By Jane Malik, MA

We've all had the pleasure of knowing a Good Consultant, one who listens and understands, and makes people feel their value in every context.

This person can be a PM or tester, a trainer or team lead; the role isn’t important. It’s that subtle yet obvious “Good” quality that intrigues me. I’ve polled some friends and colleagues and listed a few of those traits, and hope you enjoy our observations.

A Good Consultant has:

•    Comfort with ambiguity and ability to reassure others when change confronts them
•    Perceptive optimism – reality-based and still positive
•    Willingness to teach and learn from experience
•    Acceptance of criticism, and ability to constructively criticize
•    Confidence with humility – the ability to laugh at oneself
•    Acute listening – hearing the real meaning that can be obscured by words
•    Rational decisiveness
•    Genuine appreciation for everyone on the project, no matter what their role

The great thing in consulting is that we work with Good Consultants on almost every project, and if not, there is always the opportunity to become one ourselves.

Jane Malik is an SAP Management Consultant and Business Analyst currently focused on SAP Training Development and Delivery. She has worked on projects with IBM, Nike, Lucent, First Energy, Goodrich, Honeywell, and Bell Helicopters. She is currently consulting to Pacific Gas & Electric at their Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant.