Exit

All through the life of the change process, the drivers tend to be based around growing the relationship - improving the association so that you develop a high degree of trust and responsiveness with the client. However, as this relationship grows, so the level of dependence grows between the various players. The trouble is that at the end of the day, both you and the client have to let go and break away from the relationship. The onus is on you to ensure that at the point of departure all unnecessary levels of dependence have gone from the relationship:

To have a situation where there is chronic dependence on consultants is an implicit admission of ineptitude in management.

—(O'Shea and Madigan, 1997)

When the relationship begins, you are often seen as "the expert", someone who has all the right answers and will be able to solve the problems. While this can help to ensure that buy-in takes place, the danger is that a dependent relationship is formed - one where the client is sometimes unwilling to let go of your perceived expertise. This is seen in the patient who will only go to see one particular dentist or the preference that you might have for a particular car mechanic. However, a problem can arise when the dentist or mechanic decides to move. You are left high and dry, without anywhere to turn when the next problem surfaces. There is a difficult balance in any client relationship. You must be close enough to develop a trust-based association, but distant enough to allow independence and freedom.

Although not seen in all consulting projects, a common pattern is shown in Fig. 12.6. The first stage is where you meet the client. There is still a freedom of choice about the relationship, like a couple out on a first date sizing each other up. Once there is an agreement that a relationship will be formed, you will typically have quite a high level of dependency on the client. You will need help to understand the working of the system, access to the right people and confirmation that the initial work seems to be effective. However, once the process goes in the create and change stages, there is a shared dependency - both parties have invested time and reputation in the relationship and cannot afford to see it fail. Once beyond this, you are probably coasting and might well be starting to think about the next project. However, now the client has a strong dependency on you to prove that the outcome is as agreed otherwise it might reflect poorly on him or her. At the final stage, both you and the client should be back at the start of the loop, able to reflect on the relationship in the cold light of day. It is from this rational position that any decision is taken to pursue further options for working together.

Problems can arise where you try to close the relationship while the client is still dependent on you. Change projects often fail because the consultant has gone and the client and the consumer are left high and dry without the real confidence or ability to run with the change. As a result, one of several things can happen:

• The client's organization reverts back to the state that existed before the change.

• The client re-employs the consultant to return and fix some of the problems again.

• The client turns against the consultant and employs a different firm to fix the problems.

Whatever option is followed, the end result is unsatisfactory and one that you should avoid. Dependence is a positive state only when both parties are aware of the condition. If one or both groups is unaware of the reliance, then this can only lead to an unhealthy situation. Your goal is to develop a relationship that is based upon a spirit of mutual interdependence.