Over at Logic + Emotion, David Armano has a great new post where he discusses the Synthesizer worker. Take a look at the image below for a great visual summary.
I think what David has managed to illustrate here in this simple image is the essence of a great consultant. It doesn't matter what you consult on, what we have here is the person who thinks beyond simply the task at hand to the greater impact of what they are doing and what's happening around them.
These skills are something you should be looking for in workers today - someone who gets that there is more to what they are doing than just their piece. Someone who isn't necessarily the blue sky strategist (as much as we need those) or the person who is fabulous at infinite detail (and we equally need them), but the person who can tie everything together and generate a desire in your team to take action.
I hope David publishes a poster-size (anything from A2 to A0 would be awesome) version of this - I really want it on my wall at work.
link to original post