Metalogue's Andrew Day and Sophy Pern started an inquiry at the ODNE 2023 conference in the Hague. Here's the result:

Dancing in the triangle: consulting relationships in complex transformation and organisational development projects

Whilst the differences between experiences of internal and external consultants have been well documented (Block, 1981), little has been written about the experiences of internals and externals working together. Others (Walsh & Whittle, 2009) have observed how hard it can be for consultants to collaborate. Both conscious, rational factors, such as contracts, tasks and roles and more unconscious processes hinder collaboration (Walsh & Whittle, 2009). Our experience supports this observation.

Although, we can point to many successful collaborations, we find that the relationship between internals and externals is often complicated and tricky, even though on the surface relations may feel cordial and constructive. This complexity is further increased when multiple internal teams are involved and need to work with one or more external consulting teams.

Over the course of a year, we inquired into the dynamics of the consulting relationship in complex organisation development assignments. We did this by reflecting on our past and current consulting projects and by reflecting with our clients and professional associates. This article summarises the central themes that emerged and what we learnt about what enables healthy partnerships between internal and external consultants, or indeed between internal OD consultants and their internal “clients”.

You can download the full article below.