Practice what you Preach

Living by your own advice enables you to be the type of person that you admire.

Giving advice is a lot easier than receiving it, even when the advice has come directly from your own mouth. People tend to give advice to lift their own self-worth and sense of importance. Being on the receiving end generally has the opposite affect, and we must decide whether we accept the advice from others. There are tips we should all follow.

When someone comes to you with a problem, take a strong look in the mirror and consider whether you have the knowledge and experience to have an opinion, and if it is advice that you follow yourself, before offering any counsel.

People often confuse hearing someone venting a frustration with asking for advice, and we are quick to jump to solution mode when sometimes all the other person wants is for someone to hear them.

We could all work on being a better listener.

When someone offers you advice in your personal life, do not be so quick to dismiss it. We are often too emotionally entwined with our own problems and it is a lot easier for others to see the big picture. You ultimately have the power of choice, and not every piece of advice is going to be right for you but take some time to self-reflect before you make that decision.

If you are a leader or manager of a corporation. Practice what you preach!

It seems so obvious but all too often I see managers who have forgotten where they have come from and forgotten their role. Your role is to lead and support, not to direct and delegate. The way you conduct yourself in the workplace will have a direct impact on how those under you will behave.

Hypocritical is unfortunately a word that describes some managers, and it is both frustrating and disrespectful to the employees who look up to them. I’m not stating that these managers have chosen to behave this way- ultimately, I believe it’s a question self-awareness. Here are some examples of the ‘do as I say, not as I do’ approach to management.

The manager that:

• Disciplines employees for coming to work late, but they arrive late for most meetings
• Promotes strong customer service, only to be hostile towards a customer with a complaint themselves
• Limits coffee breaks, but takes an hour and a half for lunch most days
• Reminds employees not to spend work time on personal tasks, but then takes a 45minute personal call later that day
• Insists on continual improvement yet never seeks to develop their own professional knowledge
• Promotes teamwork and unity, but frequently puts individuals or other divisions down

As you can see some of these are quite subtle and easily things you may not notice in yourself but see clearly in other people. They are all quite common mistakes. But these mistakes can be cancerous to the overall work culture.

They good news is, owning your mistakes will restore some credit with your employees. If you begin to actively take your own advice you will begin to rebuild trust which will cause your employees to work harder and begin to take the initiative needed to grow a successful company.

So when you offer someone advice or direction, consider how the words can be applied to your own practices. There is a strong chance it is something you need to hear too!

Love Life  Love YOUR Life

Ferne Eliz King