I read a great post today on Deb Ng’s Freelance Writing Jobs blog called Whose Advice Should You Follow? I thought her post really speaks to women in business. Deb suggests:
“Before following anyone’s advice, ask yourself:
- Why is this good advice?
- Is this the direction I want to go?”
I think women have a tendency to seek buy-in and collaborative thinking more than our male counterparts in business, but at the end of the day, women have to rely on their own knowledge, experience and intuition (yes, we have it, we should use it) to make the most appropriate business decisions. We’ll ask for advice and ideas, but ultimately, the decisions are ours to make.
A phrase that someone told me back in college that has stuck with me is this: consider the source. I remember that phrase anytime I’m given advice (or criticism) that I don’t agree with. Consider the source of that questionable advice. Is this a source you should play close attention to or not? If it’s a source you should listen to, then review their advice, weigh your options and make your own decision. At the end of the day (yes, I just used that cliche phrase twice in one post), only you are responsible for your decisions.
Think of business advice like a research assignment. You gather the facts and ideas, sort them out and make sense of them, then move forward in the best way you can find. In other words, you digest the advice given to you and allow your own decisions rise to the top with your name attached to them.
Tags: women on business, businesswomen, decision making, women in business
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 25-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored ten books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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