LEADERSHIP SERIES: Leaders Solicit Advice

Outside advisers are becoming ubiquitous, and according to author, Dan Ciampa, in his book Taking Advice, although leaders sometimes have grown less satisfied with the advice they are receiving, they too often overlook help from colleagues, board members, subordinates, friends, and spouses. He points out that when leaders fail to solicit advice or obtain it [actually listen to the advice] the leader and his vision suffer.

So, one of attributes of leadership is the set of seeking and taking good advice. It was Ulrich, Zinger & Smallwood who pointed out that leadership is the product of attributes times results. Their research demonstrated that one side multiplies the other; they are not cumulative. Leaders must strive for excellence in both areas.

Listening leaders are the ones who have learned that the more they know, the more there is to know and they cannot know it all. They model that learning is life-long. Leaders learn to listen - not just hear - and they have honed the skill to listen with a set of expectations that listening and learning will help them produce meaningful results.

If your board is giving direction, are you listening? If your staff is disengaged and seemingly “not on the bus,” are you engaging them by seeking their advice on how, together, you can achieve expected results. If your spouse is making passing comments that your pursuit of business has had an impact on your pursuit of Godliness, do you listen?

Simply listening to advice and actually taking advice are two different activities.

In which activity are you engaged?


Proverbs12: 15 (MSG) Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice.


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell