What is so special about being a Certified Management Consultant or CMC? Is it having letters behind your name? Is it a conversational piece? Is it a license to be pompous and disparaging to others? I do not know what it means to you, that is, being a CMC, but for me, becoming a CMC was and still is a component of the overall strategic plan for my life.
Yes, I can benefit from letters behind my name. Yes, it is a valuable conversational piece, but no, it is not a license to be pompous and disparaging. In fact, professionalism and ethical behavior are hallmarks of the certification process conducted under the auspices of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI), now branded as CMC Global and facilitated by the Caribbean Institute of Management Consultants (CIMC).
My journey towards achieving my certification as a CMC was both challenging and rewarding, much like anything in life that is worth having or pursuing. The process required diligence, studiousness, focus and commitment, much like any course of serious professional accreditation (e.g. ACCA, CFA, Attorney-At-Law, CMA or PMP). Furthermore, because of its laser-like focus on practical application, part of the journey towards my certification required me to document how I demonstrated the management consulting competencies in my own business engagements over the course of my professional career.
It is with a hint of Caribbean pride that I now confess that the members and CMCs in the various regional chapters of the Caribbean Institute of Management Consultants (CIMC) are really quite a special group of people. Throughout my CMC journey, before certification, during the certification process and after certification, the Caribbean flavor, charm and tenacity have always been apparent, astute and sometimes quite “saucy”, but that is a story for another time.
Indeed, the process was an awakening experience for me, and since embarking on the journey, I continue to remain ‘woke’. As a CMC, I enjoy the benefit of being extremely specific in the services I offer to clients, which then allows me to refer clients to other CMC’s when my skillset falls outside of the needs of those clients. This means that I can stay within my niche and share my extensive professional network with clients, without having to compromise my professional integrity or reputation while providing opportunities for my fellow professional colleagues, inclusive of CMCs and members globally.
When we as professionals seriously consider the positive impact of providing an excellent service to a client, whether we provide that service directly or indirectly (i.e. by referring the client to the appropriate specialist) then we can feel secure in the knowledge that we have done right by that client and by ourselves. Sharing amongst a professional family is the key to career development and to reaching the goals that we set for ourselves as true masters of our trade. In so doing, as we share together, as we grow together, we therefore have chosen to be part of a bigger solution, part of a bigger world and part of a bigger movement, a movement of one body made up of many parts operating in harmony with each other for a noble purpose.
So, what is so special about being a Certified Management Consultant It (CMC)? Is it having letters behind your name? Is it just a conversational piece? Is it a license to be arrogant and disparaging to others? The simple answer to these four questions is this: “It is about recognizing the value you can bring to the lives of others when you recognize the value that can flow from within you particularly when you choose to commit to a path of discipline, focus, accountability and diligence in the field of Management Consulting”
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This article was written by Mark Ifill and reprinted with the permission of the Barbados Chapter of the Caribbean Institute of Management Consultants. Mark is a Business Development Professional and an Executive Member of both the CIMC Board of Directors and Barbados Chapter Board.
