Consultant Traits

I came across a great article written by Lois Kelly, a radiant and successful colleague of mine, where she powerfully articulated the following 13 most important traits for a consultant:

1. Expertise that provides real business value
2. Ability to cut to the core of an issue or situation and diagnose causes of the problem
3. Creative thinking to develop pragmatic ways to solve the problem
4. Outstanding oral and written communications skills
5. Responsiveness
6. Perspective
7. Influence
8. Confidence & self-esteem
9. Intellectual curiosity
10. Thick skin (clients pay you to be frank, but they’ll often push back and challenge, as they should. You can’t take it too personally.)
11. Fearlessness
12. Flexibility to create “work arounds” to deliver value within every client’s realities
13. Integrity. A consultant’s only asset is her/his reputation.