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The Co-creation Mindset: A Guide for Independent Consultancies
The Co-creation Mindset: A Guide for Independent Consultancies
16th October 2025
16th October 2025
As an independent consultant, you rely on your expertise and network to secure work. But many high-value projects are too large or complex for a single practitioner. The default response is often collaboration, where individuals contribute their parts to a shared goal. Co-creation asks for something more. It is a deeper, more integrated way of working together, built on shared values and mutual trust, to produce outcomes that no single person could achieve alone.
This approach is particularly relevant in New Zealand, where 97% of businesses are small. To compete with the 1% of large organisations that employ over half the workforce, smaller firms and independent consultants must find better ways to combine their strengths. Co-creation moves beyond transactional partnerships to build something more sustainable and powerful. It is the difference between assembling a project team and building a collective capability.
Ignoring co-creation means you risk limiting yourself to smaller projects, competing in a crowded market for the same work. You may miss opportunities to bid on complex, multi-faceted tenders that require a diverse team. The rewards of embracing it are significant. You gain the ability to pursue larger contracts, develop more innovative solutions for clients, and build a resilient professional ecosystem. Even a "failed" joint bid becomes a valuable learning experience, strengthening relationships and capabilities for the next opportunity.
Steps to Build Co-creation into Your Practice
Steps to Build Co-creation into Your Practice
Shift Your Mindset. Co-creation starts with an abundance mindset, not a scarcity one. Instead of asking "What's in it for me?", ask "Who is the best person for this task?" The goal is to serve the project and the client, trusting that this approach builds a stronger network for everyone. This also requires humility. You may need to be a supportive team member rather than the leader, recognising that ego can impede progress.
Invest in Relationships. You cannot co-create effectively with strangers. Move beyond surface-level networking and get to know your peers on a deeper level. Understand their core values, their working styles, and what drives them. This requires a genuine investment of time. Start with small, informal conversations like a coffee meeting before considering a joint tender. Strong relationships are the foundation of the trust required for true co-creation.
Start Small and Experiment. The path to co-creation is not linear. It suits complex problems where you must probe, sense, and respond rather than follow a rigid plan. Do not wait until you feel perfectly "ready" or for the perfect opportunity to appear. Start with small, low-risk experiments. Share a piece of market intelligence with a trusted peer or explore a minor project together. Be prepared for some attempts to fail, and view those failures as critical learning opportunities.
Build a Simple Infrastructure. You do not need a formal consortium to begin. Start by establishing clear communication rituals and finding common times to connect with your potential partners. Use simple, transparent tools like Trello or Miro to keep everyone aligned. Have open conversations about your core values and purpose. A verbal commitment based on integrity and care can be just as powerful as a formal charter, especially in the early stages.
Reader’s Questions
Reader’s Questions
When you consider a new opportunity, is your first thought about what you will gain personally, or about who would be the best fit to deliver the work?
Who in your professional network do you know well enough to understand their core values and working style?
Are you willing to invest time in a joint project that might not succeed, for the sake of the learning and the relationship?
Key Action
Key Action
Identify one consultant in your network with complementary skills. In the next two weeks, schedule a coffee meeting with the sole purpose of understanding their values and how they approach their work, without a specific project in mind.
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