In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) promises to revolutionize everything from customer service to strategic planning, there's a growing conversation about what could get lost in the continued push for automation. This is an important consideration for many different types of organisations and professions, such as consulting.
As someone who has sat on both sides of the consulting table, I've recently been reflecting on what truly drives value when organizations seek external advice. The question isn't whether AI tools will transform consulting - they already are.
Indeed, I used AI language models while preparing this blog, although not entirely (as you can probably tell from my writing style)! So my question is: what irreplaceable value do human advisors bring to the table? And even more specifically, what can independent consultants offer that large firms and algorithmic recommendations cannot?
"The future has not been written. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves."
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Answering these questions, I keep in mind three areas where human-centered independent consulting is key:
What does a consultant truly bring to an organization? At its best, consulting provides expertise and skillsets that don't exist internally. But beyond technical knowledge, the most valuable advisors serve as sparring partners - people who challenge assumptions, question the status quo, and offer perspectives shaped by diverse career experience built up over years.
This co-creative approach means working with people in organizations, rather than simply delivering a set of standardized recommendations.
Indeed a key component of consulting is about understanding an organization’s unique context, organizational culture, uncovering unspoken challenges and fielding a variety of informal questions.
These nuanced inter-personal interactions build trust and lead to solutions that actually fit the organization, rather than frameworks that look beautiful in a slide deck but fail in implementation. A good consultant doesn't just bring answers - they bring the ability to help you ask better questions and ultimately to understand business risks and opportunities even better, delivering value.
This is where organizations like GAA offer something distinctive. Rather than a monolithic consulting brand, GAA operates as a diverse network of experienced individuals under a common umbrella. Each advisor brings specialized expertise while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to different organizational contexts. Think of it as accessing a curated team of experts who can be assembled based on your specific needs - without the overhead and conflicts of interest that can sometimes plague larger firms. This approach can also bring something which AI tools do not, new business solutions and strategies informed by collaborative human to human conversations.
For organizations seeking guidance on sustainability and systems change, this approach is particularly valuable. GAA advisors can look across parts of the economy and its actors, with informed, independent perspectives. The advice provided incorporates innovation and upcoming cross-industry standards (E.g. preparing for new sustainability reporting standards such as IFRS S1 and S2). This approach also avoids the traps of incrementalism or being totally beholden to maintaining the status quo. For instance, meeting new sustainability-related external reporting standards, while also offering guidance about how to integrate this information into internal decision making.
An uncomfortable truth about consulting based on my experience: some large organizations aren't always buying expertise. Often, they're buying brand names, plausible deniability, and someone to blame when difficult decisions need to be made. Delivering redundancies based on a slide deck with ‘target operating model’ diagrams can be a useful scapegoat—but that often comes with a hefty price tag.
Smaller, independent groups tend to operate differently. Bringing diversity of thought, inclusion of different business perspectives from inside and outside specific sectors/geographies, and most importantly, genuine independence. GAA in particular benefits from members based around the world with deep, varied experience across sectors and disciplines.
Turning back to AI, of course there are useful tools which improve efficiency. However, decision making will still ultimately rest with senior leaders in organizations. Sound judgement, informed by ethics and values, will not be replaced. In fact, in an AI powered world this aspect becomes even more critical, especially for financial services firms such as banks. There are crucial questions for leaders to work through about how to deploy AI tools effectively and safely - such as implementing it for credit decisions/scoring, conducting due diligence, the use of customer transaction data and integrating digital currencies. These are questions about the fair treatment of customers and employees, which are grounded in values and ethics.
We are all navigating an increasingly complex world with global and local challenges like climate change, social equity, and economic transformation. It can help to have a wide variety of advisors who can hold space for nuance, navigating human dynamics, and co-creating solutions which meet business needs and systemic realities. Unlike some machines, we understand that the future isn't predetermined in a linear fashion - it's something we create together.
If you are interested in exploring how independent consulting can support your organization's goals, please get in touch via GAA, Seawolf Sustain or by messaging on LinkedIn.
Rebecca Self brings two decades of financial services experience, advising clients on sustainable finance, disclosure, and ESG integration. She co-founded Seawolf Sustainability Consulting, supporting organisations with independent guidance on climate finance and sustainability. Her background includes senior roles at South Pole, HSBC and across London and Zurich, where she shaped regulatory, risk and investment practices.
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