I started in the consultancy industry nearly 8 years ago, eager to learn the basics of the profession. As the years passed and I gathered experience across different projects and industries, increasing my desire to learn more, and ultimately be a better consultant.
I first heard about the Management Consultant Chartership accreditation when I joined Managementors, and being someone who has always supported professional accreditations, I was keen to start my journey to chartership. In our profession we always strive to deliver the best service to our clients, achieving, and frequently overachieving against targets and expectations. However, there are not many industry-wide credible professional accreditations that provide a framework and promote excellence within our industry – ultimately championing us as professionals.
With that said, I started my journey to become part of this accredited community. The importance of acquiring this recognition was based on two objectives: firstly, it was about being recognised for my achievements so far in my career; and secondly, it was an independent, third-party recognition of my journey, giving me credibility and confidence as I lead projects and manage teams towards success in the future.
But the question was, where and how should I start? At first, looking at the competency framework, it seems a challenging and “scary” process. However, once I started to reflect and began to review my previous endeavours and the many situations where I had experienced each competency, it became much clearer. The framework is developed to make you reflect on the core skills of our industry, focusing on scenarios that are crucial to succeed and deliver successful projects. It is designed to cover your day-to-day activities and how you ensure you uphold ethical, behavioural and management standards consistently. By mapping out the competencies one by one, based on your experience, it becomes a smooth process that takes time, but is definitely rewarding.
During my journey, I received full support from my organisation (including dedicated time to focus on it) and from the MCA, where we had Q&A sessions to address any questions.
After submitting my application, I received swift feedback stating that my application was successful and therefore I was invited to have a professional discussion with my assessor. While waiting for the discussion, I was a bit nervous about how it would be conducted and the type of questions that would be asked. However, after talking to other colleagues that had already been through the process, they reassured me that it would be a positive discussion.
That is exactly what happened! During the discussion, my assessor was extremely kind and professional, kicking off the “call” with introductions where we had the opportunity to get to know each other before deep diving into framework. This helped me settle into the discussion and allowed me to fully share my experience and skills throughout the remainder of the session. And, as you’ve probably guessed, ended up in me achieving my chartership accreditation!
In summary, achieving my chartership status is a recognition of my journey and my commitment to high standards. It supports my organisation and colleagues and demonstrates Managementors’ assurance and commitment to provide the best possible service to our clients. We are committed to increasing the proportion of staff with the chartership accreditation further and have already achieved 39% of people having this. As more and more consultants join and embrace this accreditation it will ensure our industry upholds high quality standards for all our clients, and that we continue to deliver real value to society.
Ultimately, for me, achieving my ChMC status is a part of my personal objective to continue learning and challenging myself to be a better consultant and has given me a feeling of achievement and makes me proud of my journey so far, while boosting my energy to seek more. I’d absolutely encourage anyone considering it to apply – although it seems daunting it’s a very fulfilling process, and not nearly as big and “scary” as it first seems.
