THE ART OF GIVING AND

RECEIVING ADVICE
PRESENTED BY : PRIYA
KAUSHAL

WILLIAM LEES ADVICE ON

ADVICING
Style of advising : I try to understand what the
other person faces and provide guidance that
makes sense from that perspective.

Qualities of a good adviser : Someone who is

open and candid. Someone who gives advice that
people can act on.

Importance of listening : listening facilitates

guidance, i.e. to ask questions that allow people
to reach conclusions themselves.

Toughest experience : to advise his second

chair to join some other firm which would best
suit his skills.

OUTLINE OF THE
PRESENTATION
INTRODUCTION
WHY IS IT HARDER THAN IT LOOKS??
BEST PRACTICES TO FOLLOW FOR
SUCCESSFUL ADVISING.
BEST ADVICE FROM THE CEOs.

INTRODUCTION
Seeking and giving advice are central
to effective leadership and decision
making.
Yet managers seldom view them as
practical skills they can learn and
improve.
When the exchange is done well,
people on both sides of the table
benefit.

 The skills for effective advising are

assumed to emerge organically,
theyre rarely taught
But the researcher found that they
can be learned and applied to great
effect.This study focused on
situations that involve big,
risky, or emotionally charged
decisions

TYPES OF ADVICE
TYPES OF ADVICE

ACTIVITIES

DESIRED OUTCOME

DISCRETE ADVICE

EXPLORING OPTIONS RECOMMENDATIONS

FOR SINGLE DECISION IN FAVOUR OF OR
AGAINST SPECIFIC
OPTIONS

COUNSEL

PROVIDING
GUIDANCE ON HOW
TO APPROACH A
COMPLEX OR
UNFAMILIAR
SITUATION

A FRAMEWORK OR
PROCESS FOR
UNDERSTANDING
AND NAVIGATING
THAT SOLUTION

COACHING

ENHANCING SKILLS
SELF AWARENESS
AND SELF
MANAGEMENT

TASK PROFICIENCY;
PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

MENTORING

PROVIDING
OPPORTUNITIES,
GUIDANCE AND
PROTECTION TO AID
CAREER SUCESS

A RELATIONSHIP
DEDICATED TO
BUILDING AND
SUSTAINING
PROFESSIONAL AND

WHY THIS IS HARDER THAN IT

LOOKS??
Flawed logic and limited
information
complicate the process

One reason theyre so common is

that theyre basicpeople often
dont realize theyre getting tripped
upso you may find it helpful to do a
reality check of your behavior
against these lists.

ADVICE SEEKERS
THINKING YOU ALREADY HAVE THE
ANSWERS
place too much faith in their intuition
The result is overconfidence and a
tendency to default to solo decision
making on the basis of prior knowledge
and assumptions.
AIfrelated
tendency is to ask for advice
a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts;
but if heones
will be content
to beginis
with
shall end
when
real goal
todoubts,
gain he
validation
in certainties.
or praise.
Francis Bacon,The Advancement Of Learning.

ADVICE SEEKERS
CHOOSING THE WRONG ADVISERS
decision makers stack the deck by
turning to likeminded advisers.
several field studies confirm that advice
seekers are more receptive to guidance
from friends or other likable people.
Seekers also fail to think creatively
enough about the expertise they need.

ADVICE SEEKERS
DEFINING THE PROBLEM POORLY
because of imprecise or ineffective
communication, and sometimes because
of cognitive or emotional blinders.

DISCOUNTING ADVICE
Their most common mistake is to
undervalue or dismiss it. Reason:
egocentric bias, putting more stock in
their own opinions than in others views.

ADVICE SEEKERS
MISJUDGING THE QUALITY OF ADVICE
Research shows that they value advice
more if it comes from a confident
is useful,
reject what doesnt
source, Adapt
even what
though
confidence
is useless, and add what is
signal validity.
specifically your own.
Brucetend
Lee to assume that
Conversely, seekers
advice is off-base when it comes from
people with whom theyve had frequent
discord.
Seekers also dont embrace advice when
advisers disagree among themselves.

ADVICE GIVERS
OVERSTEPPING BOUNDARIES
unsolicited advice
to chime in when theyre not qualified to do
so.

MISDIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM

they may define the problem prematurely.
they sometimes forget that seekers are
self-interested parties who may
deliberately or notpresent partial or
biased accounts.

ADVICE GIVERS
OFFERING SELF CENTERED
GUIDANCE

causes paralysis
This Nothing
approach is both off-putting and
like a laundry list of
ineffective.
options with no explicit
Advisers
guidance
on where
to personal stories
may also
share
start or how that
to work
and experiences
fail the doability
test.through and winnow the
list.

COMMUNICATING ADVICE POORLY

Advisers may provide vague
recommendations that can easily be
misconstrued.

ADVICE GIVERS
MISHANDLING THE AFTERMATH
Many advisers take offense when their
guidance isnt accepted wholesale.
More often they modify the advice,
combine it with feedback from others, or
reject it altogether.

BEST PRACTICES TO FOLLOW FOR

SEEKERS AND ADVISERS
STEP 1: FINDING THE RIGHT FIT

BEST PRACTICES TO FOLLOW FOR

SEEKERS AND ADVISERS
STEP 4: CONVERGING ON A DECISION

STEP 1: FINDING THE RIGHT

FIT
IF YOU ARE A SEEKER :
Have a preexisting board of diverse,
complimentary advisers.
Determine what type of advise you are
seeking.
Choose the advisers who fit your current
needs.

IF YOU ARE AN ADVISER

Assess your fit.
Identify other potential sources of guidance

WHAT ADVISERS CAN DO?

STEP 2: DEVELOPING A SHARED

UNDERTSANDING
IF YOU ARE A SEEKER
Provide just information about the
problem.
Acknowledge uncomfortable truths.
IF YOU ARE AN ADVISER
Set the stage for effective advising.
Listen effectively and suspend judgment
Ask open ended questions to broaden
understanding.

STEP 3: CRAFTING
ALTERNATIVES
IF YOU ARE SEEKER
Contribute actively to the development of
options.
Ask questions to understand.

IF YOU ARE AN ADVISER

Articulate your role as providing guidance
and not taking decision.
Push to generate several viable choices.
Spell out the rationale, personal experience
and principles behind your advice.

STEP 4: CONVERGING ON A
DECISION
IF YOU ARE A SEEKER
Beware of uncritical or dismissive reflexes.
Consider soliciting second or a third
opinion.
Develop hybrid solutions.
IF YOU ARE AN ADVISER
Dont jump quickly to a solution.
Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush stumble
and fall.William Shakespeare

Pause frequently for a reaction.

STEP 5: PUTTING IT INTO

ACTION
IF YOU ARE A SEEKER
Be sensitive and flexible to any midcourse action.
IF YOU ARE AN ADVISER
Reaffirm that the decision and
consequences are the seekers.
Convey your availability for further
clarification or reaction.

SECRET TO SUCCESS

WARREN BUFFET
Chairman and
CEOBerkshire
Hathaway

Advice for young women:

You do the same thing a
male will do. You follow
your passions. You find
something you love. The
truth is, so few people
really jump on their jobs,
you really will stand out
more than you think. You
will get noticed if you
really go for it.

 BeSUCCESS
clear what matters
SECRET TO

MEG WHITMAN:
Chairman, President
and CEOHewlettPackard

most.
And
what
matters most is your
family.
My advice to young
people is if you find
yourself in a company
where youre being
asked
to
do
something that you
dont think is right or
youre
feeling
uncomfortable,
run,
do not walk, for the

SECRET FOR SUCCESS

INDRA NOOYI:
Chairman and CEO
PepsiCo

Conventional
wisdom
suggests that its easier to
take the path of least
resistance by signing up for
an easy job, doing it well,
and
moving
on
to
something
bigger.
The
problem with that theory is
that nobody notices when
you do an easy job well.
Never stop learning.

SECRET TO SUCCESS

I received the following advice

ANDREW LIVERIS:
Chairman, President and
from
an
older
Chinese
CEODow Chemical.
businessman in Hong Kong:
There are three pillars to
society: the rule of law, the
rule of logic, and the rule of
relationships.
People can be bought with
their pockets and they can be
stimulated with their brains.
But only if you win their hearts
will they give you their fullest
efforts
driven
by
their
passions.

SECRET TO SUCCESS

LLOYD BLANKFEIN:
Chairman and CEO
Goldman Sachs

You owe it to yourself

to open up to broader
interests. And in the
end, it will be better
for
your
career
because you will be
more interesting and
attractive to others.

SECRET FOR SUCCESS

FRANCISCO
D'SOUZA: CEO
Cognizant.

In our careers, we should

apply a simple test when
making
important
decisions. If this were on
the front page of the
newspaper
tomorrow,
would your mom and dad
be proud of you?
In a world of scarcity, the
critical skill is to maximize
opportunities.

SECRET FOR SUCCESS

GINNI ROMETTY:
Chairman, President
and CEOIBM

Never protect the

past. If you never
protect the past, I
think ...you will be
willing to never love
[it] so much [that] you
wont let it go, either.