There are consultants who take junior or mid level training assignments. Many consultants take these jobs with the hope that they can succeed –in order to be considered later on for a more senior OD assignment in the same organization . It very rarely happens.
There are several reasons for this not happening:
1) If you have worked with middle management on listening skills , or have done “Japanese Business Culture in 45 minutes”, you have branded yourself as junior. Senior management may admire what you have done, but they have managed you-not worked with you. When they look for an OD consultant, they will want someone they respect as an equal, not someone who has “done a good job”. Senior OD people are “consulted with”, not only managed.
2) Your prices will be linked to the “ Japanese Cultural Training in 45 minutes”; you will have gone thru Procurement and you have spoken about prices with a barracuda with sharp teeth; perhaps you have undergone what we call a “second circumcision” price wise. You will not be allowed to raise praises. They know what you whore for, as George Bernard Shaw would say.
3) Senior management does not mind sending someone “down” to do some OD spying; they rarely take someone up who may already “have the wrong perspective”, which stems from having spent too much time with the proletarian.
4) Senior people hire senior people.
Some folks say: when my middle manager client becomes senior, he will take me with him. This is baloney. He will want someone who does not remember him as a middle manager.
And there are people who just want to be trainers as the know themselves, and they respect the OD for their acquired skills.
I think that there is a different between trainer an OD Consultant in the skills that are needed. Still good facilitator /trainer can bring important skills to his OD work and the other way around. The main issue that there is no grantee to anything.. Good OD have to developed himself through all his professional life to be able to give add value to his client- and that + his own ability and competent will make him senior OD who can work with Senior manager.