As for how to get started? I think there are several points or answers to your question about “how to get started.” One can always seek positions with companies that either offer HPI/HPT-related positions or work that has enough flexibility where it’s about solving the problem rather than staying within the boundaries. But even that isn’t enough because I have friends who have performance consulting positions who still end up doing mostly training work. Because part of the issue is that clients (whether you’re an internal practitioner or an external consultant) still tend to think of training (or if they’re really stretching their thinking–some OD interventions) as the solution to every problem. So a big part is in educating clients.

But ultimately, I don’t think it’s about trying to “sell” performance. Rather, the more we get clients to focus on business results and outcomes and organizational priorities, the easier it is to do this work. A client may come to you seeking training but if you can gently (through questions–Dana Gaines Robinson has been especially eloquent on this) migrate the conversation to big picture priorities and targets, the focus tends to become “here’s where we want to end up–so how do we get there?” versus “when can you get this training for me?”

There’s a lot more really to answer your question John because it also gets into things like preparing yourself professionally, being proactive, picking your first project and some other topics that I promise to cover in this blog as well. In the meantime, I hope you have a great holiday season and thanks for responding to the blog!

May I ask, how did you get started in the field of performance consulting? I have a Masters in Instructional Systems Technology, and my job title is instructional designer/developer, but I prefer looking at the greater performance approach, for which training may be used to help solve a problem. What is a good way to get started as a performance consultant?

Thanks for reading and commenting!