As the leader of your organization, you recognize that it’s your job to set strategy, move the organization forward, hit your goals and deliver impact.
That’s a tall order for any leader even in the best business climate.
When you consider that markets are complex, dynamic and fluid and most industries are competitive – the expectation that one person – even with a great team can do all of this is pretty daunting.
That said, there are times when a leader and her team are perfectly capable of setting strategy and executing.
So when do you look to hire a trusted advisor and when do you decide to go it alone?
Following are my 5 hacks to help you figure out when to hire a trusted outside advisor.
YOUR ACTION STEPS
Take a look at what's happening within your organization and if any of the following situations seem familiar, it might be time to engage an outside advisor:
You're Going Somewhere New
If you need to move your organization in a new direction and into uncharted territory, it might be a good idea to hire an advisor. An advisor can provide the expertise and know-how to help move you along the learning curve and help you avoid pitfalls. Having someone who’s been there and done that can be invaluable.
It's a Different Day, but You Keep Seeing the Same Results
If you find yourself trying new approaches and strategies to move the needle for your organization and you still have the same results, it might be a sign that you need some new thinking to change the outcome. Often a leader will be very clear where she is trying to go, but all her efforts to get there don’t lead to the desired results. This can feel like the movie Groundhog Day and finding someone to challenge your thinking and present new options may help you achieve different results.
You have No Extra Bandwidth
There are times when everyone in leadership is just running at maximum speed and no one has the time or energy to step back and think strategically for your organization. You could argue that the job at hand will still get done when your team operates like this, but if you’re honest, what are the chances that something new, innovative and strategic will emerge from a team that is tapped out? When you know you need to be thinking about strategy and you can’t for the life of you imagine finding someone to task with that job, it’s probably a sign you need to leverage outside support to do that work.
Internal Risk and Time are GREATER THAN the Expense of Going Outside
Perhaps you’re thinking that you have the team to get the job done, but the potential risk of going down new paths and time it will take to figure it all out are greater than the expense of hiring an outside advisor. When this is the case, finding an outside advisor who can mitigate risk for trying new initiatives and help you reduce the time from idea to execution is money well invested.
Physician, Thou Art Attempting to Heal Thyself
As a trusted advisor, I clearly have a perspective on this that might be a little self serving. Just as you wouldn’t try to be your own doctor or attorney, I’m not sure you should try to be your own strategic advisor. Trusted advisors should have a track record of driving results with dozens of clients. They understand where you are, what’s ahead and where you’re going. You know your organization and market best. Marrying that knowledge with a thorough, disciplined process to articulate strategy, create a plan to take action and measure results is a winning combination.
