The Irony of This Post

As we are inundated with New Year’s wishes, there’s a lot of advice being thrown around — which is also the irony of this post, right?

Let’s be honest: great advice (even plain old good advice) is hard to come by.

Despite the fact that we’re living in the age of knowledge, most of us are still making poor choices about our careers.

This isn’t because there is a shortage of advice — it’s because we often receive bad advice and follow it. So, how can we get better at giving our colleagues guidance?

🎊🎊🎊 Consider the context. While recounting your own experience can be helpful, your advice will be much more impactful if you can adapt it to the advice-seeker’s situation. Context and circumstances change with time, as does the workplace. If you’re is not mindful of this, you may end up providing irrelevant “words of wisdom.”

🎊🎊🎊 Help the advice-seeker align their wants with their needs. If someone is good at getting what they want, but what they want is not what they need, then they are just running faster in the wrong direction.

🎊🎊🎊 Ask the advice-seeker questions that clarify their long-term goals. Why thebhell are they doing this thing that they are doing?

🎊🎊🎊 Be resourceful. You should see your advice as a part of the overall equation. If you’re not well-positioned to provide them with advice, remember that introductions, connections, support, and sponsorship can be even more useful.