Counsel

For Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Proverbs 15:22

Without counsel plans fail,
but with many advisers they succeed.

Many of our plans seem right - the house to buy, the job to take, the strategy for carrying out a project, the method of settling a dispute, etc. But we show a plan to a friend or someone with more expertise, and surprisingly see glaring mistakes in our thinking. Indeed, what were we thinking, we wonder. Or maybe we are near target, but with the review of others it is sharpened and made better.

This is the strength of counsel. By submitting our ideas, thoughts, and plans to others for review, our thinking becomes sharper. Counsel may reveal blindspots, or further refine good plans, or even reinforce our decisions as the questioning of others forces us to think through the defense of our plans.

The point of the matter is that seeking counsel is a sign of wisdom, not of weakness. People who fail at leadership often fail because they don't understand this principle. They think that seeking counsel signifies weakness, especially if counsel leads to exposing errors in their thinking or admitting that they need help. But good leaders get to their positions by listening well to others; they demonstrate their wisdom by how well they respond to counsel - be it discerning between good counsel and bad counsel. By accepting good counsel, they build loyalty among their counselors. They rise to the top because they have proven to others that they listen well and work well with others.

Dont' be afraid to seek counsel, be it for work, or life decisions, or marriage/family matters, or spiritual.