Consultant as teacher or teacher as consultant: what is the relationship?

Abstract

When an organization decides to hire an external consultant to assist in dealing with a significant change, the question arises as to how to choose the right one for the job. The focus of this paper is to explore this relationship through three propositions. The first proposes that an organization employing a consultant can expect to reduce the time going through change transformation and regain productivity faster. The second is that because the focus is on significant change, there is the belief that the consultant must become intimately involved with the organization to be effective. The third proposition is that in order to be an effective consultant within the organization, experience as a teacher/educator is important if not required. Utilizing qualitative grounded theory research, these three propositions are examined for validity with the findings supporting the first two propositions, but not the third.

Citation

Chrusciel, D. (2004), "Consultant as teacher or teacher as consultant: what is the relationship?", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 25 No. 8, pp. 663-677. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730410564997