Internal Consultants: The Driving Force Behind Innovation and Success in Organizations spotlights a powerful yet often underrecognized force in modern business: the internal consultant. In an era of unprecedented change and disruption, internal consultants are emerging as key agents of transformation—driving innovation, generating value, and navigating complex challenges across industries. While external consultants have long dominated the spotlight, this volume reframes internal consultants as strategic leaders shaping the future of organizations from within.
Part of the Research in Management Consulting series, this book traces the evolution of internal consulting, offering a rich exploration of its origins, current practices, and growing impact. Chapters delve into the unique challenges internal consultants face, the distinct value they bring to their organizations, and the best practices that define effective internal consulting. From navigating internal politics to building trust and credibility, the insights shared here are both practical and research-driven.
Written by a diverse group of scholar-practitioners, this volume bridges theory and real-world application, making it an essential resource for academics, consultants, HR leaders, and executives alike. Whether you're building an internal consulting function or looking to elevate its strategic role, Internal Consultants offers the tools and perspectives needed to harness their full potential.
Internal Consultants: The Driving Force Behind Innovation and Success in Organizations spotlights a powerful yet often underrecognized force in modern business: the internal consultant.
Preface; Pierre El Haddad and Vanessa Hills
Introduction and Overview; Vanessa Hills
Part I. Foundations of the Field
Chapter
1. From Stopwatch to Smartphone: The Evolution of Management
Consulting; David Szabla and Margaret Gorman
Chapter
2. Orienting to the Inside as an Internal Consultant; Elizabeth S.
Aikman
Part II. Future-proofing Internal Consulting
Chapter
3. Empowering Internal Consultants: Upskilling, Ongoing Training, and
Professional Development in a Transforming Workplace; Cate Nolan
Chapter
4. From Cost Centers to Profit Centers: Internal Consultants as
Revenue Generators; Vanessa Hills
Chapter
5. Bytes and Brains: The Unstoppable Duo of AI and Management
Consultants; David Szabla, Lawrence Brown, Rida Elias, Margaret Gorman, Donna
Ogle, Rickie Moore, and Gayatri Pandit
Chapter
6. The COSMOS Model: Navigating Disruption with Organizational
Resilience and Strategic Adaptability; Shelarese S. Ruffin
Chapter
7. Early Innovators for Environmental Sustainability; Julie
Smendzuik-OBrien and Argerie Vasilakes
Part III. Industry-specific Perspectives
Chapter
8. Internal Consultants in the Public Administration: Drivers of
Change, Guardians of the Culture; Pierre El Haddad
Chapter
9. Internal Consulting in Higher Education: Perspectives from the
Field; Amanda Jeppesen
Chapter
10. Unveiling the Strategy Nexus: Internal Management Consultants and
Senior Human Resources Professionals; Gokhan Turgut and Sondès Turki
Chapter
11. The Bridge Framework: A Personal Account of Equity-centered
Management as a Nonprofit Internal Consultant; Unique Brathwaite
Vanessa Hills is a scholar-practitioner focused on participatory change leadership. She teaches in the Organizational Change Leadership program in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology at Western Michigan University and is a Senior Consultant with the Landers Consulting Group to support large-scale organizational transformations with a dialogic approach.
