Do You Have An Advisor?

We all have Advisors.

There are people in our lives who are Advisors. In the formal sense of the word these can be legal advisors (otherwise known as lawyers), education advisors (such as guidance counselors), emotional advisors (such as social workers or psychologists), medical advisors (whom we call doctors) and financial advisors (like, well, financial advisors). These Advisors are paid to do just that: advise. They can’t (usually) force you to do anything you don’t want to, but you’re paying them for their advice, and you’ll usually take it.

In these formal relationships there are a lot of expectations and often legal parameters. The downside? Improper advice from one of these Advisors can cost you a lot of money, time, and hardship and could land the Advisor in jail. But even short of that, we all know or have heard of an Advisor that gave bad advice, set a poor example, or worse yet, didn’t care.

Yet for all of these kinds of advisors, we usually find that we get (and take) more advice from the people we don’t pay. These informal advisors can have a different, often bigger impact. The Advisor may be a relative or spouse, a boss or co-worker, or maybe someone you sat with for an hour on a plane that you never saw again.

How is this a career issue? It’s easy to figure out who your formal advisors are. Just look at your check book or credit card statement to see who’s getting your money. But do you know who really influences your life? Do you know who your informal advisors are? Make a list — in your head or better yet, on a piece of paper. How’s their advice?