We are swimming in a sea of good advice. Yet we often refuse to take it, and end up drowning.

By William H Harriss. 10/4/2024. [email protected]

Everyone has a blind spot when examining our own business or that of the corporation we work for. One of the oldest problems that is inherent in managerial and directorship positions is the know-all, know-nothing, or not-know-enough stubborn heedless bigot who cannot take advice. Commonly known in rude US colloquial terms as a 'bullshitter' in a powerful position, politely and 'politically correctly' written as BS.

Seeking and giving advice are central to effective leadership and decision making. Yet directors and managers seldom view them as practical skills they can learn and improve. Receiving guidance is often seen as the passive consumption of wisdom. And advising is typically treated as a matter of “good judgment”—you either have it or you don’t—rather than a competency to be mastered.

Usually the higher up the ladder in an organization a person is, the less likely they are of taking or even considering advice. They cannot take advice or even listen to or consider advice, because they think they are old enough and wise enough, and high positioned enough to know everything. The truth is no one is beyond the need of advice from time to time due to the 'blind spot'.

What keeps a fool from being wise: His way is right in his own eyes; he thinks he is in the right in every thing he says and does, and therefore never asks for, or accepts any advice.

Sometimes people are simply up so close that they just cannot see the wood for the trees. While others looking in from another department or from outside can see an image that the know-all-fool is blind to.

Every piece of advice, information or idea from someone, a group, or an organization brought to you should be considered and looked at in 3D. It should be scrutinized and discussed before it is rejected or accepted by you. Regardless of the source you owe a duty of care to everyone to consider what is brought to you.

There is a proverb in the bible that deals specifically with such a situation. Proverbs 12:15 "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."

The majority of top to bottom leadership in the hospitality industry just cannot take advice, will not listen to advice, will not even consider advice. Of course there are people who are wiser than the advice giver, but they prove themselves fools because they cannot listen, least of all consider.

I mention the hospitality industry because that is one of the subjects I am most knowledgeable in and can write and speak from both negative and positive experiences on this subject.

Remember it does not matter how good you are at your job, there is a blind spot that we all have, always listen and consider before you reject.

William Shakespeare wrote; “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

So remember consider every piece of advice, consider every idea of others, investigate the offer or presentation of every invention or innovation. Not to do so is a disservice to your investors, shareholders, the company and your colleagues, if you cannot listen and consider, or take advice, you are a liability to the corporation or those you work for, your most certainly not an asset. Because as the negative advice taker, when considering what you really are, one must come to the opinion you are an ignorant fool of the first order, your most certainly not a wise man.

The advice from advisers you should beware is from someone who wants to sell you something. Because their advice is loaded with reasons that do not necessarily truly connect with your requirements. As a for instance; Chemical and cleaning product suppliers to the hotel industry. Their advice will be to use their products and more of it and at their stated price. I am not saying do not take advice from them, but give it extra consideration due to the reasons I have given.

According to Harvard there is a psychology to giving and taking advice.

Advice seekers and givers must clear significant hurdles, such as a deeply ingrained tendency to prefer their own opinions, irrespective of their merit, and the fact that careful listening is hard, time-consuming work. The whole interaction is a subtle and intricate art. On both sides it requires emotional intelligence, self-awareness, restraint, diplomacy, and patience. The process can derail in many ways, and getting it wrong can have damaging consequences—misunderstanding and frustration, decision gridlock, subpar solutions, frayed relationships, and thwarted personal development—with substantial costs to individuals and their organizations. Ref: Harvard Business Review. The Art of Giving and Receiving Advice.

Because these essential skills are assumed to emerge organically, they’re rarely taught; but we’ve found that they can be learned and applied to great effect. So we’ve drawn on extensive research (ours and others’) to identify the most common obstacles and some practical guidelines for getting past them. Though heavily disguised, the examples in this article are based on interviewees’ real experiences in a range of settings. Of course, advice takes different forms in different circumstances. Coaching and mentoring are covered extensively elsewhere, so here we focus on situations that involve big, risky, or emotionally charged decisions—those in which you might consult with someone multiple times—because leaders struggle with such decisions and must learn to handle them well. Ref: Ibid.

https://hbr.org/2015/01/the-art-of-giving-and-receiving-advice#:~:text=The%20authors%20define%20the%20five%20stages%20of%20advising:%20(1)%20finding