The Worst Advice is to Take Advice Not Meant for You

Mujeres there is a lot of advice for the taking these days!

It isn’t just coming from your friends and family — or me! The internet has given birth to an endless number of places to get advice. Since publishing on Facebook, Blogger and LinkedIn has become so easy to do — anyone can dole out their own words of wisdom. It’s one of the best and worst features of surfing the web.

We all seek out ideas and information to help with anything from buying the latest fashion trends to buying a car. And, of course our own culture places a high value on sage advice for the young and old. Jóvenes y viejos, todos necesitamos consejos. (Young and old, we all need advice)

But what advice is right for you on the big issues for your life — career, health, family? How do you weed through it all?

My bias is to look carefully for advice that comes from a reputable source and that there is some research linked to the advice. The other filter to apply when you read advice is to ask whether it applies to your specific circumstance.

Is it for your stage of career? Is it for your industry? Is it a fit for your personal style?

One of my favorite examples of the challenges of taking career advice not meant for you was started by a book with the clever title, Never Check Your Email First Thing in the Morning by Julie Morgenstern. Her suggestion has been repeated in a wide range of other lists with equally compelling titles: The Top 10 Things Productive People Do, The Top 10 Ways Happy People Start Their Day.

In working with young people–and even not so young who are part of virtual global teams– this mantra of not checking email early in the day is seriously problematic.

If you are on a global team it may be helpful to recognize that your 6 am is someone’s 9 am or 2pm and you may just have something in your inbox that became urgent 3 or 6 hours ago while you were sleeping.

If you are a senior executive or you have the luxury of having administrative support, you may not need to check your email because chances are someone else checks your email for you. I understand the intent of Morgenstern’s original work and even Morgenstern admonishes that everyone needs to create their owntime map to manage what works for them.

My advice: check your email early enough to be on top of what’s happening for your team and your customers. Make the best decision on what needs a response now or later in the day — your decision to answer an email at 5:30 am rests on the value you bring to your team or meeting your customer’s expectations.

There are no hard or fast rules that meet every situation.

Your career and the demands of your work-life are only known to you. Unless you are working directly with a mentor or coach that knows your unique circumstances, take time to assess what advice truly is right for you. Anything that gives you an absolute rule to follow may be more about drawing attention than truly advice meant for everyone reading.

Tell me about the best advice you’ve had and join me live at the next Rise to the Top!