If you’re like many people, you may regularly give advice and enjoy being asked for your opinion. After all, it’s flattering — it can make you feel smart.

But when you receive advice, what happens? Most people tend to fall into one of two camps — they become either an advice-taker or an advice-rejector. Which type are you? Do you discount other opinions, preferring your own judgment?

Many people are advice-rejectors. If new information is uncomfortable or too difficult to accept, it tends to get ignored or just used to confirm, rather than adjust, the original perspective. And if you volunteer unsolicited advice, the receiver may detect implied criticism and become more entrenched in their views, often just to signal their right to freedom of expression.

As a board advisor and founder of a behavioral science consultancy for businesses, I’ve seen how advice rejection can have serious consequences — flawed decisions are not only pervasive but perilous. Around 90% of new startups fail. Many mergers disappoint, and many more acquisitions don’t earn a return on investment. And when we ignore advice, it can cost us socially. Nine studies found that the resentful advice-giver punishes the advice-rejecter.

These errors can destroy lives, livelihoods, legacies and leadership. In high-stakes situations, a second opinion might make the difference between success and failure.

Great decision-making isn’t a solo sport. Independent validation adds nuance to argument, especially when a decision is difficult or novel, or the decision-maker is inexperienced, under pressure, uncertain and missing information.

So why don’t smart leaders seek alternative views? And how can advice-taking be encouraged?

Modified from Source