Recently received feedback that I’m too “transactional”. I take on my tasks, get them done, and take on new ones without ever enjoying the “little things”. Basically I’m a machine but don’t show enough emotion. Can anyone relate and/or coach me how to resolve this?

Day drink! That’ll make you more friendly during meetings

Consulting is a relationship business, both with clients and colleagues. Specifically with colleagues, you're part of a team not just an individual.

You're going to need these relationships on your projects and in the future. Building up this social capital will help you absorb any missteps that you may make and be able to call in favors when you need it.

Also, it helps when leaders are invested in your success. If you're being transactional, you're not giving them that opportunity to get to know you and be able to advocate for you.

Sounds like bs tbh. If you’re treated like a number, why not act like a number?

This is bs feedback unless you are transactional in your interactions with people. You sound like a driver, like me. The person giving you the feedback is not the same I imagine. Doesn’t mean that the way you work is wrong or that you need to change it. If it works for you, keep it that way.

Hmm if your feedback was that you’re transactional, I would have read that as “you only do things for people if you can get something back for them, but won’t do something for people if you won’t reap any benefits”.

If it’s truly you’re emotionless, you need to start caring about the person and getting to know them. Asking questions like “how was your weekend? Do anything fun?” And then remember those hobbies or family details and then the next time you interact with them, ask them about those specific details. Build from there. You also need to share information about yourself. So people know who you are. Tell people happy birthday. When you ping people for something or to ask a question, ask how they are today. It’s small things that build. Being mysterious is not a thing in consulting when our business is based on relationships. I’ll leave this quote below by Maya Angelou

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”

It sounds like you are very effective at getting the job done, so do not take this feedback as a criticism on that. You clearly add a lot of value. I would also add that their feedback may be a personal preference rather than objective feedback. I personally do not like this sort of feedback as it is too vague to be helpful and it borders on criticising style rather than effectiveness. However, it is still useful to at least listen to it.

If we assume the feedback was intended as constructive, I would speculate as to what they were trying to get at. Remember there is no question you are effective.
-The business we are in ultimately is a people business in that human clients reach out to us for help with their problems. That means they not only want the job done, but they want to feel good after. To feel heard, and appreciated.

Is it possible you could follow up more with clients/colleagues and check how they are doing? It is likely they may well have totally failed to ask the right question, and this will only be evident to them after you answer their question and they realise that did not solve their problem. So it can be useful to follow up and understand what impact your response had.

Does the above make sense? As I said at the beginning, the feedback was poorly put together so my take could well be totally irrelevant.

I’ve received this feedback before, and it’s one of the biggest lessons / failures that I learned from.

Relationships matter just as much if not more than your work- otherwise you might see others put up for promotion before you like I did.

Here’s advice that’s helped me:
- showing a genuine interest to learn from someone goes a long way.
- on your list of “to-do’s” and/or goals that you write down, try adding a relationship goal everyday too. In my case, I write down both personal and professional relationship goals depending on the day

Early in my career I wouldn’t take issue with this. As I’ve progressed I’ve realized the importance of relationships and getting to know my colleagues and clients as people. Let them get to know you as well. This allows you to better support one another at work and beyond.

It typically means you demonstrate a high level of self orientation and don’t invest in relationships with others.

…what’s the problem here?

Need to get the latest firmware update.

This is great feedback. It shows someone is interested enough to help you grow. You may need to Focus on developing your EQ so that the transactions remain but they are wrapped in effective communication and empathy. Be truly human.

Are you female

Male or female?

Doing what’s asked of you is the bare minimum. Be proactive, suggest better ways to do things, contribute back to your practice, get involved in extracurriculars.

As someone who has been in relatively casual consulting firms like ACN and ZS and interview a lot of folks from Big4, I can totally relate to this feedback.

Firstly, you need to take it positively. All it means is that you need to be friendly, open, casual and more social. Some firms would BS it by saying "work on your teamwork" but this feedback is better coz you know its not the competency that you're lacking but more a self-goal that can help your consulting skills.

Secondly, you need to realise the culture difference between ACN and other firms.

Op, it’s funny Accenture is very transactional . If they don’t appreciate your hard work , look outside. Market is super hot !