By Ethan Roberts

A leader is best when people barely know that he exists,
not so good when people obey and acclaim him,
worst when they despise him.

Fail to honor people,
They fail to honor you.

But of a good leader,
who talks little,
when his work is done,
his aims fulfilled,
they will all say,
"We did this ourselves."
-Tao Te Ching, verse 17, Lao Tzu

Consulting is an interesting profession. We are brought in for a skill set that my be lacking in a company, or simply for a staff augmentation need, and we are there for a limited period of time. Our goal should be to leave the company in a better position than when we got there, which includes everything from getting the work done, to knowledge transfer so the company can maintain the application after we are gone. <continued>

In traditional Japanese Kabuki Theater there are stage hands known as Kuroko. They dress all in black and move set pieces around in full view of the audience, and the audience knows to pretend the Kuroko aren't there, even though they are vital to the success of the play.

I think the best consultants are like the Kuroko. We do our job, assist with whatever needs to happen to get the project done, and make sure the employees get center stage just like we weren't even there. Our job satisfaction can actually increase by seeing the great results that we help produce, comfortable in the knowledge that success breeds success and a good gig will result in more good gigs, possibly even at the same company.

When we leave, the employees feel good about themselves and the work... and even though everyone knows we had a hand in helping, they can feel, "We did this ourselves" and enjoy the results of a successful project.

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