· Stefan Haberberg · Future of Work · 2 min read
Consulting is dead – long live… catalysing?
AI tools like ChatGPT are transforming what consultants actually do. A look at how the role is shifting from knowledge work toward hands-on, empathetic catalysing of change.
Five years ago, I predicted the consulting industry would become obsolete. My team and colleagues disagreed, insisting there would always be demand for consulting services. However, the emergence of AI tools like ChatGPT raises important questions: what exactly will consultants do, and how is their role transforming?
During travels through South America, particularly Guatemala, someone asked me about my profession. When I explained I was a strategy consultant, they struggled to understand the distinction between my work and project management or software development. Their straightforward question – “how does your day to day look?” – highlighted how difficult it is to define what consultants actually do.
According to ChatGPT, “A strategy consultant is a professional who helps organizations solve high-level business problems, make key decisions, and develop long-term strategies to improve performance, growth, and competitiveness.”
Some suggest consultants are hired primarily to distribute risk – if initiatives fail, blame doesn’t fall on internal decision-makers. The profession’s reputation of arriving with presentations and departing has remained questionable.
With AI now providing easier access to strategic analyses, market research, and historical data, the traditional knowledge-worker consultant model is becoming obsolete.
A more contemporary definition might be: “A transformation consultant is a professional who partners with organizations to design, guide, and embed strategic changes – often involving digital tools and AI – to improve performance, culture, and capabilities across teams. They act as a bridge between strategy and execution, ensuring that change initiatives are not only planned but adopted effectively by the people impacted.”
The consulting field is shifting toward more hands-on, action-oriented engagement, positioning consultants as true partners in problem-solving alongside field and management teams.
What endures is the capacity for connecting with people through emotional intelligence, identifying fundamental issues through analytical thinking, comprehending organizational systems strategically, and facilitating change through empathy.
The future calls for rolling up sleeves, leveraging AI capabilities, and concentrating on the real challenges ahead.
