It’s been over eleven years since I stepped down from leading a church that I had been a part of for nearly thirty years. Over those years, we used a number of coaches and consultants.
But now after meeting with boatloads of churches and pastors, I’ve often noticed a suspicion—or at least a hesitation—with working with a consultant.
Honestly, I get it.
The prestigious management consultant firm McKinsey & Company has a valuation of over $240 billion. But over the years, McKinsey has struggled with PR, being accused of driving up short-term profits by typically pushing draconian cost-cutting moves, sometimes at the risk of workers’ safety.
Last month, McKinsey agreed to pay $659 million to settle an investigation by the Department of Justice for their consultative work with Purdue Pharma on how to boost OxyContin sales. It marked the first time a consulting company was held criminally responsible for advice. In a short three years, over 720,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. What’s more, McKinsey was accused of obstruction of justice by deleting key documents. There are also potential state and local governments civil cases in the multibillion-dollar range in the future, not to mention internal McKinsey lawsuits from ex-partners accusing the company of scapegoating them.
The understatement of the year from McKinsey was: “We should have appreciated the harm opioids were causing in our society and we should not have undertaken sales and marketing work for Purdue Pharma.” In 2019, they announced they would no longer offer consultation with opioid-related clients. Good move.
It seems as though there are some obvious lessons here.
First, Purdue had a serious integrity problem: profits before their core mission. Purdue’s mission statement?—“We are driven by our purpose: Compassion for patients and excellence for science inspire our pursuit of new medicines.” Now that’s a breakdown.
From a church consultant’s perspective, that’s like a church board only wanting to get more “butts in the seats”. Believe me, I want to see every church grow, but without a compelling Kingdom-oriented mission, and particularly a desire to reach people who are far from God, then we’re just lateralizing church people. Not cool.
Second, what were McKinsey’s consultants thinking? When you’re aware your client’s profits are their only driver, that’s when you opt out, or at least radically change your advice. Otherwise, you’re over your skis, integrity-wise.
The relationship between consultant and client—or coach and coachee—has to be one of trust. Trust in the former’s competency and character, and trust in the client’s integrity and intentions.
In the sports arena, every player benefits from a good coach. Why would it be different in the challenging world of church leadership? But find the one that’s right for you, and double-check your motives.
Dave Workman | The Elemental Group
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