John Donne wrote the poem, No Man is an Island. The gist of the poem is that we are all part of mankind and are interconnected.
This week’s verse identifies the need for us to seek counsel from others when we need to make difficult decisions. One of the realities of being human is that we only see things from our perspective. Believe it or not, our perspective is not always the best one. Getting advice from others helps to broaden our perspective or see a situation from another perspective. Those other perspectives may change the direction you choose to follow. When making business decisions, it is critical to gain the advice from those you trust in order to make the best decision possible. The most effective leaders understand the need to hear from others impacted by the decision. If you don’t, you may be faced with unintended consequences that negatively impact your organization or those whom you are trying to lead.
One important thing to remember is that the quality of advice you received is only as good as the quality of the advisor. Often people seek input regarding a decision from others they already know will support the decision they already know they want to make. Make sure when you are seeking advice, you seek it from a variety of trusted sources who think differently than you and see things from a different perspective. That way, you will have the best opportunity to make a good decision.
Can you think of a time when you made a decision only to discover you should have sought the advice of others prior to making it.? What was the outcome? How would having counsel of others changed your decision?
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