Leadership Skills: The Value of Give and Take

“He who can take advice is sometimes superior to him who can give it.”
- Karl von Knebel

Being a leader and being an effective teammate are intricately linked. Great leaders surround themselves with great people, and are aware of how to use the strengths of each teammate in order to achieve goals.

Seeking and listening to the insight of key advisors is an invaluable leadership asset.  What are you doing right now to maximize this resource?  Leaders who enjoy taking on the hero’s role don’t take the time to ensure that their advisors have the tools they need to offer the insight we are seeking.  How can you optimize the effects of advice that is given, and ensure that you are paying attention to the advice of people who may be more objective than you are?

There are no tricks or shortcuts to leveraging the information that advisors can provide to you.  Foster a solid network of advisors, including those who may not always provide the kind of advice that you are comfortable with. 

The Role of the Advisor

If you look at the relationship between leaders and advisors you’ll see that the most synergy exists when there is a high level of mutual trust.  An insightful advisor will tailor advice to accommodate the leader’s specific situation rather than generalizing. It is also a key piece of the advisor’s role to respect that, ultimately, it is the leader’s decision.

Getting the Right Advice

What type of advice should a leader seek?  There is more than one answer. When facing complex challenges, a leader can’t afford to depend on a single type of advice or only one advisor. This is where a strong advisor network becomes critical.  When seeking advice, leaders should address all four “Needs Quadrants.” Whether you are a leader or advisor, recognize which Needs Quadrant is being addressed in order to gain clarity and serve the situation appropriately. 

It is critical to find apt advisors before they are needed for a particular situation; foster those relationships, and most of all, be sure that all kinds of advice are sought and received.  At this level, challenges are complex and aren’t effectively addressed with one perspective. 

So how do you optimize the advice that is offered? Open-ended (and even simple) questions give the space that is needed to spur creative dialogue and leave any solution on the table for consideration. Asking questions such as, “What do you think?” or “Where do you think I should go from here?” can be immensely helpful in opening up the floor for consideration of a variety of options.

Types of Advisors

Advisors may play different roles to fill a specific need for the leader who is pursuing a new direction.  Leaders need to seek the advice of experts, partners, experienced advisors, and sounding-board advisors.  The expert advisor can offer specialized, situation-specific advice.  Much of the same can be said about a technical advisor.  The partner may become more involved in the logistics of carrying out changes or plans.  Experienced advisors will likely be a predecessor or someone with a similar career path, and may have faced similar situations in the past.   Sounding-board advisors offer a safe harbor where the leader can express what is on his mind, in a confidential environment.

It is up to the leader more than the advisor to make the most of the available advice. Skilled leaders view advice as critical to achieve goals and foster change. Overall, maximizing the kind of advice received is in the leader’s hands.  A strong advice network offers immeasurable benefit when managing complex issues and unexpected situations.