Personal and Professional Learning from my Practicum

As we near the end of this practicum, I’ve found myself thinking less about the outputs we created and more about the journey it took to get there. At the beginning of the semester, my team built a Gantt chart that carefully mapped out each phase of our project. It looked polished. Logical. Linear. But looking back, almost nothing unfolded as expected. Tasks we thought would be straightforward became complex; areas we planned to spend weeks on wrapped up in days.

I assumed most of my learning would come from the technical content of the project. Instead, it came from something harder to plan for: the messy, unpredictable nature of the process itself. The most meaningful insights didn’t emerge from checking off milestones. They came from missteps, recalibrations, and the kind of honest conversations that force you to pause, reflect, and try again. This wasn’t failure—it was the work. `

Embracing Non-Linearity

At the start of the practicum, my team felt confident. We had a well-defined scope, a clear timeline, and an organized work plan with distinct phases. On paper, everything seemed straightforward. But very quickly, we learned that real-world consulting does not operate on paper. It operates in motion, amid shifting expectations, evolving client priorities, and imperfect information.

Our initial assumptions didn’t hold. Sections of our analysis needed to be rewritten. Our questions to the client evolved, and at times, our own understanding of the problem changed entirely. Each week, we found ourselves rethinking approaches we had just finalized. That used to feel frustrating. But with time, I realized the back-and-forth was not a sign of confusion. It was a sign of commitment: to rigor, to relevance, and to impact. Iteration became our core process. Not as a fallback, but as a way of working. We no longer saw feedback as a correction, but as a catalyst. Each revision sharpened our lens. With every conversation, we uncovered something we hadn’t considered before. Progress stopped looking like a straight arrow and began to resemble a spiral—looping and layered. 

What I came to understand is that iteration is not about inefficiency. It is about discovery. It forces you to test your assumptions, question your logic, and push beyond surface-level answers. Some of the best ideas in our project emerged not from the original plan, but from late-stage pivots, spontaneous brainstorms, or uncomfortable but honest conversations.

From Execution to Impact

This mindset shift became even more important in the final phase of our project, when we transitioned from analysis to delivering recommendations. That stage required a different kind of thinking. It was no longer about doing a “good job” in the academic sense. It was about delivering value and helping the client see something new and act on it.

Earlier in the practicum, our team measured success by how well we executed tasks. We cared about hitting milestones, refining slides, and making things look polished. But as we approached the end, our definition of success changed. The real challenge became influencing the client’s thinking and doing so with credibility.

This shift also changed our dynamic with the client. We were no longer just presenting what we had done and asking for feedback. The conversations became more strategic. We debated positioning, weighed risks, and negotiated direction. One moment I will not forget was when we discussed the final stance we were recommending on sustainable finance. The client initially preferred a cautious, conservative tone. But we believed there was an opportunity and responsibility for her organization to be more ambitious.  We made our case using the research we had compiled. But we also framed our recommendations with care, pairing ambition with feasibility and suggesting a tiered roadmap that could flex with time and internal capacity. By the end of the conversation, she agreed not only to adopt the stronger message but to champion it internally. That moment, where insight met trust, and a conversation turned into commitment, felt like the real outcome of our work.

What I’m Taking With Me

As the project wraps up, I’ve been thinking about what will stay with me. Beyond the technical learning—about asset management, climate strategies, and implementation roadmaps—I’ve discovered aspects of consulting I genuinely enjoy.

I like the pace and variety: jumping from project to project, learning quickly, adapting constantly, and gaining exposure to topics I never expected to explore. I learned that you don’t need to be an expert to contribute value. You just need to be thoughtful, thorough, and willing to learn fast.

I also realized how central relationships are. In many ways, they matter more than the research itself. It’s not just about having a good idea. It’s about knowing how to communicate it, adapt it to your audience, and get people to believe in it. I’ve learned how to ask better questions, when to push, when to hold back, and when to listen without immediately offering a response.

Relationships are important not only with the client, but also within the team. One of the biggest lessons I’ll take away from this practicum is what it means to work well together. In the early stages, we often split tasks based on availability or individual expertise. But as the project progressed, we realized the most valuable contributions came not from working in parallel, but from building ideas collectively. Some of our most important breakthroughs happened in conversation: unpacking feedback, challenging assumptions, and talking through the trade-offs behind each decision. We learned to trust one another’s instincts, to disagree respectfully, and to adapt our thinking based on someone else’s insight. It was not always easy. We had moments of tension, deadlines that stretched us, and times when we had to revisit work, we thought was finished. But that process built something deeper—a shared sense of ownership and responsibility for the outcome.

Most of all, I’ve learned to be okay with uncertainty. I used to think the best consultants were the ones with the clearest answers. Now, I believe they are the ones most comfortable with ambiguity, the ones who stay curious, stay flexible, and keep moving even when the path is not fully clear.

This practicum gave me more than project experience. It reshaped how I think about value, credibility, and what it means to make a meaningful contribution. I’ll carry these lessons with me not just as a student, but as a professional ready to embrace complexity and lead with confidence.