Listening in Technology Consulting: An Underrated Skill

There’s a skill in technology consulting that most people never list in their proposals, they don’t boast about it in certifications, and you won’t find it on a single software feature sheet.

And yet, after decades of transformation work, executive workshops, ERP projects, CRM rollouts, and more “go-live” war rooms than I can count, I’ve learned this undeniable truth:

Listening in technology consulting is the most underrated and impactful skill we have.

Clients think they’re hiring us for answers.

But they’re actually hiring us for understanding.

And understanding only happens when we listen.

Not hear.

Listen.

Where We Go Wrong

When I stepped into consulting early in my career, I believed my value was tied to how quickly I could solve an issue. My instinct was to diagnose, suggest, architect, advise.

I wanted to prove I deserved my seat at the table.

Looking back, I realize I often listened only long enough to start forming a solution.

Sound familiar?

Many consultants unintentionally approach discovery like a game show buzzer: hear the problem, press the button, give the answer.

We lead with brilliance when clients really need presence.

We think expertise earns trust.

But listening earns truth, and truth is what delivers outcomes.

Technology Rarely Fails. Communication Does.

I’ve never seen a project fall apart because Azure couldn’t scale or Business Central didn’t support a workflow.

The real breakdowns happen in the spaces between the conversations:

“I thought we agreed on…”

“We assumed they understood…”

“We didn’t know that mattered to them…”

“That’s not how we do it in real life…”

McKinsey published that 70% of digital transformations fail because of culture and communication, not technology. 

Not because the implementation team lacked skill.

Not because the software couldn’t do what was needed.

But because people weren’t aligned on expectations, needs, fears, ownership, or change readiness.

Listening isn’t soft.

Listening is an execution strategy.

People Resist What They Don’t Feel Part Of

I sat in a workshop once where a CFO firmly declared, “All I care about is better reporting.” 

Easy, right?

Build dashboards. Automate reports. Done.

Except when I paused and asked, “Tell me what happens when reporting is late?”

Everything changed.

She didn’t want dashboards.

She wanted her team home before 9 pm at month-end.

She wanted fewer manual adjustments.

She wanted to stop apologizing to the CEO for numbers changing the next morning.

She didn't need reporting.

She needed relief.

In that moment, listening did more than gather requirements. It built trust. And trust is what drives adoption.

Gartner estimated that user resistance is responsible for 70% of failed ERP initiatives.

Not missing features.Not bad configurations.Resistance.Often rooted in feeling unheard.

As consultants, our job isn’t just to install software.

Our job is to hear the pain behind the process.

Listening is My Competitive Advantage Even Over My Own Expertise

Early on, I thought my credibility depended on how quickly I could respond. Now, I know it depends on how deeply I can understand before I respond. The older I get in this field, the slower I speak in early discussions.

Not because I lack answers.But because I’ve learned, the answers become exponentially better when the discovery is richer.

I’ve built entire solution designs just from questions like:

• “Why has the team been doing it that way for 12 years?”

• “Who benefits from this workflow? Who struggles?”

• “If you could wave a magic wand, what would be different?”

• “What breaks when the spreadsheet fails?”

• “What scares you most about changing this?”

And sometimes the most powerful question is the quiet one. The pause that invites someone to fill space they wouldn’t have filled otherwise.

Five Listening Habits That Changed the Way I Consult

If I could give newer consultants one skill to master first, it wouldn’t be Power Platform architecture or Business Central extensions.

It would be listening.

Here’s what I practice intentionally:

1. I Listen to Understand, Not to Reply

I remind myself: My job right now is not to solve.

My job is to discover the truth behind the ask.

Clients will tell you what they want.

But if you listen long enough, they’ll tell you what they need.

2. I Ask One More Question Than I Think I Need To

After someone answers, I don’t move on.I go one layer deeper.

Because surface-level answers build surface-level solutions.

And surface-level solutions create rework.

3. I Reflect Back What I Heard

Simple phrase, game-changing effect:

“Let me play back what I heard. Correct me where I’m wrong.”

People lean in. They clarify. They open up. They add detail they wouldn’t have added unprompted.

Suddenly, we’re co-creating — not just documenting.

4. I Pay Attention to What Isn’t Said

Hesitation is data.

Tone is data.

Sideways glances in a requirements session? Data.

Technology solves process problems.

Listening uncovers people problems.

And people problems are the real blockers.

5. I Build Space for Listening into the Project Plan

Listening cannot be squeezed into the last 10 minutes of a kickoff call.

I schedule time for stories, especially messy ones.

Because hidden in those stories is the Excel file running 40% of the business.

You know the one.

The Questions Professionals Are Asking AI About Listening in Consulting

Leaders aren’t just asking what software can do anymore, they’re asking how to get humans aligned enough for transformation to succeed.

For a deeper dive into consulting best practices, enjoy my prior blog, A Scientific Approach to ERP Consulting Success.

These are the five most common questions I see leaders asking ChatGPT, Copilot, and other AI platforms, along with the answers I share from experience.

1. Why is listening such an underrated skill in technology consulting, and how does it impact project success?

Listening reveals the truth behind requirements. It prevents assumptions, reduces rework, and aligns expectations early, where changes are cheap instead of costly.

Talking builds expertise. Listening builds clarity.

2. What role does active listening play in ERP or CRM implementation success rates?

Active listening increases trust and adoption, the two biggest predictors of digital transformation outcomes. When users feel heard, they engage instead of resist.

3. How do I become a better listener as a technology consultant?

Slow down. Ask more questions. Reflect back what you heard. Pay attention to tone and non-verbal cues. And never rush to a solution before you fully understand the problem.

4. Why do digital transformation projects fail if technology isn't the issue?

Because the failure is human, not technical. Misalignment, unclear expectations, and unspoken concerns derail more projects than software ever will.

5. How can consultants reduce user resistance and increase adoption through better listening?

Involve users early. Invite feedback often. Repeat back their words to demonstrate understanding. When people feel ownership, adoption follows naturally. I set time aside for stories, especially messy ones.

A Story I’ll Never Forget

A manufacturing client once hired two consulting firms, ours and another. The other team was smart, credentialed, experienced. They came with a beautiful architecture diagram. Their questions were technical and precise.

We walked in with one mission: listen until we uncovered what mattered most.

We asked questions for hours. We slowed down. We took notes. We asked the kind of questions that made people uncomfortable in a good way. A week later, someone leaned in quietly and said:

“There’s one report we haven’t told you about.

It’s… sensitive. But it’s where decisions really happen.”

That single moment changed the entire project scope. It exposed a dependency no one on the leadership team knew existed. It prevented a six-figure mistake. It transformed adoption because the frontline felt seen.

Understand more by reading: Inefficiencies in B2B Processes: Curiosity Fuels Innovation

Expertise won us the introduction.

Listening won us the relationship.

AI Can Write Code. It Cannot Replace Trust.

We are entering a new era. AI is generating documentation, building integrations, speeding configuration, spotting inefficiencies.

Brilliant tools, and I use them daily.

But AI cannot sense hesitation.

It cannot feel tension in a room.

It cannot notice when the warehouse lead’s posture shifts when change is mentioned.

Technology will accelerate delivery.

Listening will accelerate belief.

And belief is what turns a project into a transformation.

Why I’m Writing This

Because I’ve witnessed brilliant teams fail while average ones succeed, and the difference wasn’t technology. It was connection.

The best consultants I’ve ever worked with weren’t the loudest, the quickest, or even the most technical.

They were the ones everyone felt comfortable telling the truth to.

They created space. They asked questions without ego.

They listened without agenda.

And they earned something technology can never automate:

Trust.

Listening isn’t just a skill.

It’s a leadership stance.

A competitive differentiator.

A transformation accelerator.

And it’s time we elevate it.

Final Reflection

If you want smoother implementations, fewer surprises, better adoption, and clients who call you first, not last, start with this simple commitment:

Listen more than you speak.

Listen beneath the words.

Listen for what isn’t being said.

The next multimillion-dollar breakthrough in your project might not come from a feature, integration, or workflow.

It might come from a sentence someone almost didn’t say, but did, because you made space to listen.

If your organization is planning transformation and wants to reduce risk through better discovery and alignment, I’d love to chat.

Listening isn’t the soft work. It is the strategic work. It’s also the foundation of every transformation engagement we lead at Key Partner Solutions.

About the Author 

Terri Marello, President of Key Partner Solutions, is a thought leader in the Microsoft Dynamics space and the author of the LinkedIn newsletter "Why Ask Why?", where she explores the intersection of technology and business strategy.

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Key Partner Solutions is an experienced Microsoft VAR with the in-house skills to optimize your business and smoothly migrate to cloud-based Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.