You need an advice on something and not sure who to ask? Would you ask your parents, your friends, your co-workers, your therapist, your neighbour, a total stranger?

As kids we tend to look up to our parents for answers, they seem to know everything. As we grow older, however, we find out that maybe they don’t have all the answers after all.

So who should you ask advice if you have a medical concern? A doctor.

Who should you ask advice if you have a dental issue? A dentist.

Who should you ask advice if you want to invest your money and want to know how to plan for retirement? A financial coach….Your mom? depends, is she debt-free and have a least a million$ into retirement? then yeah sure.

Who should you ask advice if you need a mortgage? A mortgage broker.

Who should you ask advice about becoming a Scrum Master? A Scrum Master who is still working as a Scrum Master.

As you can see, if looking for a serious advice,  ask a professional in that field. But they aren’t the only ones you could ask based on what you are looking for …

What type of advice are you seeking?

It’s possible you don’t want a serious advice from one professional, it depends what you seek.

Ask yourself: what advice am I looking for?

Why am I asking for advice?

Do I want someone to tell me how they did things so I can copy it?

Do I want the opinion of different types of people to see all possible options? to keep an open mind

Am I just curious to know what other people think?

What am I going to do with the answer they provide me? 

How important is the question I am asking?

Would I ask a total stranger what university program to choose? Would my parents really know the rate of success of the field I am going to and can they predict the future? How can someone else know who can make me happy? Would my best-friend know what pair of shoes would fit my feet? Yeah they look nice but I’m the one who is hurting when I put them on.

How do I find the right professional?

Referrals, referrals, referrals!

Read up on their background. Ask them questions. Check out what online reviews say but take it with a grain of salt (you don’t actually know who wrote it and how long ago it was written).

If you are looking for a financial coach, is that person debt-free? Is that person wealthy? Why would I go with a financial coach if s/he is broke? Ask them.

If you are talking with a mortgage broker or the bank mortgage advisor, has that person ever had a mortgage?

The person who is giving you interview advice, when was the last time they went for a Scrum Master interview? How many of those they applied to did they actually receive an offer?

By the way, you can always get a second opinion. At the end of the day, you ARE the one who will make the final decision.

 

I believe in integrity and honesty. If I refer someone, then that person has the experience, integrity, reliability (they return phone calls pretty fast), professionalism, and doesn’t talk bull-shit . There are only a handful of people (mortgage broker, agile coach, scrum master, product owner) I would recommend without hesitation.

 

Who have you seeked advice from and you would refer?