Virtual Consulting Skills Program:
Organizational Consulting in Nonprofits

“Knowing a body of knowledge is not enough. One needs particular skills to transmit that knowledge and to influence action as a result of it. Experience as an executive director or program officer is not enough. The consulting role requires a different style and use of power and as such requires different skills. And a successful career in the for-profit sector doesn’t prepare one for the unique challenges of consulting with a nonprofit."
-- Carol Lukas, experienced nonprofit consultant trainer, CDI faculty,
and author of "Consulting With Nonprofits – A Practitioner’s Guide."

Consultants Need More Than Technical Expertise and People Skills

Peter Block, in his seminal consulting book, Flawless Consulting, writes, "There is a set of skills that is an essential part of consulting over and above technical expertise and interpersonal skills -- these are consulting skills (Jossey-Bass, 2000, p. 6). Technical skills are very powerful for improving a certain technical function, such as finances or marketing. However, recurring technical problems in an organization are usually just symptoms of larger, ongoing problems in the overall organization. People skills are very powerful for successfully engaging with people, including to bring out their insights and wisdom. However, struggling organizations also need much better “business” skills, such as strategies, structures and systems within the organization.

Nonprofits Need Consultants With a Variety of Skills

Nonprofits are faced with challenges like never before as the number of unmet social needs seems to increase, while amounts of available funding seem to decrease. As an external or internal consultant, leader or manager, you need to know just where to focus your attention in order to improve the overall, long-lasting performance of your nonprofit. So you need to know how nonprofit organizations work, the major functions within them and how they are connected.

This highly accessible, state-of-the-art program guides and supports you to develop the necessary skills for long-lasting, organization-wide change in nonprofits. Those skills include consulting, people, organizational and systems skills. See the topics in this program’s
Syllabus.

Benefits to You

Increased people, organizational, systems and consulting skills Enhanced credibility in competitive markets Increased effectiveness in problem solving Stronger skills to address challenging situations in consulting

Stronger working relationships with clients Core skills in coaching oneself and others Tools and templates for all phases of consulting Close and confidential network of peers More rewarding and joyful consulting! Certification from Consultants Development Institute

Audiences for This Program

This program is for highly motivated people seeking to develop increased people, organizational, systems and consulting skills for consulting to nonprofit organizations, for example:

• Individuals wanting to use their knowledge and experience to build a new career in consulting
• Experienced nonprofit leaders looking at consulting as their next career
• Specialists, such as fundraisers, marketing consultants and financial analysts, who want to expand the impact of their services
• Coaches, trainers and facilitators wanting to add organizational and "business" skills to their soft skills
• Professionals in Human Resources and in Learning and Development wanting to expand their expertise in organizations and to “get a seat at the table”
• Leaders and managers wanting to more effectively solve problems in their organizations

You do not have to have a current nonprofit consulting project to greatly benefit from this program. The program focuses on wherever you are in your career or in the consulting process.

From This Program, You Will Be Able To:

As a result of completion of this program, you will be able to:

• Utilize people skills, organizational skills, systems skills and consulting skills in your consulting
• Guide and support your clients through each of the phases in a successful consulting process
• Customize the consulting process to suit the unique nature and needs of your clients
• Recognize the most common types of problems in nonprofits and how to solve each of them
• Separate the symptoms from the real causes of complex problems in your clients’ organizations 
• Develop relevant and realistic action plans to solve problems in your clients’ organizations
• Guide clients to implement action plans, while maintaining momentum, change and learning
• Conduct practical and powerful evaluations of the consulting process and its results

“I've mentored consultants for decades now, and I am convinced that the best consultants have consulting, people, organizational and systems skills. If you work by focusing only on one or two of these, then it's not as likely that long-lasting change can really occur for clients."
-- Carter McNamara, experienced nonprofit consultant trainer, CDI faculty,
and author of "Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development with Nonprofits"

Abundant Sources for Your Learning During the Program

1. Pre-assessment of your current consulting skills before the program
2. Virtual methods of access to new content, coaching, peer exchange and sharing during the program
3. Vast range of practical guidelines, tools and templates for all phases of consulting, including from the texts written by CDI faculty, such as Consulting With Nonprofits and Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development With Nonprofits
4. Seven modules, each about a subtopic in consulting to nonprofits (see the Syllabus of topics), and including:
   1. 1-2 hours of readings and/or videos with new content about the subtopic, followed by a post-assessment of the new content
   2. 90-minute, virtual seminar among participants and faculty to discuss and reflect on the content in the module
   3. 90-minute, virtual peer coaching group meeting among participants and faculty, to coach each member on applications of the content
5. Ongoing peer coaching exchange in private group emails among participants and faculty during the program
6. Comprehensive Learning and Development Journal to cultivate deep reflection and learning during the program
7. Post-assessment of your new consulting skills after the program

For more information about each of these sources and the unique philosophy of learning in this program, see About CDI. (We also can provide this as an in-house program for your organization.)

Time Required to Complete the Program (Virtually or In-Person)

The program can be provided virtually or in-person at your location or ours. Plan to spend a minimum of 28-35 hours of effort in-person or in the virtual seven modules in the program (equivalent to an intensive 3-day workshop). The length of the program depends on the cohort's preferred scheduling of the seminar and peer coaching group meetings.

Certification To Show Evidence of Your Abilities

Upon successfully meeting the following requirements for certification, you will receive "Certification in Organizational Consulting in Nonprofits" from the Consultants Development Institute:

Program’s Highly Affordable Fee

The fee is only $1180 for the following highly accessible services that are continually focused on your current needs and interests during the program:

• 21 hours of interactive facilitation by faculty who are highly experienced in training consultants (equivalent to an intensive 3-day workshop)
• Any of CDI's virtual, self-directed courses (see "Virtual Courses" in the sidebar)
• Ongoing highly practical training, materials and support focused on your current priorities during the program
• Peer coaching, including time and attention focused on your individual needs and interests
• Training in a coaching group process that you can use with your clients and peers
• Close and confidential network of peers for ongoing coaching, guidance and support during the program

More savings for you!

Contact Us Now

Email info@ConsultantsDevelopmentInstiitute.org and we will respond promptly.