Summit Consulting – Driving Success through Collaboration, Teamwork and a Virtual Bench

Following a string of wins across DOL, Treasury, Commerce, Education, USDA, and SBA to name a few, we caught up with recent Elev8 GovCon Honoree Summit Consulting and its Founding Partner Albert Lee to learn more about the concept of a virtual bench, how advisory differs from consulting, and the lens of partnership this successful team embraces.

Setting the Path

Beginning with a focus on data, Summit’s first ever client, a federal government agency, set it on a path of government service. For 20 years now the company has focused its growth, and evolving its identity, to suit those federal clients. “We are still faithful to what we wanted to be at the beginning but have been flexible enough to build upon that vision.”

Part of its growth and flexibility has come from its approach to hiring junior people and then supervising and training them to take on bigger roles within the organization. “When we bring people on, they bring their talent, for our part, we look to have enough projects to help them grow their skills and experience to become exactly what our clients need.”

First Steps are Hard

Saying that while people believe starting a business is hard, the hardest thing is that first hire, knowing you now have responsibility for that person’s well-being. The next hardest thing is recognizing that as good as your knowledge or managerial style may be, sometimes a team who shares in the responsibility and brings different skills to the table is better. “I didn’t want it just to be me and I didn’t want it to be other people who were like me. The idea of always having a bit of tension, of different views being heard culminating in a shared vision is a much better place to be.”

“As we grew our team, we ensured there was some responsibility, some shared governance across the board. It turned out to be a great proving ground for our future managers and leaders. I am one voice among many, there is a lot of give and take. I may articulate the vision but then others are able to carry it forward, adapt it as needed.”

The Managerial Challenge

As a small business there will be times that spending is required, even when on one hand it seems not something that can be afforded. This requires a balance of being resourceful and creative. “It can be a real chicken and egg scenario but if you get too bogged down, nothing will ever start. You have to look through the lens of people first and do the right thing, setting cost aside as you can.”

For Summit, the company has embraced the concept of a virtual bench, a group of people in its pipeline, vetted and understood and that can be turned to and hired quickly as needed. “Our people stay connected, have conversations, watch for skillsets we need so they can act when an opportunity presents itself. It is not the way many companies work but it has allowed us to anticipate and respond to the growth opportunities we have had.”

A Culture of Collaboration

Describing its culture outcome as collaborative, Summit operates as a very flat organization, where leaders at all levels work alongside the team, distinctions or walls do not exist, and people feel free to share ideas and thoughts, to work to influence future directions. “We may not adopt every idea but people know they are heard and that voice, that autonomy, has resulted in greater retention.”

Following a clearly articulated set of principles that guides decisions, Summit is run, not by an individual, but by a management team and a leadership team, and committees responsible for things such as DEIA. “We have a group in charge of wellness, a group focused on philanthropy, another in charge of social events and each comes up with their own ideas and initiatives to support the organization as a whole. These are the building blocks, the foundation of and have influenced the company’s culture.”

That foundation in collaboration has created a culture in which people truly care about each other, support and celebrate each other and lift each other up. “It’s about helping people be the best they can, not just for the company but for our clients, and for themselves individually.”

Advisory is not Consulting

Noting that consulting is different from providing advisory services, Summit has now moved into the realm of advisory, helping clients to understand and influence how they ask for what they need. It is helping them understand if a question is worth asking, and if so, how to ask it in the right way to reach the needed solution. “Many times clients will think they want one thing but when you dig into it, talk through the real ask, you find it is something else entirely. Helping to influence the question ultimately helps influence a better solution, a more deliberate solution to meet their needs.”

Across Summit that is understood to be its role, to help clients think, reason and develop more refined questions. “Combining technical capabilities and knowing the industry definitely helps. Beyond that we bring empathy, bring ourselves to the problem to help drive a real solution, and then support clients beyond what they expect.”

Lens of Partnership

Just as it selects its team based on compatibilities, so too does Summit look for commonalities when it looks at partners. Those commonalities include in values, in how companies interact with others, with clients, and with their teams. After that comes the strategy side, the access to market segments.

“We are fans here of teamwork, whether it is internally, with our clients, or our partners. When we bring the right team, a team that respects and works well together, everyone wins.”

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