J
ethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had come to visit. He brought Moses’ wife and children to him, after Moses liberated the people of Israel from the Pharaoh’s rule. The story narrates how Jethro observed everything Moses did during the day, from sunrise till sunset; how he reviewed everything that went on and judged all the matters brought to him by the people.Jethro approached Moses with some questions and after listening to him closely, told him:
What you are doing is not good.
Exodus 18:17
Moses was trying to do everything by himself and this did not seem right to Jethro. It is not appropriate that a ministry, or Christian organization, tries to take on all the technology-related tasks for themselves without being open to the possibility of listening to meaningful advice or to get the right people to do the job.
Why? Why do you think many advisors can finetune your course, carry out your plans and help you achieve your victories? We can find the answer, partially, in Jethro. These 10 requirements you should look for in any technology consultant have been extracted from my book Cibermadurez, 7 pasos para que las tecnologías ministeriales den mucho fruto, [Cybermaturity: 7 steps for ministry to bear much fruit] only available in Spanish on Amazon.
1. A good consultant knows your success
Jethro visited Moses and upon hearing of everything that God had done through Moses (Exodus 18:1).
A good consultant will conduct background research. It will allow them to know your strengths and understand what have led you to the place of success you currently find yourself. Sometimes, we think that we need counsel when things are going wrong or get out of hand. The best time to hire a good consultant is now, when you are enjoying success.
2. A good consultant will rejoice in your achievements
Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians (Exodus 18:9).
A good consultant recalls your past success to build up your confidence and set you in the right frame of mind and attitude to achieve your future goals. By doing this, they will discover your strengths and try to use them efficiently.
3. A good consultant is a minister
Not in the sense of some Christian traditions. I am referring to a minister in the style of Peter 2:9. Jethro was a minister and was able to recognize God YHWH workings among the people led by Moses’ hand (Exodus 18:10-12).
A good minister praises God and affirms that God is with you. The consultant minister understands your greater calling, your service, and the impact you bring to your community. They know that God is guiding you in the process and is willing to lead you. I don’t hold anything against non-Christian consultants, but at some point, they could lose sight or your main purpose and your raison d’etre.
4. A good consultant is a good observer
There is an advantage in having someone seeing things from the outside. I like to call this: a pair of borrowed eyes. Someone who is not immersed in the details nor takes part in your daily tasks will be better off to see the things that those who take part in these daily tasks may miss. Jethro saw (Exodus 18:14). How powerful is that! What Moses, nor Aaron, nor Mary, nor any other of the two million Israelites could see, the new guy on the block, Jethro, could.
A good consultant takes the time to observe, and sees by observing, that is, by looking at what is in front of their eyes they form a vision for how your future may be unfolded.
5. A good consultant asks the right questions
There are difficult and confrontational questions that many dare not ask. It is possible that some people close to you have already noticed the problem and have thought about asking you, but we will never know if they really noticed it because they never asked.
A good technology consultant asks what others don’t, even if they get sent home. They have nothing to lose. Jethro cried out in amazement and reproach. You can tell his concern for Moses and for the people “But, what are you doing with these people!” (Exodus 18:14).
6. A good consultant knows how to listen
Have you ever spoken to someone who asks you a question and when you respond they are thinking about something else? In these cases, you ask yourself: why would they ask me if they don’t want to know? Jethro listened actively to Moses’ answers (Exodus 18: 15-16). Do you know how you can tell a good consultant from a bad one? Pay attention to the way they listen.
A good consultant wants to know. They are not in a rush. Their questions are not rhetorical. They dig for gold, and do not stop until they strike it rich.
7. A good consultant is not afraid to pinpoint the problem
I had a boss with a firm leadership style. The first meeting I had with her after being hired taught me a great lesson I treasure to this day. She said, “Bad news don’t get better with time.” This is so true. An illness does not improve if you put it off. The division in a church will not dissolve if you delay it. All problems need an intervention.
A good consultant always gets in your face, just like Moses’ father-in-law did (Exodus 18:17). Get rid of the fear of criticism and the possibility of having your ego hurt. A good consultant will recognize your issues and move you toward maturity.
8. A good consultant understands the magnitude of the job
A common tendency for any new project is to minimize the effort that it requires. I have a practice for any new technology project I manage. I have done this for years and it has never let me down. I let subject matter experts estimate the time they believe it would take them to get the job done and then double that for the sake of my calculations. If they tell me it takes a day, I estimate two. If they tell me two weeks, I estimate a month. It always works. The task is always greater than we first anticipate.
A good consultant knows how to calculate the magnitude of the job. Don’t be surprised if they even use the same technique as I do (Exodus 18:18).
9. A good consultant always offers the right solutions
Jethro did. He broke up a gigantic task for Moses into smaller chunks. He suggested a model for knowledge transfer (Exodus 18:20) and personnel selection (Exodus 18:21). He classified the tasks among the easiest ones and the most difficult ones and strengthened the leadership (Exodus 18:22).
A good consultant adapts their industry experience to your specific context and knows how to delegate work in order to reach solutions.
10. A good consultant recognizes when their job is done
All consultants make a living from their consulting practice. It benefits their business to prolong the contract in order to earn more.
But the best consultants do not take advantage nor abuse trust. They do not mismanage your resources and know when to stop. You do not need to send them home, they go home on their own. Jethro returned to his country (Exodus 18:27). What a considerate father-in-law! If only they were all like that… all consultants, I mean.
Gone is the time when the pastor, or leader, was expected to know everything about everything and do everything. Our times demand wisdom derived from the amount of advice needed to succeed (Proverbs 11:14).
I hope that this brief analysis will aid you in developing a clearer criterion when hiring a consultant. Feel free to augment your team by calling in a friend who can strengthen your technological initiatives.
Leave a Reply