Working in partnership: three words to avoid

What is it about the consulting industry? It picks up harmless, unassuming phrases and converts them into linguistic behemoths. “Working in partnership” is now so ubiquitous it’s become the equivalent of an “um” or “er” in a firm’s marketing material, filling the gap when it can’t think of anything else to say.

Ten years ago it was an important, even radical concept. Accustomed to the hit-and-run approach, in which know-it-all consultants turned up at a client’s offices, opined and then departed, clients rebelled. They wanted less arrogance, more transparency and a greater willingness to get involved.

And they got it. While you can always point to exceptions, today’s consultants go to great lengths to work side by side with their clients and meld with their culture. So much so that even to question the notion of partnership feels like heresy.

But here goes.

“Working in partnership” was born of a desire to change behaviour. The highest praise a client can now bestow on a consulting team is to say that they were indistinguishable from their own staff. “You couldn’t tell where my team ended and the consultants’ started,” is a typical comment. But “partnership” has come to mean “equality” in a wider sense – as the widespread discussion about the need to share the risks and rewards of consulting work testifies – and that shouldn’t be the case. Research tells us that one in two consulting projects is driven by the need for specialist expertise not available in-house. Clients don’t want people who are the same as their own staff, otherwise why would they hire them? Consultants are supposed to be different, to have deeper knowledge and broader experience, just as clients are supposed to understand their organisation in a way that an outsider can’t.

The problem with the phrase “working in partnership” isn’t just that it’s been utterly devalued – although that is certainly the case – or that behavioural change isn’t important. The danger is that it can erode the difference between clients and consultants, implying that everyone’s the same. Use it at your peril.