Knowledge gets multiplied when shared. And this is the reason, humble professionals and leaders are open to ask and share advice.
Here are a few ground rules that can make it effective, based on my “experience”.
1) When seeking advice, ensure that you summarise the context and highlight the problem statement.
2) Be specific in your ask. What is the exact problem you are trying to solve?
Have you made an effort to find the answer from online/passive sources?
3) Keep a mental note of what you have tried to solve the problem, and the outcomes.
This can be useful during the discussion. This can make the discussion interactive and valuable.
4) Is the advice a piece of knowledge, or experience, or idea.
There is a difference between these three:
Knowledge is validated information.
Experience is one’s learning through action. The time of experience and broader context is also important.
Ideas are thoughts, or experiments, which the person may share basis his broader understanding by connecting the dots, but may not have firsthand experience of the same.
It is very important to know (and communicate, if you are giving the advice) what it is.
This helps the receiver understand the source from where this input is coming, and give him/her ability to apply his own discretion and wisdom on top of it – how much to rely on it, what to validate further, etc.
5) Always follow up and share the outcome of the situation. Lots of people are open to sharing their experience and thoughts to learn further from other people’s experience.
A thank you note is always appreciated.
Hope this helps as you meet interesting people in your journey – in learning and sharing.
Do you have any interesting experiences or ideas to share? Do post it here.