How to Give the Very Best Advice as a Leader

Idea

Giving good advice is an essential skill as a manager and a leader. Even if you already think that you give pretty good advice, I reckon you can up your game.

It’s ironic but my advice on how to give the best possible advice is to stop giving so much advice. I don’t mean you have to stop giving advice entirely, but slow down the rush into advice giving.

Example

Alan Mulally, one of the great CEOs of our time, once said something about his leadership style that really struck me. He said, “Look, even when I knew the answer, I knew my job as a leader was not to give the advice. My job was to allow my team to flourish, to be confident, competent, autonomous and self-sufficient. My job is actually to bite my tongue, to hold the space, and to help them figure out how to get their own advice.”

Action

The next time somebody asks you, “Hey, how do I do X?” Here’s what to do:

• Say: “That’s a great question. I’ve got some ideas that I’ll share with you, I promise. But before I share with you, let me ask you, what’s your first thought on how to tackle this?”
• Whatever they say, nod your head and look interested. Be encouraging.
• When they finish, say, “I love that. That’s a great thought. What else could you do here?” They’ll start thinking and give you another insight.
• You respond again, “I love it. Is there anything else here that you could do?” And they’ll probably come up with something else.
• Finally, you’ll be able to say, “Look, I love those three ideas, those three pieces of advice you’ve given yourself. Here’s my one piece that I want to add,” then finally you give your advice.

Here’s why this technique for giving advice works so brilliantly.

1. The person who was seeking the advice has done the hard work so they’re left feeling smarter, wiser, more competent, and more supported by you as a manager or leader.
2. You help the person seeking the advice make new connections in their brain. They literally expand their potential.
3. Now when you offer your advice, you’re offering the bit that they don’t already know. You’re giving more targeted, more useful, and smarter advice.
4. Even though they’ve done all the work, they’re going to still leave thinking that you’re the smartest person in the room and who doesn’t want that?