LEXi Learn was commissioned by a global Big Four professional services firm, with a reputation for excellence worldwide, to design a programme focused on one of the most demanding aspects of consulting: handling complex client engagements.
A senior Partner had noticed that many experienced consultants were finding it difficult to navigate challenging moments with stressed clients. Conversations could quickly become tense when expectations shift, when progress stalls, or when pressure from the wider business environment begins to show.
The question was simple: how could consultants build the confidence and skills needed to manage these situations well?
The result was Advisory Core Skills – Client Delivery, a two-day experiential programme designed to help consultants practise handling real client challenges in a safe but stretching environment.
Consultants in professional services often have to operate in demanding conditions. Clients may be dealing with global conflicts, new technologies, political and economic uncertainty, organisational change, or competing pressures within their own teams. These heightened factors can make communication more complex. Consultants may encounter:
Our client wanted a learning experience that would move the dial and allow participants to practise navigating these situations before encountering them in real life.
LEXi Learn designed a two-day immersive simulation built around a realistic client case study.
Each course is delivered to a group of 18 (3 x6) participants and is led by one LEXi Learn Facilitator with three supporting Actor/Facilitators.
The Actor/Facilitators play the clients, bringing realistic human dynamics into the room: confusion, suspicion, tension and politics. Participants are invited to step into the “hot seat” and respond in real time as the client interaction unfolds.
They use a case study based on a typical client engagement, which is structured around the organisation’s own five-step model for client delivery. As the programme progresses, the level of challenge gradually increases, giving participants the opportunity to test different approaches while stretching and refining their communication strategies.
As with many LEXi Learn programmes, the learning blends practical frameworks with intensive skills practice.
Participants take part in a mixture of:
Actor-led sessions also help participants connect with their most important communication tools – their body and voice.
Throughout the programme, the emphasis is on maximising “hot-seat” time, giving participants the chance to practise the skills rather than simply observe them.
The experience builds towards a challenging moment at the end of Day Two, when participants must respond to an angry CEO whose concerns threaten the success of the engagement.
Following pilot sessions and refinements to the programme design – which included more reflection, journaling and “hot-seat” time – the course moved into full delivery.
20 courses have now been delivered, with additional sessions scheduled monthly. Demand has been strong, with waiting lists forming for upcoming sessions.
Senior Partners from the firm also join the programme during the second day to share stories from their own client experiences. Their involvement reinforces the importance of these skills and helps create a supportive learning environment for participants.
The programme has generated significant interest within the organisation, with participants recommending the experience to colleagues.
The course has successfully spun off to another part of the firm – Corporate Services. These are people with internal clients, but who face the same client challenges as their externally facing colleagues. These participants really value the additional stretch provided by the Case Study – it’s outside their regular experience and eye-opening as a result.
A Senior Learning Business Partner commented that the programme has created a noticeable buzz, with demand continuing to grow as more consultants hear about the experience from previous participants.
By providing a space where consultants can rehearse difficult conversations and receive feedback in real time, the programme helps them return to their client work with greater confidence, adaptability and skill.
