Braveheart’s disgruntled army: A tale of wasted potential

Imagine if, after making his rousing speech to the Scottish army at Stirling, William Wallace had led his devoted tartan-clad warriors away from the English army and down a quiet, idyllic valley for a spot of tai chi. It would’ve been quite the anti-climax, really, not to mention a rubbish end to a film. Cheated out of the glory of dying a hideous death on the battlefield, many a solider would’ve felt rather hard done by. All fired up and nowhere to…fire (metaphorically speaking—firearms were firmly still in China at this point in history, unlike tai chi, apparently). But by my reckoning a large majority would’ve gone along with it, for a while at least. After all, they’d sworn allegiance to Wallace and if he thought tai chi was the right thing to be doing at the time then who were they to argue? Surely, they’d tell themselves as they sipped green tea and perfected their Needle at Sea Bottom posture, it would only be a matter of time before they were unleashed to fulfil their true destiny and got to give the English a good hiding.

Many new consultant recruits experience similar levels of frustration and feelings of stunted growth when they first join a big firm: Instead of being launched into the throes of consulting, many find themselves sat idle on the proverbial bench, actually sipping green tea and wondering when they’ll come face-to-face with a client.

If we take a look at the recruitment drive of the Big Four over the last two years, for example, it’s apparent that their junior ranks have swelled to a point where—according to anecdotal evidence—they’re somewhat bloated. For the graduate recruits who now find themselves battling amongst their peers to make it onto projects, the initial sell was simple—they were presented with the opportunity to join a global, well-respected firm and have a fantastic career. Who’d say no to that? The best minds applied, and many were granted the golden ticket. So many, in fact, that we hear a lot about there simply not being enough projects to go around, particularly for consultants based outside a major city.

For the Big Four, the problem to some extent remains a good one, in that they have a vast resource pool to draw on when business is booming. And even when it’s not, having a relatively low-cost resourcing option on standby is a far better alternative than having nobody, even if the level of enthusiasm by those fulfilling this unglamorous need remains lukewarm at best.

Of course, the Big Four and other consulting firms do try their best to appease their junior consultants, and offer some of the best CPD programmes in the professional world. But an endless tail of training in lieu of the real deal can only satisfy curious bright minds for so long. Doesn’t the general rule say that 70% of learning comes from experiences while just 10% comes from education-related activities? The real prize junior consultants seek is getting exposure to clients and working on stimulating projects. Unless they’re allowed to fulfil their potential, it will only be a matter of time before they, like our tea-sipping Bravehearts, lose faith in their leadership and look for action-ridden pastures new. Figuring out that conundrum feels as though it’s urgent work at the moment.