Consultancy in Practice Report: Skills, Development, and Career Growth

This report delves into the practical aspects of consultancy, examining the skills developed, enhanced, and areas for further improvement. The author reflects on a project designed to foster professional skills, highlighting the development of ICT, communication, and team management abilities. It discusses the evolution of the author's confidence and how the acquired knowledge can be applied in a future career. The report further identifies skill gaps in critical thinking, organizational skills, and decision-making, proposing a detailed action plan to address these areas. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of consultancy in business, the role of expert guidance, and the significance of strategic planning and skill development for achieving career goals. The report references various academic sources to support its findings.

Consultancy in
practice

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
Overview of the project..........................................................................................................4
Which skills have you developed and/or enhanced as a result of the project........................4
What do you know now that you didn’t know at the start of the process..............................5
To what extent has your level of confidence improved.........................................................5
How could you use your learning in your future career.........................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
Three skills gaps or areas where you consider that further development( On the basis of task
1).............................................................................................................................................6
Propose a plan of action for filling these gaps/developing these areas. ................................7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
In the recent times, consultancy in practice has emerged as a major way of taking help
and support from professionals (Armstrong, 2018). It is major role of an individual to focus on
consultancy in practice in order to gain competitive advantage. It is essential for an individual to
take support of consultancy to get an expert view in order to develop competitive advantage.
This report will cover key ways of developing skills which are important for overall growth of an
individual in the professional life. This report also includes played by development of rules and
regulations in order to gain competitive advantage. This project will also include three most
important skills which are important for growth of an individual in personal and professional life.

TASK 1
Overview of the project
In order to develop different career based opportunities, I have developed and formulated
a project on”Learning professional skills. I consider that it is essential for me to develop crucial
skills and knowledge in the personal and professional life to lead the competition (Brandi, and
Elkjaer, 2019). I gained and attained key knowledge and skills while developing the project in a
precise manner. I have learned that it is essential for me to now focus on skills development in
order to gain competitive advantage.
Which skills have you developed and/or enhanced as a result of the project
The skills are most important part of personality in academic and individual life in order
to gain effectiveness in development of career. Various opportunities are explored with the help
and support of key skills which are to be lead the competition. The main skills which are
developed as a result of the project are mentioned below:
 ICT skills- The information and communication technology based skills are most
important part of an individual's life. I have developed IT skills which are important for
me to develop effective edge in academic and professional life. The ICT skills will also
help me to improve my knowledge related to information and technology.
 Development of communication skills- I focused on the development of communication
skills which will help me to circulate crucial messages (Campbell, Coldicott, and Draper,
2018). I have also analysed that communication skills are also most important for a
person to develop in order to gain effectiveness in passing messages.
 Team management- The team management skills are most important for development of
a person in order to manage subordinate team members. Team management skills are
very much important for the achievement of set targets and aims in a set period of time.

What do you know now that you didn’t know at the start of the process
In order to develop effectiveness in the project I have gained key experience which will
help me to develop knowledge and understanding. I have managed different tasks and functions
and learn to develop responsibilities and implement them in a precise manner. In the starting of
process I was unaware about consequences and challenges that I will face during the completion
of the project. I resolved the key problems which arise during the project with the help of my
problem-solving skills. I know how to handle the pressure, when I started to develop the process
related to my project. I was also unable to find out key ways of performance improvement while
focusing on the process. It was also difficult for me to develop effective control and supervision
over the whole process which I developed.
To what extent has your level of confidence improved
The confidence is one of the most crucial aspects of personality development which
needs to be developed by a person to gain key effectiveness. It is my essential role to increase the
confidence with the help of project I formulated. In my career development, the confidence will
help me a lot. This is one of my major role to increase my confidence in order to increase the
overall value and skills. Before the starting of my project, I was unable to deliver best confidence
in my personality. With the increasing approach in the project, my confidence improved a lot in a
precise and well defined manner (Jha, and Charyyarova, 2019). My confidence has increased a
lot in order to develop effectiveness in my career field. I will also develop my confidence by
taking essential tips and guidance of my seniors and professors.
How could you use your learning in your future career
The learning is an important part of career development which helps in increasing the
overall development of an individual. It is major role of an individual to focus on learning
various skills and implement them in the professional life. I have develop major skills like ICT, c
communication and team management which will help me to improve my overall impression as a
n employee in a well know organisation (Lawrence, 2019). I will implement my knowledge and
learnings with key supervision and control in order to achieve effective growth in my career
field.

TASK 2
Three skills gaps or areas where you consider that further development( On the basis of task 1)
The career field development is one of the most crucial function of an individual to
develop competitive edge. This is one of the major role of an individual to analyse key growth
factors which are important for further development (McLeod, and Schapper, 2020). I will focus
on the development of following three skills which will help me to increase my approach in
career development:
 Critical thinking skills- The critical thinking skills are most important part of an
individual's life which helps in systematic growth. I will develop these skills to find out
optimum solutions for major problems of my life. I will also develop critical thinking
skills in order to develop key areas which are related to academic and career
development.
 Organisational skills- I will also focus on development of organisational skills in order
to achieve effectiveness in my career field. The organisational skills also include
enhancement of managerial skills which are important part of an individual's life. The
organisational skills are also important to be learned in order to manage organisational
functions and tasks which are healthy part of company's routine.
 Decision-making- I consider that decision-making skills are one of the most crucial skills
which will help me to take critical decisions. I analyse that in the professional life, it is
important for an individual to focus on development of decision-making skills for
achievement of organisational goals and objectives (Oliver, McNamee, ,and Draper,
2018) I will also take assistance of democratic leadership style in order to formulate
decisions with the support of my subordinate team members.

Propose a plan of action for filling these gaps/developing these areas.
The plan of action is essential to be developed by an individual in order to achieve set
targets and aims. In the recent times, most of the successful candidates prepare action plan to
achieve key objectives and goals (Osbon, 2021). My action plan in order to achieve set targets
and goals are mentioned below:
Competencies and
skills to be developed
The planning and
resources required to
achieve the same
Ways of assessment Set time frame
Critical thinking
skills
The critical thinking
skills will learned by
me by watching online
guidance videos and
reading famous books
I will perform
assessment of these
skills with the help of
my teachers.
10 Months
Organisational skills The organisational
skills will be
developed by me by
studying case study of
famous international
and national
companies (Shaw,
2022)
In order to achieve
these skills I will take
guidance and support
of managers who are
already working with
famous companies.
5 Months
Decision-making
skills
Learn by taking major
decisions in social and
professional life
I will develop decision
making skills
assessment, by testing
my knowledge on the
basis of practical
problems (Tyllström,
2017).
8 Months

CONCLUSION
From the above stated report it can be concluded that the support of consultancy is
required in different business practices. It is also significant for a client to develop key focus on
taking guidance from experts to develop competitiveness. The project also concludes that it is
ethical role of an individual to develop consultancy based approach in order to achieve solutions
of key and important problems. This project concludes role played by planning and strategic
framework in order to develop systematic approach at the marketplace. The analysis also
concludes that it is one of the major roles of a person to achieve set targets and goals with the
help and support of different skills and competencies.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Armstrong, D., 2018. Organization in the mind: Psychoanalysis, group relations and
organizational consultancy. Routledge.
Brandi, U. and Elkjaer, B., 2019. Subtleties of knowledge sharing—Results from a case study
within management consultancy. Knowledge and Process Management, 26(3), pp.185-193.
Campbell, D., Coldicott, T., and Draper, R., 2018. Systemic work with organizations: A new
model for managers and change agents. Routledge.
Jha, H.K. and Charyyarova, A., 2019, July. Construction of a professional sub-field: A case
study of the emergence of design consultancy. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol.
2019, No. 1, p. 15743). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
Lawrence, W.G., 2019. The politics of salvation and revelation in the practice of consultancy.
In Tongued with Fire (pp. 165-179). Routledge.
McLeod, S. and Schapper, J.H., 2020. Understanding Quality in Planning Consultancy: A
Review and Synthesis of the Literature. Journal of Planning Education and Research,
p.0739456X20943928.
Oliver, C., McNamee, S.,and Draper, R., 2018. Reflexive inquiry: A framework for consultancy
practice. Routledge.
Osbon, K., 2021. A strategic social value framework–a consultancy perspective. In Social Value
in Practice (pp. 135-149). Routledge.
Shaw, D., 2022. Plato, Aristotle and Management Consultancy Knowledge. In An Ancient Greek
Philosophy of Management Consulting (pp. 145-163). Springer, Cham.
Tyllström, A., 2017. Lobbying in practice: An ethnographic field study of public affairs
consultancy. In Power, Policy and Profit. Edward Elgar Publishing.