Internal Consultants
The Driving Force Behind Innovation and Success in Organizations
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- Description
- Contents
- About
Internal Consultants: The Driving Force Behind Innovation and Success in Organizations spotlights a powerful yet often underrecognized force in modern business: the internal consultant. In an era of unprecedented change and disruption, internal consultants are emerging as key agents of transformation—driving innovation, generating value, and navigating complex challenges across industries. While external consultants have long dominated the spotlight, this volume reframes internal consultants as strategic leaders shaping the future of organizations from within.
Part of the Research in Management Consulting series, this book traces the evolution of internal consulting, offering a rich exploration of its origins, current practices, and growing impact. Chapters delve into the unique challenges internal consultants face, the distinct value they bring to their organizations, and the best practices that define effective internal consulting. From navigating internal politics to building trust and credibility, the insights shared here are both practical and research-driven.
Written by a diverse group of scholar-practitioners, this volume bridges theory and real-world application, making it an essential resource for academics, consultants, HR leaders, and executives alike. Whether you're building an internal consulting function or looking to elevate its strategic role, Internal Consultants offers the tools and perspectives needed to harness their full potential.
Preface; Pierre El Haddad and Vanessa Hills
- Introduction and Overview; Vanessa Hills
- Part I. Foundations of the Field
- Chapter 1. From Stopwatch to Smartphone: The Evolution of Management Consulting; David Szabla and Margaret Gorman
- Chapter 2. Orienting to the Inside as an Internal Consultant; Elizabeth S. Aikman
- Part II. Future-proofing Internal Consulting
- Chapter 3. Empowering Internal Consultants: Upskilling, Ongoing Training, and Professional Development in a Transforming Workplace; Cate Nolan
- Chapter 4. From Cost Centers to Profit Centers: Internal Consultants as Revenue Generators; Vanessa Hills
- Chapter 5. Bytes and Brains: The Unstoppable Duo of AI and Management Consultants; David Szabla, Lawrence Brown, Rida Elias, Margaret Gorman, Donna Ogle, Rickie Moore, and Gayatri Pandit
- Chapter 6. The COSMOS Model: Navigating Disruption with Organizational Resilience and Strategic Adaptability; Shelarese S. Ruffin
- Chapter 7. Early Innovators for Environmental Sustainability; Julie Smendzuik-O’Brien and Argerie Vasilakes
- Part III. Industry-specific Perspectives
- Chapter 8. Internal Consultants in the Public Administration: Drivers of Change, Guardians of the Culture; Pierre El Haddad
- Chapter 9. Internal Consulting in Higher Education: Perspectives from the Field; Amanda Jeppesen
- Chapter 10. Unveiling the Strategy Nexus: Internal Management Consultants and Senior Human Resources Professionals; Gokhan Turgut and Sondès Turki
- Chapter 11. The Bridge Framework: A Personal Account of Equity-centered Management as a Nonprofit Internal Consultant; Unique Brathwaite
Vanessa Hills is a scholar-practitioner focused on participatory change leadership. She teaches in the Organizational Change Leadership program in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology at Western Michigan University and is a Senior Consultant with the Landers Consulting Group to support large-scale organizational transformations with a dialogic approach.