You can lead a horse to water …

By Frosanna Kelso, Tender Specialist

One of my Mum’s favourite sayings is: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” It is a well-known saying and possibly the oldest proverb in the English language, dating back to the twelfth century, appearing in the Old English Homilies in 1175 as  “Hwa is thet mei thet hors wettrien the him self nule drinken” [who can give water to the horse that will not drink of its own accord?]. It has been in continual use since then appearing in John Heywood’s proverb collection of 1546 as “A man maie well bring a horse to the water, But he can not make him drinke without he will”, and in the 1602 play Narcissus: “They can but bringe horse to the water brinke / But horse may choose whether that horse will drinke.”

Still in use today, it essentially means you can encourage and/or help someone to do something, but you cannot force them to do it. As a High School teacher, my Mum knows this first hand. You can give students all the tools and resources to succeed, offer them revision lessons after school and opportunities to submit practice draft essays but you cannot make them do the work. It can be extremely frustrating, especially when you have a talented student, but the teacher’s role is not to force but to guide and encourage. It is a lesson she learnt early in her teaching career and one that I am re-learning after working for over five years as an in-house tender writer where I had direct control over the outcome that I wanted to achieve.

Now, as a consultant my role is to lead and guide clients through the tender process. Like a teacher, I can lead them to the water and encourage (not force) them to drink. This is done by developing a close and cooperative relationship with the client, showing them best practices, and demonstrating why it is in their best interest to follow. Whilst it’s true you cannot make a horse drink, that’s not a consultant’s role. Consultants who understand this; that their role is to guide, not force, will enjoy the rewards. And those they work with will appreciate the guidance, and most often drink their fill.