Leaders Giving Advice

Proverbs 25:11 (NLT) Timely advice is as lovely as golden apples in a silver basket.

One of the important functions of leadership is listening; however, there does come a time for giving advice. Timely advice - not constant chattering advice of Micro-managing – advice given at the right time in the right place with consideration of the recipient - advice that is not only “beautiful” but also valuable. Timely advice can be seen as the process of asking insightful questions, the answers to which will yield clarity: What does the questioner really want? How do they understand the problem? What are the options? Do the alternatives have the same weight of importance? If an ethical issue, what are the moral imperatives and where is Truth? At the end of the day, a Believer’s advice must be a perfect mixture of grace and truth.  If a gracious heart rules your mind, then your advice will be both timely and worth its weight in silver and gold.

Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell