Consultation
Consultation
What you will learn
- Follow the internal consulting cycle stages in order.
- Separate a requested solution from the real problem and analyze the root cause.
- Balance evidence-based advice with respecting the decision-maker's authority.
- Set success metrics agreed in advance.
Managers often come with ready-made solutions: we need a training course, a pay raise, to fire someone. The internal consultant's job is to ask first: what problem are we trying to solve? A performance drop, for instance, may stem from tools, unclear goals, or wrong incentives, and training only fixes knowledge and skill gaps.
The internal consulting cycle
Contracting
Problem, outcomes, roles
Data gathering and diagnosis
Recommendation and decision
Implementation (often piloted)
Evaluation against metrics
A manager who wants to fire now
A manager asks to fire a poor performer immediately with no documentation or prior feedback. The consultant neither simply refuses nor agrees, but explains the risks of an undocumented termination and proposes a performance improvement plan with clear goals and a timeline, protecting the organization and giving the employee a fair chance.
The consultant doesn't own the decision
If you clearly presented the data, risks, and alternatives, and the manager chooses a lawful path you don't prefer, the right answer is to respect their authority and document your advice, not to covertly implement something else or stop cooperating.
What matters on the exam
- The first consulting step is contracting: clarifying the problem, expectations, and boundaries.
- Piloting before rollout reduces risk and builds evidence.
- Project success is measured by outcome metrics agreed upfront, not meeting counts or report size.
Quick check
Answer in your head first, then reveal.
A manager requests training for a team whose performance dropped. Your first step?Reveal the answer
Analyze the root cause before assuming training is the answer.
What is the contracting stage?Reveal the answer
Agreeing on the problem, expected outcomes, roles, and boundaries.
How do you reduce the risk of launching a new program at a large company?Reveal the answer
Pilot it on a limited scale, measure results, then refine.
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Your next step
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Sources
Used to verify the facts. The writing is original to Passuit.