Leaders give - and take - advice

People love to be asked for advice - and love to give advice. It flatters our self-confidence to be seen by others as so experienced and wise that our opinion is sought. Leaders also give advice - or are vice versa in situations where they seek advice.

What is important to give good advice and to get some yourself? Big question, but here are some thoughts to be considered and traps to be avoided:

First:

Good advice begins by listening carefully to the person seeking advice: What exactly is the problem? What are the obvious challenges? Are there possibly blind spots? To have only a superficial knowledge of the problem is misleading and risky. Experienced persons are often tempted to quickly refer to their own experiences – which sometimes may be appropriate but sometimes not. Wrong conclusions and indications are then inevitable! And in this context: Never give advice if you are not familiar with and have good knowledge of the matter at hand! 

Second:

Giving advice to someone is not the same as deciding. In most cases, those who seek advice are faced with decisions. Anyone who is asked for advice is therefore also quickly tempted to solve the decision-making problem. But that does not help, because it changes the responsibility for the decision and its consequences in a disastrous way: The advisor decides, but the consequences of the decision are still remain with the person seeking advice. 

Third

When employees seek advice from their boss, it is particularly important that he or she is not tempted to "take matters into his or her own hands" and solve the problem. In this case, seeking advice turns out to be a back-delegation of a task or an assignment to the «chef»!

Seeking advice is not a sign of weakness, but of wisdom. Four eyes see more than two! But how do you get good advice? 

Fourth:

The biggest challenge is to find the right person for advice. Actually, it would be obvious that for the discussion of a difficult problem, people are sought who have the best know-how in the relevant matter. This is not always easy, but it is essential! It’s very often observed, that people are satisfied too quickly! One talks to a person who can be easily approached, or who - and this is serious - have the same opinion as I do, have similar convictions, use the same analytical methods, etc. The intuitive preference is to ask people one feels similar to. That is convenient, but it does not help. And a piece of advice should help - as the Greek philosopher Solon formulated some 2,500 years ago.:

«In giving advice seek to help, not to please, your friend. » (Solon, 640 – 560 B.C)