TAKING ADVICE, How Leaders Get Good Council and Use it Wisely
Dan Ciampa
Harvard Business School Press, 2006
ISBN: 1-59139-668-9
Most leaders spend a large part of their day taking advice––from bosses, friends, spouses, subordinates, board members, or paid professional advisors. There are plenty of people who supply advice. But what about the other side of this equation - the “demand side” of advice? How can leaders learn to take advice, and to use it wisely in order to help them make the best decisions?
In TAKING ADVICE: How Leaders Get Good Counsel and Use It Wisely Dan Ciampa explains that few leaders know how to make the most of the advice they receive. The result? Failed attempts to change or improve an organization; problems for executives in new leadership positions; or worse. In short, it can mean the difference between success and failure.
Dan Ciampa, an experienced advisor to leaders and organizations worldwide and former Chairman & CEO of Rath & Strong Inc., explains the current disparity when it comes to executive counsel and guidance. More outside advisors than ever are offering advice on increasingly costly projects; yet ironically, as this advice has become more ubiquitous, leaders have grown less satisfied with it - especially when dealing with high-stakes, unfamiliar situations that require assertive action, speed, and wise judgment. In TAKING ADVICE, Dan Ciampa is the first to offer a needed new theory of advice-taking – with rules, frameworks, and crucial insights for any leader.
He addresses the topic of how to take advice and use it effectively in order to provide a tool for better leadership. The core premise is that to be most effective, especially during times of change, the people in charge must be shrewder and more discerning advice takers. This new theory of advice taking is outlined in the following chapters:
Chapter 1. The Help Paradox
Chapter 2. How Good Leaders Fail as Advice Takers
Chapter 3. A New Framework for Advice Taking
Chapter 4. Types of Advice: Strategic, Operational, Political, and Personal
Chapter 5. Kinds of Advisers: Expert, Experienced, Sounding-Board, and Partner
Chapter 6. The Art of Balance
Chapter 7. Attitudes and Behavior of Great Advice Takers
Chapter 8. Listening - the Master Skill - and Other Key Success Factors
How important is advice? It is critical. Good advice bridges the gap between a leader’s vision and the realization of that vision. So when leaders fail to solicit advice, when they obtain it from the wrong sources, or when they ignore good advice - the leader and his vision suffer. By offering the broadest perspective on advice to date, Dan Ciampa helps readers avoid this scenario. He provides a topology of advice (strategic, operational, political, and personal) and defines four types of advisors (expert, experienced, sounding board, and partner). As well, he identifies the defining characteristics of effective advice takers - illustrating them with a wealth of examples from business, the public sector, and history.
This clear and practical guide - addressing a previously neglected subject - enables both seasoned and aspiring leaders to master a critical competency.
Some comments about TAKING ADVICE by Dan Ciampa:
“No leader has all the answers all the time … Taking Advice can help anyone who truly wants to find the right kind of help and get the most out of it.”
- Brenda Barnes, Chairman and CEO, Sara Lee Corporation
“In Taking Advice, Dan Ciampa has again broken new ground with a clear, practical guide to a topic that we all too often ignore.”
- Travis Engen, former President and CEO, Alcan, Inc. and former Chairman & CEO, ITT Industries
“If you can’t take advice, and put it to good use, you have no business calling yourself a leader.”
- Michael Watkins, Professor of Practice at INSEAD, founder of Genesis Advisers, and author of The First 90 Days
“This is a most informative, personally engaging book that is easy to read and once you start hard to put down until you finish it. Each short story brings a new perspective on offering, receiving and responding to advice. After reading a few of the narratives within the book I, at once, felt comfort/discomfort. It was time for me to look in a mirror to see who I was. It made me start to talk to myself – and I listened – perhaps for the first time. This book will help you make a good assessment of yourself. TAKING ADVICE is a definite read for everyone.”
- Howard M. Brandston, Lighting designer, professor and artist
"As an executive, you may spend millions soliciting advice during your career. The compelling stories, engaging logic and tips in this book will help you understand how much of that money could be wasted and will help to ensure great decision making for the future. Take my advice, you really need to read this book!"
- Richard E. Boyatzis, Professor of Organizational Development and Psychology at Case Western Reserve University, bestselling co-author of Primal Leadership and Resonant Leadership.
"Learning how to take advice is invaluable not only in a business context, but also in the context of health and medicine, relationships, personal finance, and life goals. In Taking Advice, Dan Ciampa conveys his experience and expertise in an enjoyable, interesting and easy to read book that is a "must read" for anyone wanting to improve and enhance their business or personal lives. Take my advice - learn from the expert!"
- Mark Liponis, Medical Director, Canyon Ranch Health Resorts
