In seeking to build and maintain connections with your followers, it’s important to remember that unsolicited advice can often be viewed as criticism. That particular insight causes a leader to stop, think, and process before offering advice for which there has been no request.
Those of you who are reading or listening to this and have adult children, you know the process. You don’t venture out with advice for which there has been no request. And sometimes, you have to allow those followers to go out a little bit further down the road before they even know they need the advice you’re about to give.
In Levels of Competence surrounding any skill, a level exists called “Unconscious Incompetence,” at which level someone just plain doesn’t know what they don’t know. And it may be, as a wise leader, you’ll need to put them in positions that help them discover what they don’t know so that when the advice comes, it’s welcomed. It’s needed. They’re prepared for it.
Unsolicited advice, in spite of the best intentions, can oftentimes be viewed as criticism.
BONUS: As one adult speaking to another, asking him/her if they want your feedback would seem to be a reasonable courtesy. Then asking them whether or not they want to hear it at this time might be a thoughtful follow-up question.
Categories: Authority Relationships, Instructiveness, Sociability
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