Going native. Is it good? Or a threat to success (for the consultant or the client)?

From a cultural perspective, a certain level of conformity with client culture at the outset is smart. In order to be accepted by the "tribe", wearing the "beads and feathers", and participating in a rain dance or two will likely result in a more receptive audience when it comes to affecting change.

There are two aspects to objectivity that are equally important: the consulting firm’s objectivity and the client's "perception of objectivity"  the balance between the two types of objectivity is the key. There are many consultants who follow the path laid in the fable of “the emperor’s new clothes” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_New_Clothes) and simply tell the client what they want to hear. This may win friends and influence people, but is it right?

By “going native” you could to lose objectivity, and to start to identify too much with a company.  A key question is at what point after being immersed in a client organization does a consultant begin to lose objectivity, independence and effectiveness. Is it then they join the client organisation for a drink on a Friday night, go to the office party or start spending weekends or holidays together?

I believe there is a link between “going native” and Groupthink, when you start believing the voodoo. This occurs within groups of people, in which the desire for harmony overrides a realistic appraisal of issues. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative ideas or viewpoints.

There are eight symptoms of groupthink:

1.       Illusion of invulnerability –Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.

2.       Collective rationalization – Members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.

3.       Belief in inherent morality – Members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions.

4.       Stereotyped views of out-groups – Negative views of “enemy” make effective responses to conflict seem unnecessary.

5.       Direct pressure on dissenters – Members are under pressure not to express arguments against any of the group’s views.

6.       Self-censorship – Doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are not expressed.

7.       Illusion of unanimity – The majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous.

8.       Self-appointed ‘mindguards’ – Members protect the group and the leader from information that is problematic or contradictory to the group’s cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.

Avoid “going native” by remembering If by Rudyard Kipling

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;