Page 186 - Make Work Great

From Contributor to Advisor

handle too much information at once. Step through each row of the
tables, one at a time, until you hit on the fi rst issue; stop there. If you
continue—if your advice is an overwhelming set of suggestions or
ideas—it will most likely be ignored. Focus carefully and help your
advisee consider some manageable changes that are likely to help. You
can always return to the “next important thing” later, after the fi rst
important thing has been addressed.

An Emerging Role
Your migration from cultural contributor to cultural advisor will
probably be more gradual than the earlier story of our fi ctitious mon-
key heroine might imply. This is good news for you, because advis-
ing is a skill that improves with practice and experience. Like every

other transition discussed in this book, it is to your benefit to make
the change slowly and manageably. The more advice you give and the
more practice you have yourself, the deeper the base of knowledge
and experience from which you can draw.
On the other hand, you should never feel disqualifi ed by a self-per-
ceived lack of knowledge. If you’re practicing overtness and clarity,
those around you already know what you’re doing. When they seek
your counsel, it’s because they believe you have something to offer
based on what they’ve seen of you already. Your only responsibility is
to do your best to discover that something and offer it.

Giving Culture-Driven Advice

• Explore the other person’s situation in terms of overtness about task
and clarity about relationship.

• As you discover issues, limit yourself to one (or at most, two) areas
of overtness and clarity.

• If possible, relate the issues you’re discussing to your own
experience and share a personal story.

169