Grab 1:1s with everyone you can on your first week

When first joining a new client, you have the “new consultant in town” excuse to grab meetings across your organization. This is super important if your insertion altitude isn’t at the C-level, so there’s folks above you in the hierarchy.

Use this ability with abandon. Drop invitations on the calendar of everyone working at your altitude, and then reach out to folks a step or two up the hierarchy–your contact’s boss, and their boss, too. If that gets you to the C-level, so much the better!

Tell them this: I’m excited to be working with (your contact) on (your project). As a consultant, I have repeatedly found that my status outside my client’s normal chain of command has been a useful tool for helping leaders get an insider’s perspective on how their teams are working together. Please let me know if this sort of insight would be supportive of our working relationship, and I’ll be sure to reach out to you with anything of interest.

If you’re feeling a little more outgoing, ask them for a small favor, too.

Sowing these seeds across your client’s leadership team early on can pay off enormously down the line when you need a little internal leverage, and it’s only easy right when you’re first joining. Take advantage of the situation while you can!