Become the advisor leaders call first for strategic clarity and trusted counsel
Executives face relentless pressure, ambiguity, and isolation, requiring advisors who deliver actionable counsel. This is the revised edition of Why Should the Boss Listen to You?: The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor by James
E. Lukaszewski, 2006. In this revised edition, Lukaszewski and Helio Fred Garcia provide the proven framework for becoming a strategic partner that leaders turn to when facing critical decisions.
The book presents seven essential disciplines: establishing trustworthiness, mastering verbal influence, developing management perspective, thinking strategically, recognizing patterns, structuring constructive advice, and teaching leaders to apply counsel effectively. Practical tools include the Three-Minute Drill, Five Imperatives for Advisors, Pattern Recognition techniques, and assessments for developing capabilities.
Readers will also find:
- The five components of trust and ten ways advisors commonly lose it, providing a clear roadmap for building and maintaining credibility with executives
- Frameworks for structuring advice that's clear, actionable, and strategically relevant.
- Pattern recognition techniques that enable advisors to forecast future challenges by identifying recurring organizational and market dynamics
- Methods for developing a management perspective that allows advisors to see the world through the leader's eyes and understand executive priorities
- Communication strategies for delivering counsel with the clarity, brevity, and impact that time-pressured executives require
Influencing Leaders: The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor is perfect for mid-career professionals, external consultants, and anyone aspiring to influence organizational leaders. Influencing Leaders demonstrates that true influence is about mastering the disciplines of foresight, strategic thinking, and trust that make advisors indispensable when leaders face their most challenging decisions.
JAMES E. LUKASZEWSKI is the founder and president of The Lukaszewski Group. Named by PRWeek as one of 22 "crunch-time counselors who should be on the speed dial in a crisis", he has personally counseled thousands of executives across organizations large and small. A Fellow of both the Public Relations Society of America and the International Association of Business Communicators, he served 22 years on the New York University faculty and has advised more than 300 clients.
HELIO FRED GARCIA is president of the crisis management firm Logos Consulting Group and executive director of the Logos Institute for Crisis Management and Executive Leadership. With over 45 years helping leaders build trust across six continents, he teaches at NYU's Stern School of Business, the TRIUM Global Executive MBA program, and Columbia University. He is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council and recipient of the PRSA-New York John W. Hill Award for lifetime achievement.
