Tips for Understanding the Client’s Capacity and Managing Yourself

I am so grateful that the Sustainable Investing Research Consulting Project course is providing me with experience in engaging with a well-renowned client, learning how to manage myself and a research project team, and contributing to an emerging field to guide an organization’s mission. Throughout my experience with student consulting projects, the scope of the project is rarely pre-determined. The subject of the research is often unchartered by the client, so the onus is truly on the students to organize preliminary research and offer insights on how to move forward. This often comes as a shock to us because we are typically unfamiliar with the field and assume that the client already has all of the answers. If they did, they would not have partnered with SIPA and your team. On the flip side, the research scope is often trying to answer a question that is much bigger than the project, and often this has little previous literature or quite case-specific publications. The trick is to find the small steps that your team can take that lead the client in the right direction and extrapolate existing data to fit your research question. 

It is crucial that you do not depend too much on the client’s guidance for research scoping. It is your responsibility to inform the client about the landscape of the subject, then ask for their feedback. You need to initiate the research question in the emerging field and adapt the question as you research. Often the initial project idea lacks holistic information and might not be headed in the right direction. Consistent check-ins with your client are essential to successfully pivoting and narrowing your scope, otherwise you may dive deep into an area that is not useful for your client. The most common issues arise when your client’s feedback is not direct or clear. Again, it is up to you to grasp uncertainty and understand that your client is asking you to conduct this research because it is also an unfamiliar field for them. You must interpret the feedback and pay attention to the details that give you clues on how to move forward in managing your team.

In order to structure a research project with a hazy scope, you need to manage your team’s tasks and keep yourself accountable on meeting your commitments in a timely manner. Without delineated team roles, you are responsible for reflecting on your own skills and determining the contribution you want to make to your client. Personally, I enjoy project management and setting meeting agendas, but I am not the biggest fan of deep literature research. I would much rather have a conversation with someone who is an expert in the field and ask questions as opposed to reading long reports on the topic. By leveraging my preferences and skills in my consulting group, I gain more from the experience and contribute more effectively to the project.

When you are on a small team reporting to a client for a short research project, you need to be flexible with the tasks you’re given. You cannot reject a task if it is not your strong suit or you are simply not motivated to do it compared to other tasks. It is up to you to express your background to your team so tasks are distributed based on skill set. Sometimes you need to be respectful and work through the tough tasks even if you need to ask for guidance. Positive team morale and accountability in yourself are part of the foundation of a successful research project.