Developing Internal Consultants: You Can't Push a Pig into a Truck
by R. Glenn Ray, Ph.D.

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One summer day, my father asked my brother and me to load the pig into the truck. She started up the ramp we had placed on the back of the truck, but suddenly stopped and looked around. Fearing that she'd back down the ramp, I placed my right shoulder against her left ham, my brother placed his left shoulder against her right ham, and we tried to push her into the truck.

But that pig weighed more then both of us, so she just backed up and flung us into mud puddles on either side of the ramp. At that moment, our father turned the corner of the barn. Greatly amused, he said, "Boys, I taught you how to load a pig, and that's not it." He went into the barn and came out with a small cup of shelled corn. Then, he left a Hansel-and-Gretel trail up the ramp and into the truck. Within minutes, the pig was in the truck, and we were on the way to the neighbor's farm.

You can't push a pig into a truck. When people know how a change will benefit them, then they'll make an effort to change. Contrary to conventional wisdom, people do not naturally resist change. When change is presented, discussed, and planned, people will choose to change. We do that every day. In the past year, many of us have changed jobs, married, divorced, moved, or had a baby. Like the pig that got in the truck willingly once she realized it was in her interest, we evaluate the options in our lives and choose the one that seems most beneficial.

In my opinion, an internal consultant's role is to enable change. The word enabler is appropriate because an internal consultant has influence, but no direct power to make changes or implement programs. When I began acting an an internal consultant, the term wasn't in my job description. But it did describe how I interacted with people in the organization.

As an internal consultant, you will have primary clients (your initial or key contacts) and secondary clients (people affected by the identified issues). Your job is to ensure the success of your primary clients while creating positive outcomes for the secondary clients. You must consider all of your clients' needs in the context of the organization as a whole.

Change is the movement from one set of behaviors to a new set. It is necessary to clarify the need for the new behaviors. A dual-focused WIIFM (What's in it for me?) and WIIFO (What's in it for the organization?) exercise can help consolidate people's thinking. First, ask, "What does your organization expect to gain from this change?" Then, ask, "What do the employees expect to gain?" Also, keep communication flowing in all directions and discuss the reasons for change.

I believe that once employees understand the reasons for change, an organization has an ethical responsibility to give them opportunities to develop the desired new skills. The leaders at all levels must provide constant feedback on how well employees are succeeding at closing the gap between the present and future behaviors. Reward systems should be adjusted to reinforce the desired new behaviors.

As an internal consultant, it is necessary to identify the issues to be addressed and the areas outside target issues. Next, set the goals for the project. Are they to solve a problem, teach problem solving, or improve system efficiencies? Decide what information you need. Define your role in the project; what you are willing and not willing to do.

The next step is to determine the project outcome or results. Develop an interactive relationship with your internal client to encourage their involvement. Discuss a timeframe for the project, and what kind of follow-up will be required after the project ends. Most of all, maintain confidentialty, as it is critical to your credibility.

Once the project "contract" is agreed upon by both parties, you should gather information and data by conducting a needs assessment. Then interpret the data gathered and deliver feedback to your client. Then it is time to develop recommendations, but make sure to involve the client in deciding the intervention.

Robert Blake and Jane Mouton, co-developers of the Managerial Grid, defined an intervention as "taking some action to help a client solve his or her problems." Different types of interventions include diagnostic, team building, process, planning, problem solving, and decision making.

After determining the type of intervention you're going to use, you should identify the key parties, including employees and external resources. The timing of the intervention is critical. If there's an obvious appropriate date, then backward planning can clarify what needs to take place by when.

As a final step, you should evaluate your intervention. Donald Kirkpatrick's four-level evaluation-reaction, learning, behavior, and results-analyzes the outcomes. Reaction can be determined by evaluation sheets distributed at the end of each development activity. Learning is usually measured by a pencil and paper test.

The third level is determined by ascertaining how behavior has changed by asking how work is being done differently now than before the intervention. Finally, level four is the effect the intervention had on the organization's finances by estimating the benefits in terms of dollars and cents.

Change is an everyday process that we cannot avoid. If we understand the process, we can be more in control of it. An internal consultant can assist organizational members in understanding the process by learning as much as they can about it, teaching others about it through communication and problem solving, and coaching others so that they can effectively solve their own problems. Internal consultants sell themselves through results.