To become a trusted advisor, adopt a positive, constructive attitude.

Anytime your boss says or does something in error, it puts you in a delicate position. Should you immediately speak up? Should you wait? Should you just let the problem slide?

For example, let’s say you’re in a staff meeting and your boss says plans are under way to buy expensive equipment you know is outmoded. Or, he or she is basing next quarter’s sales strategy on the wrong numbers. Or, your boss simply twists the facts.

If the error is significant, it can make sense for you to speak up immediately, according to James E. Lukaszewski, author of Why Should the Boss Listen to You? The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor.

“It helps everyone in the room, especially the boss,” Lukaszewski explains. “Giving advice on the spot is a really important skill because management is done in real time.”

If you know something is going to be a serious problem, acting now can eliminate the cause.

The secret to being viewed as a trusted advisor rather than a thorn in your boss’ side is to maintain a positive, constructive attitude with a strong dose of tact.

When speaking up about an error, Lukaszewski recommends that you:

• Focus on outcomes.

  “Any business leader is all about tomorrow. The past is irrelevant,” Lukaszewski insists.

  If you revisit the past, try to draw positive lessons from it. Keep the focus in a very useful, forward direction.

• Give advice; avoid criticism. Negative comments have a way of putting people on the defensive, Lukaszewski explains. They also have longevity.

  “Everyone remembers criticism,” he counsels. “The stuff is negative and sticky. One of my mantras is, ‘eradicate the use of negative language.’ Be a positive person.”

  Instead of telling people what not to do, try suggesting what they can do to move the process forward. Examples of positive replacements for negative statements include:

  Negative: “It won’t work.” Positive: “Here’s one way to make it work.”

  Negative: “You’re wrong.” Positive: “Here’s what I believe.”

  Negative: “We don’t do it that way.” Positive: “Here’s the way we do it.”

  Negative: “That’s a lie.” Positive: “My perspective is quite different.”

• Offer options, not solutions. Any good boss is always on the lookout for options for solutions to problems. Finding solutions to problems is why the boss is the boss. Providing useful incremental steps or suggestions is what staff people do.

  Anytime you give your boss advice, Lukaszewski suggests, be clear about the nature of the issue, its implications, and the goals to be reached. Then always offer three incremental options to choose from, recommending the one you believe is best. The three options should be, basically:

  1. Do nothing.
  2. Do something.
  3. Do something more.

  The boss will ask which one you like, so be ready to choose and to justify your choice. Providing three options will help keep you at the table longer.

• Know when to move on. If your boss ignores your suggestion for a few weeks, drop it and move on to something else.

“Just keep in mind: The more constructive and strategic your advice, the more your boss will value what you have to say,” says Lukaszewski. “Over time, your importance, responsibilities, and influence will grow.”

Polly Turner spoke with James E. Lukaszewski, chairman and president of the Lukaszewski Group in White Plains, N.Y., and author of Why Should the Boss Listen to You? The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor, Jossey-Bass, 2008, $24.95.

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