How to Find a Trusted Advisor

If you already have developed one or more relationships with trusted advisors, you are either lucky or have foresight. A trusted advisor has a breadth of knowledge and a range of experience that makes them the perfect sounding board for new ideas and ‘what if’ explorations. Also, if you put them in charge of a project, you can feel confident that it is in good hands. If you’ve not yet developed any trusted advisor relationships, maybe it’s time to look.

By Ellen Koskinen-Dodgson

Ellen Koskinen-Dodgson is an IT and Telecommunications Management Consultant, electrical engineer, author, speaker, media resource and Expert Witness. She is the President and Managing Partner of TMC IT and Telecom Consulting Inc.

The Relationship

Imagine reading an article and being inspired by it. You start your plans to follow the advice given in the article. Before you go too far down this path, you think, maybe I should run this past Peter. We’ve worked well together in the past and he always gives me great advice. Maybe I’ll give him a call and see what he thinks. You make the call and arrange to meet for coffee to discuss your ideas. You’re glad that you did.

Trusted advisors have the outsider’s perspective - they’re not distracted by your day to day problems. They focus on your best interests and don’t try to fit you into a solution from a previous client. They are not married to the way things are usually done.

What to Look For

If you don’t have a Peter, here are the traits to look for:

Background

• They have a depth and breadth of experience so that parallels and contrasts from other environments can contribute to useful new approaches
• They have previously delivered useful new approaches
• They can explain complex technical concepts and how they relate to your operations
• They understand that best practices should be used as a guideline; that not every best practice is appropriate for your circumstances

Approach

• They verify alignment to overall business objectives and corporate culture
• The ability to listen to what is said and also what is not said
• They spend sufficient time on problem definition; they have an analytic approach, Know what questions to ask
• They have a structured process to assessing possible solutions
• Thay have a collaborative style that works well with your team
• Their project management process includes a Project Charter, meeting minutes, etc. in a format that matches your needs
• They provide suitable knowledge transfer so that you understand the issues and options
• They provide honest opinions delivered with diplomacy
• While they provide a recommendation, they work collaboratively with you so that you make the decision

Delivery

• Reports are well organized and easy to understand
• Presentations are customized to the type of audience
• They deliver what they promise, even in the little things

Conclusion

Once you have a trusted Advisor, help them improve. Arrange to spend time together, even between projects. Some of the best insights occur during causal conversations.

If you’d like to discuss our potential as trusted advisors, or to comment on this article, please email me at ellen.