--- title: "Re: \"No Advice\" Post" description: "The Quaker tradition of \"questions only\" is exemplified in Wisdom Circles and Circles of Trust." image: https://www.beyondteal.com/hubfs/Stock%20images/Mature%20Business%20man%20holding%20his%20hand%20to%20his%20ear%20trying%20to%20hear%20you%2c%20isolated%20on%20white.jpeg --- [![Beyond Teal Logo](https://www.beyondteal.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/Beyond_Teal_Logo_sRGB_300x150.png?width=300&name=Beyond_Teal_Logo_sRGB_300x150.png "Beyond Teal Logo")](https://www.beyondteal.com/) - [Home](https://www.beyondteal.com/) - [Blog: Perspectives](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog) - [What is Beyond Teal?](https://www.beyondteal.com/what-is-beyond-teal) - [About Beyond Teal](https://www.beyondteal.com/about-beyond-teal) - [Services](https://www.beyondteal.com/services) - [Bruce Peters](https://www.beyondteal.com/team-bios) - [Beyond Teal Facilitative Leadership Program Description](https://www.beyondteal.com/facilitative-leadership-in-person-program-description) - [Beyond Teal FLP Registration](https://www.beyondteal.com/flp-in-person-registration) - [Beyond Teal FLP Reviews](https://www.beyondteal.com/flp-reviews) - [Executive Leadership Guidance](https://www.beyondteal.com/executive-leadership-guidance) - [Beyond Way™ Guide](https://www.beyondteal.com/beyond-way-guide) - [Beyond Way™ Within](https://www.beyondteal.com/beyond-way-within) - [The Story of U](https://www.beyondteal.com/the-story-of-u) - [Contact Us](https://www.beyondteal.com/contact) - [Beyond Teal Resources](https://www.beyondteal.com/beyond-teal-resources) TRANSFORM Life at Work # ![](https://www.beyondteal.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Title_Graphic.png?width=470&height=93&name=Blog_Title_Graphic.png) ## [Re: "No Advice" Post](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/no-advice) Posted by [Bruce Peters](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/author/bruce-peters) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![Mature Business man holding his hand to his ear trying to hear you, isolated on white](https://www.beyondteal.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stock%20images/Mature%20Business%20man%20holding%20his%20hand%20to%20his%20ear%20trying%20to%20hear%20you%2c%20isolated%20on%20white.jpeg?width=300&name=Mature%20Business%20man%20holding%20his%20hand%20to%20his%20ear%20trying%20to%20hear%20you%2c%20isolated%20on%20white.jpeg)This past week I exchanged email with my colleague and friend, **[Tom McCallum](https://tommccallum.com/)** on the general topic of advice giving. The working theme of the post, the catalyst for the exchange, was about giving "less advice".   Totally unknown to Tom, several days prior to this post he had written a couple of other posts describing the advice he had provided to clients. This raised my shackles about the efficacy of advice in any form. I had started to bring up the issue a couple of times with Tom but failed to do so. Voila! Synchronicity, coincidence or serendipity took over and Tom wrote**["Give less advice."](https://tommccallum.com/2019/03/27/give-less-advice/)** I, of course, was stimulated to respond with "no advice". Tom's follow up post, [**"Give no advice"**](https://tommccallum.com/2019/03/28/give-no-advice/),  acknowledged mine and the concept. He mentions the Quaker tradition of "questions only" which is exemplified most in "Wisdom Circles" and "Circles of Trust".  Parker Palmer in his multiple writings and work highlights best the concepts and processes.    These "Circles" are often used in assisting people to work through or resolve life and life direction issues. In a nutshell the underlying belief is that each of us has an inner teacher that is the arbiter of, or has, our own "answer."  But each of us requires the support of the community to discover or uncover their answer.   The circle participants are forbidden to give advice but can contribute only by asking open-ended questions. In a way, the tradition and process teaches that to give advice is to say to a person, "I don't trust you to get your answer". The process supports the conclusion that, "I believe in you to have your answer".    At the beginning of our **[Facilitative Leadership](https://www.beyondteal.com/facilitative-leadership-program)**programs and throughout, we commit to a friendship and relationship that trusts and challenges to give no advice.    How about joining us in the next **[FLP Session that starts on the April 17th ](https://www.beyondteal.com/flp-registration)** Any questions?  [![Guidance Session for FLP](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/405722/25942aba-4d3f-43df-9a3d-840968c1ec26.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/405722/25942aba-4d3f-43df-9a3d-840968c1ec26) Topics: [Beyond Teal](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/beyond-teal) ### Subscribe to Email Updates ### Recent Posts ### Posts by Topic - [teal (33)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/teal) - [Beyond Teal (31)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/beyond-teal) - [FLP (16)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/flp) - [Leadership (12)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/leadership) - [jump-starting Rochester (8)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/jump-starting-rochester) - [The Third Act (5)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/the-third-act) - [Holacracy (4)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/holacracy) - [Third Act (3)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/third-act) - [leader (3)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/leader) - [relationship (3)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/relationship) - [Followership (2)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/followership) - [Learning Organizations (2)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/learning-organizations) - [Third Act Guide (2)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/third-act-guide) - [Bruce Peters (1)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/bruce-peters) - [Employee engagement (1)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/employee-engagement) - [Frederic Laloux (1)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/frederic-laloux) - [Promises Kept (1)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/promises-kept) - [Promises Made, (1)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/promises-made) - [Succession (1)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/succession) - [conversations (1)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/conversations) - [lee thayer (1)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/lee-thayer) - [operating system (1)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/operating-system) - [reinventing organizations (1)](https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/topic/reinventing-organizations) see all ### Follow Me ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Bruce Peters", "url" : "https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/author/bruce-peters" }, "dateModified" : "2019-04-03T20:00:21.378Z", "datePublished" : "2019-04-03T16:09:53.000Z", "headline" : "Re: \"No Advice\" Post", "image" : [ "https://www.beyondteal.com/hubfs/Stock%20images/Mature%20Business%20man%20holding%20his%20hand%20to%20his%20ear%20trying%20to%20hear%20you%2c%20isolated%20on%20white.jpeg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.beyondteal.com/blog/no-advice", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.beyondteal.com/hubfs/logo%20w_TM.jpg" }, "name" : "Beyond Teal" } } ```