Strong at complex tasks, weak at small details: can I still succeed in consulting?

I'm really sorry to hear this. Your account comes across as honest. I appreciate that. 

I think it comes down to whether or not you can do something about it. As far as I know, you can't fix ADHD just like that, otherwise you would've done it already. So it comes down to learning how to live with it, and developing techniques to make the most of your abilities. I think you can be in consulting, you might just struggle more than others. 

I would flip the question and rather ask if you WANT to be in consulting. Wouldn't it rather make sense for you to reflect on what is that you enjoy and are great at and then try to double down on that instead (rather than forcing your way into something you're not sure you're enjoying and you're not getting great feedback from)?

Feel free to also drop me a line privately. Happy to bounce off other ideas if helpful.

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

Thank you for sharing this with us, I appreciate the honesty!

Everyone has weak spots and different managers pick up on different things. Ask around to see if there is a recurring theme or if this is just one person's perspective / case specific. Also, be honest with yourself, I'm sure you know exactly what challenges you have.

It seems like you've come a long way from your 3 years in consulting in the Nordics, you had different challenges there and you've overcome them. Now, you have to work on new ones. Your career is a constant learning path and it's okay!! Don't beat yourself up on it.

Those that last longer within a career in consulting are usually not the smartest or the perfectionists, they are the most committed ones.

Hope this was helpful! Feel free to reach out if needed :)

Giulia

hello!
You're not alone - i can tell you that. The thing with consulting is that something will always be under the spotlight for us to work on.

Having said that, I can appreciate it is frustrating that the elements flipped. 
If you love the world of consulting, perseverance is rewarded. Try to add buffer time (if at all possible) to do quick checks on your work, set up chats with your manager and show how you're diligently tackling his feedback. This always goes a long way!

Hi there,

If you really love consulting, I’d say don’t give up on it as it’s rare to find a career you actually enjoy. Try not to get too swayed by one person’s feedback. Ask a few people you’ve worked with for their perspective so you can see what the common themes are, and focus on improving those. At the end of the day, consulting is all about constant feedback and growth, so you’re not alone in this. Keep going as it sounds like you’ve got a lot of strengths too.

Let me play devil's advocate. Your manager may have clocked your insecurity and is using it to keep you sweating. The oscillating feedback is classic carrot and stick, keeping you working harder without them committing to a timeline, criteria, or support for your promotion.

As for the ADHD, have you had a discussion with them for the condition to be accommodated? As they say, not every disability is visible. An old flat mate of mine had severe ADHD and wasn't diagnosed until 2-3 years ago, but ended up cultivating a reputation for themselves as one of the global experts on regulating decentralized finance, despite going years undiagnosed. I could see firsthand how they used to dwell and procrastinate on some tasks for hours (especially ones that don't excite them), and also getting hyper-fixated on other tasks until 3-4am and they'd never even feel the time pass.

Disability aside, you clearly know your shit. As others have noted on some of these, try and do the following:

• Build a 'QA layer' with a more junior analyst: who'll review your work (nothing humiliating about this, if anything the junior will be thankful that they see live how work gets made)
• Standardize the boring bits: use deck templates, style guides, and a pre-send checklist before sending to your boss (headers, spellcheck / grammar, formatting etc.)
• Time-box detail work: 25-30 min sprint before sending to your boss with a written checklist and "hunt" for errors (gamify it somehow by 'catching' them in your own way)
• Structure your day: protect your deep-work blocks for the complex tasks you're good at and have the most energy for (night owl, early bird, suit yourself)
• (Slightly risker in the Middle East since people are less aware about learning disabilities) Have a conversation with your boss: tell your manager that you're optimizing for quality and clarity of thinking and speed on complex streams, and will put a formal QA step on formatting and details, ask your team to be staffed accordingly if it allows.

Good luck, despite everything. And hey, if having a tough conversation ends badly and they end up vilifying you and telling you that ADHD isn't an excuse, then maybe this isn't the best person to work for ;)

Hi,

Second what Cristian said and it really boils down to whether you want to be in consulting or not. 

I'll offer an additional perspective / different angle:

• I know quite a few consultants that did extremely well as a consultant, and then suffered as a manager
• I can name quite a few managers and principals that were great, but did not survive being an equity partner
• I can also name a few equity partners that honestly were not great consultants but only started to excel once they were an equity partner
• I know many great consultants that never made it to equity partner because they chose to quit before hand

So what am I trying to let you takeaway from those anecdotes above? 

• First, i think is to have that long term view and to clarify what does succeed mean. Do you need to become a partner?
• Second, if you take the long term view, then it's important to realize that you also don't need to the best at something, but good enough to barely make it to the next hurdle

Having the "I just need to not get kicked out" versus "i dont need to be promoted the fastest" is a major change in terms of practicality and also potentially mental and psychological stress. 

Sounds to me that you might excel longer in the senior roles, so may not be a bad thing to try and just barely cross the bar now :)

You can. Just need someone to take care of the small details. :)

Everyone has a weak spot, it's really about how you find a way to deal with it.

hi! 

I would say that you can succeed in consulting despite struggling with small details. Your strength is complex problem-solving and leadership potential, which matter most. Focus on leveraging your strengths, use systems or teammates to manage minor errors, and seek roles or projects that emphasize high-level impact over tedious detail work. ADHD doesn’t hold you back if you strategize around it.

Alessa