Generation X and Y have their own approach to work that includes a task orientation, a focus on results and an eagerness for change. These sound like skills that companies value in consultants. Will Gen X and Y workers inherently make good consultants?

Businesses highly value consultants who can "see the big picture," are adaptable, and are enthusiastic about managing change. Gen X and Y, with the same perspectives, do seem like they would make great consultants. But why?

One aspect of this approach is the pervasive impact of video games. John Seely Brown and Douglas Thomas write, in The Gamer Disposition in Harvard Business Review's Breakthrough Ideas for 2008, that online multiplayer games create the exact skills most desired in today's knowledge workers. These are:

• They are bottom-line orientation
• They understand the power of diversity
• They thrive on change
• They see learning as fun
• They marinate on the "edge"

Seely and Brown see these individuals as learning (from these complex, adaptive, interactive systems) a range of skills such as flexibility, resourcefulness, meritocracy focus, and innovativeness. If you are looking for consultants, think about Gen X and Y candidates.

Tip: To develop your skills in systems thinking, adaptability, cooperation, decision making, innovation and stress management, think about participating in role playing and other interactive games.

© 2011 Institute of Management Consultants USA