Flexible goalposts: making a plan and NOT sticking to it
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Catherine Pederson
Can We Be Process Consultants with a Product Framework?
Walking into an internal strategy session, the tension was palpable. Our team, full of high achievers, was expressing growing frustration. We were producing high-quality work, and business was steadily increasing. Yet, as our team expanded, we kept hearing the same feedback: our job expectations were unclear. While our proposals focused on the process, our team members were left unsure of how to measure their success or determine whether they were doing a good job. Projects with our partners took longer to kick off because we struggled to gain momentum from the start. I believed that being a process consultant meant avoiding rigid templates to prevent cookie-cutter solutions, but my team was asking for more structure. Could there be a middle ground between flexibility and the clarity they needed?
Understanding Process Consulting in a Product Environment
Process consulting is fundamentally about helping organizations navigate their challenges by walking with leaders to improve processes, systems, and workflows. However, when placed in a product-driven environment—such as grant writing or strategic planning—the lines can blur. These tasks often require repetition, structure, and clear deliverables, which can feel at odds with the flexible, adaptive nature of process consulting. The result was a sense of ambiguity around our roles: were we supposed to offer tailored, consultative guidance or follow a predefined, structured approach? Balancing these two seemingly opposing demands became a challenge, as we struggled to maintain our process-driven focus while delivering the concrete outcomes expected in a product-based setting.
Setting Up Projects for Success
To set our projects up for success, we realized that identifying common deliverables across similar projects was crucial. By streamlining our processes, we could create templates that provided clarity without stifling creativity. The templates became a starting point rather than an endpoint. They allowed us to ensure consistency while also allowing space for exploration and adaptation based on the specific needs of our partners. This balance between structure and flexibility became key to our approach.
The Dichotomy Between Process and Product
Yet, despite our best efforts, the tension between process and product remained. Team members felt overwhelmed by the lack of clarity surrounding our expectations. High-achieving individuals, accustomed to delivering excellence, often found themselves riddled with anxiety, questioning whether they were doing enough. This ambiguity led to wasted time and effort, as we frequently reinvented the wheel instead of capitalizing on established frameworks.
The Journey to Integration
Our team needed to undertake an introspective journey to define what it truly meant to be process consultants within this dual context. We began to recognize the importance of balancing customization with standardization. By listening deeply to our partners and facilitating a blend of process and strategy, we were able to deliver tailored solutions without sacrificing the benefits of a structured approach.
The Secret Sauce: Thought Partnership
Partners don’t come to us solely because we are proficient grant writers; they seek us out because we are thought partners. The willingness to integrate a process consulting mindset into our product service became our secret sauce. Asking the right questions and fostering open dialogue established deeper connections with our partners. We learned that it’s essential to designate focused times to work on processes and other times to hone in on product development. This dynamic dance between the two is what creates a powerful framework.
The Ongoing Journey
Integrating process consulting with a product framework is an ongoing journey. It’s a work in progress that requires constant reflection and adaptation. As we continue to navigate this path, I find solace in knowing that I’m not alone in facing these challenges. Many consultants grapple with similar questions and uncertainties, and it’s essential to embrace the evolving nature of our roles.
As we move forward, I invite my fellow consultants to reflect on their own experiences with process consulting and product frameworks. Is there a middle ground that allows for both structured delivery and the creative flexibility that our roles demand? By sharing our journeys and insights, we can support one another in finding the balance that fosters both excellence and innovation. Let’s keep the conversation going and explore how we can thrive in this dynamic landscape together.
Written by Catherine Pederson, Ph.D.
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If you'd like to write a blog post for the Society for Process Consulting, please e-mail Lon L. Swartzentruber at lons@designgroupintl.com.
