Internal Consulting

The Training Bureau in the New York State Department of Transportation was seeking assistance in transitioning from the traditional role of being held accountable for delivering training programs to the role of internal performance consultants, focusing on performance and having an impact on the business issues of the Department.

We facilitated a series of staff workshops in which the Training Bureau reviewed, revised and came to consensus on its vision, mission, goals and marketing plans to become internal performance consultants in their Department. In addition, through the use of case studies and an action-learning approach, participants practiced the skills and techniques needed to perform the consultant role. They brought in their current projects to practice Entry and Diagnosing skills and we coached and counseled them on approaches.

We were selected to provide the assistance requested by the Training Bureau because our approach included the three critical ingredients needed to successfully achieve the desired transition, i.e. direction and strategy, consulting skills, and business planning. The Training Bureau's transition to becoming internal performance consultants was accelerated by using this approach. The staff had a shared vision and a plan to market in their agency. They were more comfortable and practiced in applying consulting skills and became engaged at the leadership level in assisting their agency to achieve its mission.