1.1 What is a consultant, really?
Explainer | 4 minute read
What Does a Consultant Actually Do, and When Do You Need One?
Consultants are a familiar feature of modern organisations, yet the role they play is often misunderstood. For some, consulting is associated with large reports, frameworks and jargon. For others, it is seen as a necessary response to complexity, change or capacity constraints.
In reality, consulting is neither inherently valuable nor inherently wasteful. Its effectiveness depends on why it is used, how it is engaged, and what role it is expected to play. Herer, we provide a practical, plain-English overview of what consultants actually do, the different forms consulting can take, and when engaging external support is most likely to deliver value.
Consulting is a Capability, Not a Product
At its core, consulting is not a single service. It is a capability organisations draw on when they need support they cannot, or should not, provide internally.
That support typically falls into one or more of the following categories:
Independent perspective: External advisors can see patterns, risks and opportunities that are difficult to identify from within an organisation.
Specialist expertise: Consultants may bring deep experience in areas such as strategy, transformation, customer experience, service design, data, governance or change.
Additional capacity: At times, organisations simply need more hands, more time, or different skills to move work forward at pace.
Decision support: Consulting is often used to help leaders make complex or high-risk decisions with greater confidence.
Importantly, consulting is not about replacing leadership or outsourcing accountability. When it works well, it expands internal capability rather than substituting for it.
Not All Consulting is the Same…
One reason consulting can be confusing is that the term is used to describe very different types of work. Broadly, consulting engagements tend to sit across a spectrum:
Insight and diagnosis: This includes research, analysis and assessment activities designed to understand a problem, context or opportunity. The value lies in clarity, not outputs.
Design and Advisory: Here, consultants help shape future states, options or approaches — whether that’s a strategy, service model, operating model or roadmap.
Delivery and implementation support: In some cases, consultants work alongside internal teams to help implement change, manage programs or embed new ways of working.
Capability uplift: This involves transferring skills, frameworks and knowledge so organisations can operate more effectively after the engagement ends.
Most effective engagements combine more than one of these elements. Challenges arise when organisations expect one type of consulting but engage another.
Why Organisations Engage Consultants
Organisations usually engage consultants because something is difficult, unfamiliar or stuck. Common drivers include:
Navigating complexity or ambiguity
Managing change or transformation
Addressing performance or service issues
Responding to external pressure (regulatory, market, stakeholder)
Building confidence in major decisions
What is less often acknowledged is that what organisations ask for is not always what they need. It is common for leaders to request a specific technique or deliverable (i.e. a review, a framework, a roadmap) when the underlying need is clarity, alignment or confidence. Effective consulting begins by understanding that distinction.
When Consulting Adds the Most Value
Consulting tends to deliver the greatest value when:
The organisation is open to insight, not just validation
There is clarity about outcomes, even if the path is uncertain
Leaders are willing to engage, not delegate
There is recognition that context matters; culture, readiness and constraints shape what is possible
Conversely, consulting struggles to deliver value when it is used to:
Confirm a pre-determined answer
Avoid difficult internal conversations
Create the appearance of action without commitment to change
Shift accountability rather than share it
Understanding this distinction early can save time, cost and frustration for all involved.
Consulting Is a Relationship, Not a Transaction
While contracts and scopes matter, effective consulting relies heavily on trust, transparency and shared intent.
High-quality consulting relationships are characterised by:
Honest conversations about risks and limitations
Willingness to challenge assumptions
Respect for organisational context and people
Clear roles and expectations on both sides
This is why long-term value is rarely created through one-off, transactional engagements alone. The most impactful work happens when organisations and consultants operate as partners — with shared accountability for outcomes.
A Starting Point, Not a Silver Bullet
Consulting is not a solution in itself. It is a means to an end. Used well, it can help organisations see more clearly, decide more confidently, design more effectively and change more sustainably Used poorly, it becomes expensive noise. Understanding what consulting is — and what it is not — is the first step toward using it wisely. In the next article in this series, we’ll explore when engaging a consultant makes sense, and when it may not.