I am a former consultant in a specialized field<p>It Depends ;)<p>Treat a consultant like a therapist. Don't expect miracles. Expect to do your own work if you're seeking some kind of "transformation".<p>A lot of times there's an antipattern to using consultants, where orgs are at a loss to solve a big problem, and seek outside help. They put it on the consultant to fix, not themselves. They assume, wrongly, the answer is "out there" for some big brain genius to come in and fix then leave. They outsource their own internal lack of alignment between big stakeholders, instead of dealing with that conflict. They assume moreover that their own people, tools, processes, cultures, are bad.<p>A good consultant, like a good therapist, sees your org and all its warts and beautiful value (like a person) and helps guide you to your own change. Maybe as part of your team for a time, maybe as just an advisor, who knows.<p>But don't expect miracles unless you internally commit to change.