals.
To gain subjective appraisal, ask the question, "On balance, and considering everything, would I hire the same consultant again?" If the answer is "Yes," then the project can generally be considered a success.
Published with permission of The Institute of Management Consultants, copyright, 2004.
