Transformation insights

Consultant Paradox

Years ago, while working at a boutique consulting firm alongside seasoned ex-MBB partners, a corporate executive posed a direct question to me over lunch: “Do you think our internal team is incapable of doing what you do?”

Despite my decade of prior experience in heavy industry, I was still a naive strategy consultant. At the time, I viewed consulting through the narrow lens of high-margin billing, tight project timelines, and flawless slides. Awkwardly, I replied, “Of course your team can do it. They just need a bit more structure and logical thinking.”

Today, after more than two years as an independent practitioner working closely with operational leaders, my perspective has radically shifted. If asked the same question today, my answer would be “No not with current way of working”—not to secure more business, but due to a deeper understanding of organizational design.

During a recent cross-functional transformation project, I found myself battling deeply entrenched silos of knowledge, tools, and processes. Communication was fractured; different departments used the exact same terminology to mean entirely different things. Leadership attempted to standardize this with endless documentation, yet the friction persisted.

It was then that I realized: Silos are not organizational failures; they are structural features. Deep vertical specialization ensures high routine efficiency. However, transformation is inherently horizontal. When you attempt to execute horizontal change across disconnected vertical silos, structural gaps inevitably appear.

This is precisely where external consultants prove their value. We are not superior intellectual engines; rather, we are structural generalists. Because we are not bound by legacy hierarchies or localized bonus structures, we can navigate the grey areas between departments.

Furthermore, organizations often make the mistake of using department heads as the primary connection points for change. This is the structural equivalent of trying to connect two wheels by linking their centers. Instead, we must connect them where their gears mesh—at the process and data level. True transformation requires identifying these operational gears, managing the temporary friction of change, and aligning the system to work in unison rather than seeking localized department praise.