One of the most important aspects of working as a change consultant is behaviour. How we conduct ourselves should reflect the very change we hope to see in others.
If we advocate for change to be managed in a simple, practical way, then we must demonstrate simplicity and practicality in our own actions. If we ask leaders to listen, we must listen first. If we encourage adaptability, we must be willing to adapt ourselves. Credibility comes when our behaviour aligns with our message.
More broadly, change consultants need to embody the qualities that support change rather than merely describe them. Flexibility. Humility. The ability to distil complexity into simple, meaningful messages. Deep listening. Without these behaviours, we never truly understand the system we are trying to influence.
Ideas are central to a consultant’s craft. Yet ideas are not imposed; they are carried.
Useful ideas spread because people find value in them. They cannot be forced through rigid adherence to a methodology or an insistence that one framework has all the answers.
Strong ideas persuade on their own merits.
The real measure of an idea is not whether it survives unchanged, but whether it leaves behind greater capability. Its success is found in what remains after the consultant has gone.
I have been thinking about this while developing a template on change impact. The template is intentionally simple because simplicity gives it the best chance of gaining traction. But the template alone is not enough. It must be accompanied by behaviours demonstrating how change should be experienced.
In that sense, the conversations I have with colleagues about the template are just as important as the template itself. Listening to feedback, inviting challenge, and being willing to reshape the tool so it works in their context—this is where change capability is really built.
The template will almost certainly not survive in exactly the form I created it. Nor should it. What I hope survives is a shared understanding of how to think about change impacts and how leaders can respond with confidence. That residue of understanding is the true contribution of a change consultant.
When I reflect on consulting in this way, I am reminded of my foundations in social work. It is a professional practice where the state of being is just as important as the state of doing. Both demand continual reflection. Both require humility, curiosity and learning. Ultimately, it is this ongoing attention to our own practice that enables us to make a lasting difference in the practice of others.
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