Advising elite performers: the role of intuition, trust and expertise

Abstract

Purpose

Decision-makers often struggle to combine advice with their own intuition. This study examines how advice-giver traits and decision-makers’ intuition influence advice uptake. We present a novel typology based on decision-makers’ trust in advice-givers and their perceived expertise.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative study uses a sample of publicly available interview data with 51 elite performers. Using inductive and content analysis, we explore the mediation between decision-makers’ intuitive competence (ability to effectively deploy intuition in interface with advice) and their autonomy (self-endorsement from past performance).

Findings

We identify four sources of advice: mentor advice, specialist advice, confidant advice and commentator advice. Drawing on instances of different sources of advice along varying degrees of trust and expertise, we propose a framework for interaction between intuitional competence and advice characteristics.

Originality/value

We offer a novel way of contextualising nuanced forms of advice and provide a structured typology of sources, characterised by trust and expertise. This typology and our findings help reconcile contradictions in decision-making research. Finally, we offer practical guidance for the uptake of advice.

Citation

Cottam, E. and Jha, P.P. (2025), "Advising elite performers: the role of intuition, trust and expertise", Management Decision, Vol. 63 No. 3, pp. 1018-1036. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-11-2023-2076