Building Momentum on the topic of Management Consulting

How might management consulting have changed over the years? Is MC only in the domain of internal EAPs? As we talk more about the ‘science’ of consulting, is there something to be said about the ‘art’ of consulting for management as well?

I received a call today from Sheila Monaghan in Chicago, of Sheila Monaghan & Associates. Those familiar with Sheila know her from her 20+ years building an EAP program serving Motorola employees both domestically and in 65 countries abroad.

Motorola‘s Structured MC Model

Sheila had read my column in the Journal of Employee Assistance, and professed her own passion for the subject. I was grateful that she set the record straight… there have been conversations in the past about defining and promoting management consulting within EAP programs, notably an article in the Sept 1992 edition of the EAPA Exchange. The article, Applying Quality Initiatives to EAP, features Monaghan with Motorola CEO George Fisher, who make the case for how the Motorola EAP was an essential function in achieving quality goals. Ms. Monaghan describes in the article the development of a structured Management Consulting Process that blended well with Motorola’s creation of the quality improvement process known as Six Sigma.

The Art and Science of Management Consulting

Sheila and a colleague had also developed a training for EA peers called “The Art and Science of Management Consulting.” Their presentation discusses the importance of having the qualities and characteristics of a good consultant in business that are not necessarily guaranteed through clinical training. According to Ms. Monaghan, consulting with management requires both the art of building relationships and the science of disciplined tools to achieve success. Read Sheila’s “30 Second Elevator Speech” here.

I feel like I had hit a goldmine… being that my current efforts with the Journal column and this blog are to cast a net for the brain trust of knowledge out there in our industry on all things MC, and here was someone who was on the cutting edge twenty years ago!

Has Management Consulting Kept Pace with Industry Changes?

Ms. Monaghan has seen a lot of changes in the industry… some good, some for worse. We both lamented about the seeming silence in our industry about MC best practices and training out there right now. Our conversation drifted through some common themes… Have we lost many internal EAPs? You bet. Can EAPA do more to promote this skillset? For sure. Do existing EAPs make a compelling story to their customer organization about the value of management consulting? Probably a mixed review there, but more is better.

As you can imagine, Sheila has continued to build upon her energy and knowledge by opening her own business, for the main purpose of providing management consultation to organizations. Her slogan? “Bringing People and Ideas Together.” Brilliant.

Thanks, Sheila, for living your slogan and offering to bring ideas and people together on this topic of MC skills in EAP settings.

To have your own dialogue with Sheila and to enlist her services, contact her by email at sheila@sheilamonaghan.com