It’s a distinction I’ve been thinking about lately after rereading Bill Burnett and Dave Evans’ excellent Designing Your Life.
Here’s how they define it:
“‘Counsel’ is when someone is trying to help you figure out what you think. ‘Advice’ is when someone is telling you what he or she thinks.”
I’m sure they’re not the first ones to make this distinction, but I like how it’s making me think.
Recently I’ve been considering applying to graduate school.
I’ve always thought my ability to provide feedback is one of my greatest strengths, and a kind of work I really enjoy. But to find the right direction, I might want to consider whether I really enjoy and am adept at giving advice or counsel.
I imagine a person pursuing a counseling degree (such as a Masters in Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, or Social Work) with a goal of being a counselor should be a person who is skilled at, and enjoys, providing counsel.
On the other hand, someone pursuing a degree like a Masters in Business Administration (or perhaps a Masters in Public Policy), with a goal of becoming a consultant, is likely more focused on honing the skills and experience needed to provide relevant and expert advice.
A counselor who provides mostly advice would likely be perceived as a poor counselor — as someone who’s keen to give directions rather than intentionally listening and guiding the client towards their own thoughts, experiences, and revelations.
A consultant who provides mostly counsel, on the other hand, might be viewed as an insightful team player, but runs the risk of appearing as if they lack creative ideas.
Of course, there are times and places when a counselor may feel they really ought to provide advice, particularly when a client wants to grasp onto some clear direction. And maybe sometimes a consultant may feel a conversation is well-shaped by the insight of counsel, particularly in figuring out a client’s real needs.
And there are unusual roles out there where things are flipped on their head. I think of the world of macro social work, where social workers provide policy recommendations (advice). And some particular thought leaders’ brands of counseling, with their books and patented therapy frameworks, certainly feel more to me like advice than counsel.
But these are generally two different dominant skill sets nurtured in different programs and used in different careers.
At first glance, I’m drawn to counseling (and the related graduate school programs) much more than to consulting. This direction feels like a more natural fit with my values and the kind of work I think, in the abstract, is important.
But I’d also be worried about my ability to patiently provide counsel and not merely advice as a counselor. It’s a skill I’d have to deliberately hone.
I know I can do it, and I have provided valuable counsel to people before> I’ve been trained in paying attention to what a client needs and feels in a human-centered design context.
But I also have an impatient, bossy side. I can be very solution-oriented and very tempted to provide what clearly looks to me like good advice.
What do you think you’re better at: providing counsel or advice?
Does one feel easier or more intuitive than the other?
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