Disrupting the traditional consulting model: How an experiment led to an award-winning culture

Ten years ago I was presented with what I felt was the opportunity of a lifetime: a job at one of the Big Four Consulting firms in a role that felt like the right next step in my career.

When I told my husband I got the job, he smiled knowingly and said, "Good luck. You're moving from JV to varsity." He had spent his own time at a traditional consulting firm and left when we got married, knowing that staying on would entail climbing the ladder, meaning less time at home with his new wife and the kids we were hoping for.

As usual, he was right. I lasted all of 10 months at the varsity level because by the time I joined the traditional consulting team, we had had those kids we were hoping for - and the 80-hour weeks I was pulling didn't allow me to show up for my family like I wanted to.

Albeit short, my time at that traditional firm provided me with the opportunity to learn from some incredibly smart and talented people. It also ignited something in me, a realization that would snowball into the undeniable understanding that consulting could be different. Better. We could deliver the same expert-level consulting outcomes our clients deserve with teams who were the truest form of a partner - all while also offering employees work-life balance and the ability to design their career path.

Lucky for me, I wasn't the only one feeling this way.

In the fall of 2016, my good friend - who had also spent time on both sides of the table, both as a consultant as well as an executive hiring external help - came to me with an itch to disrupt consulting. With our third founder, we'd create our own firm, one that puts people first.

People: Our talented team who we are fortunate to have choose to work for us; our forward-thinking clients who want to transform the way work is done; the folks we give back to in the communities where we live and work.

In 2017 we launched Inspirant Group, the home of the unconsultant: an experienced "recovering" consultant who naturally wants what is best for you and will provide expert advice and services. What started as an experimental refuge for talented consultants seeking something more has swelled into a Great Places to Work-certified, award-winning culture (multiple times over), delivering life-changing solutions for our team, clients and communities, as well as year over year growth.

So, how did we do it?

• Prioritizing people

From day one we agreed that our most important resource is our people. All of our business decisions are made in the best interests of our unconsultants. We know that people aren't truly replaceable; each person on our team brings unique skill, knowledge, ability and experience, in addition to high integrity and character, all of which are why it feels different to work with and for our company.

• Living our values

Incredibly early in our company's formation, we defined three core values that embody what it means to work for us: have integrity, get it done and care about the greater good. We identified these key behaviors because we expect our employees to live our core values with our team, our clients and in the community, and we talk about them every chance we get.

We even ask them to nominate one another when they witness our values in action and we reward team members for displaying these behaviors at the end of the year.

• Being transparent and consistent

We do what we say we are going to do. We regularly ask for feedback and then act on the suggestions. We show up consistently, so the team never wonders which version of us they're going to get.

• Meighan Newhouse is SVP, Transformation & Enablement at Inspirant Group, a 10Pearls Company.