You ever feel like you're just failing to excel in consulting? Today and yesterday have been really hard to tap into any discipline to push past whatever brain fog/lack of motivation is preventing me from making progress on this project. I don't know if I'm just tapped out or not cut out for this type of intensity, but I'm 1.5 yrs into consulting after working in industry and this seems to happen too often. I just don't feel like I'm as good as my peers and don't know that I can get there.

TL;DR - ask questions of whoever is asking you for a work product. the only silly question is one you don't ask. Long answer - The number one thing I can recommend, from my experience is to ask questions. As a manager who has seniors and staff on my team, I always appreciate those that ask uncomfortable questions that show they don't understand the request. It's light years better than the folks who don't ask but sit around trying to make sense of it on their own, and end up stalling till asked for an update. I say it again, ask enough questions to clarify whay you've been asked to do/deliver/create. Once you've got the requirements clearly defined, it's half the battle won. Once you're there and working on the actual deliverable, don't be afraid to seek incremental feedback - whether for a deck or an audit deliverable or technical output. Just like software development, the more agile and incremental feedback you're able to seek out and obtain, the closer what you create will align with what you're expected to. If you're looking for more specific pointers hit me up on DM. More than happy to help.

You have a case of ‘imposter syndrome’ like they are all going to find out that it is just you behind the curtain…lol. It’s just growing pains…the fact that you are feeling this means that you have insight on how much growth potential there is and it’s daunting. But people that lack this ‘insight’ are the ones that are not cut out for it. I suggest you dig-in your heals, find an aspect that you are interested in, and that the current specialists are professionals that you respect & ask one or two if the would consider a mentoring relationship. It’s yours for the taking, go skill-up!

You’re not alone. I left my last consulting job because of this feeling. Take a vacation, disconnect, and think about passion projects outside of work to help you. I’m building a travel app on the side and it has allowed me to be more time constrained with my consulting gig (improved my time management). And odds are, you’re just as good or better. Take your time, get a mentor, and bring up these feelings to them. You’ll be surprised at the feedback and responses you’ll receive. Hope this helps! Ps you are good enough

I know this is probably the most cliche answer you'll ever hear, but "fake it till you make it" carries some serious weight in consulting. I'm on my first project as a recently-promoted manager, and also feel like this sometimes. When I get too deep into my own head, I remind myself that my job isn't necessarily "knowing everything that comes my way at a near-expert level", but rather "what questions do I need to ask and address to feel 95% confident in what I'm doing?" Best of luck this year, you'll do great 👍

Everybody out here is faking it dude...your good just keep swimming....

Take some time to figure out why you’re feeling this way. It sounds like a motivation issue - I go through this occasionally too.

I know the feeling. I also come from industry and to be honest, it has been very hard. Many days I ask myself, can I continue doing this? Am I even good at it? Am I adding value to this project? This company? Being assigned to a project that was not aligned with my area of expertise didn’t help much either. I still show up every day…but most days, I feel I like an impostor.

Yes. I do feel like crap and that I can’t do shit. Sometimes just take 30 min break. And set small goals. Not ever engagement is fun or exiting sometimes it’s crap.

Are you tired / overwhelmed? Too many things coming due at the same time? If so, you may need to push through to get through your deadlines but it will get better. If better doesn’t seem anywhere in sight, you may be overextended and may need to figure out what you can drop. Good luck and I hope it gets better soon!

Excercise- make 30 mins a day plan and stick to it! You’ll be amazed at what happens when you shift your focus to something totally non-work related (it’s like a mini vacation)

I’m great at excel not sure what you’re talking about

It could be burnout, whenever this happens, I talk to people I can trust and try to get my head out of work as much as possible with other activities. Then come up with a plan to be better and work on execution. Trust me there’s a lot of people feeling like this, me as well. Just keep going forward, and you’ll be fine.

I’m 3.5 years in and this has happened many many times. I basically tell myself to take a step back and look at the tasks I have and remind myself of why this task will be helpful. I try to not reflect on my job/performance as a whole (bc that can get a little heavy), just the pending tasks I have left. Push through it and hopefully it gets easier for a bit before it gets hard again. I will add a disclaimer… it gets harder and harder to do. I have 0 motivation at this point and am looking into taking a long break soon. I think the key is finding fulfillment in the work you do. Some people are able to whether it’s through a sense of accomplishment from a big presentation, recognition from a manager, or knowing you’re fulfilling some project need. It’s not fulfilling for me anymore, although it was at some point. When it was, I was motivated to work the long hours.

Take on less work and prioritize only high impact items. Don’t do low value work. Try to be more proactive, don’t just take direction on everything. Stick with it, it will click one day. It took me a solid 3 years to really get in the groove of consulting. Ask questions and for feedback consistently. Come prepared to meetings as much as you can in advance.

in my 10 years of consulting it got easier as time passed with the exception of the occasional psychotic client. My only advice is buy yourself a Mont Blanc pen, leather skin notebook, take regular exercise and lean in ;-) I also came from industry and think that certainly makes it a steeper learning curve but in the mid to long term you'll be great. Imposter syndrome is real! Don't forget the big picture though. It's just a job and have you nothing to prove. If you don't like it, start making moves to move on.

For me, it works well to do other things in between. Talk to people, get insights, push for improvements. That is how I avoid being frustrated with too much excel. But I always have been like this, I need to have other tasks in between of each other, because if I do too much of only one thing, my productivity / creativity will be gone.

Wow, you all are absolute gems thank you to everyone for the advice and kind words of encouragement. I think this was a good reminder that half of what I love about this job is learning from people like you all. Definitely taking your advice to heart!

I believe what you're experiencing is imposter syndrome. You don't feel as good as your peers, and feel as if someone may find out and expose you. Creating a feeling of insecurity/ anxiousness from the possibility of loosing your job. But I also feel the same way, and the best performers I've seen in consulting are not smart but they just try their best just like you are doing.

Ask for feedback on how you're doing from others. You need more than your own perspective on this.

You’re not alone, I don’t think it’s isolated to Consulting . We are all burned out, I think that might be what you’re feeling . Give yourself some grace

90% of time only reason is money. I wouldn’t want to do this stuff for fun. Sometimes problem solving is fun but most of the time it just sucks tbh