Life - Be A Man At Work

• Manly qualities translate to success at the workplace.
• Be decisive at work and take responsibility for your decisions.
• Never disparage your colleagues and always defend your team.

"We've all taken a whack or made a call that (in hindsight) seemed pretty dumb."

Doing your best at work means being effective and working well with others. But that doesn't mean you need to turn into a cog in the machine. You can keep your personality intact and still get your work done. In fact, many traits of a “man's man” equal success at work. Working hard, focusing on goals and confidence are all manly characteristics that translate well in the workplace. The actions that come from a well-adjusted man are a great asset to any company. Read on for some of the actions that help you be a man at work.

Make decisions

Indecisiveness is for losers. Get your facts, get feedback from others and move. Spending too much time and energy in analysis paralysis leads to wasted opportunities, and the decisions are usually no better. Just as we never have a big enough budget or staff for our ideas, there is never as much time and information for decisions as we'd like. Take enough time to make a great decision but don't worry about doing so perfectly. Just move -- action is energy, and fortune favors the bold

Take responsibility

No matter how great you are at making decisions, the day will come when you make a bad one. Accept it, recover and move on. There's no sense in beating yourself up over it -- we've all taken a whack or made a call that (in hindsight) seemed pretty dumb. But if you really were doing your job with excellence, that's all anyone asks of you. So take responsibility for your successes and your failures. It shows others you're big enough to take your own hits and remember that nobody likes a guy with an excuse for everything. Learn the difference between an excuse and an apology, and have your apologies ready.

Stand up

Whether it's the people you work alongside or the team that reports to you, show loyalty. A big part of loyalty is speaking well of your coworkers and, yes, even your boss, behind their backs. Speak positively about your team and stand up for them when others take a cheap shot. This goes for people higher on the food chain, as well. Just because somebody occupies a higher pay grade than you doesn't mean they get to run drive-bys on your team. Legitimate complaints or commentary about the work are one thing, but to talking smack is unprofessional at any level. Politely but firmly defend your teammate. Nobody likes being corrected, and the other person's demeanor toward you may be colder for a while, but in the long run, they will respect you for preferring loyalty over a quick laugh at another's expense. What if they don't come around? If they don't value integrity over putting others down, you've just learned something very telling about that person's character.

Gossip in the workplace is destructive, counterproductive and unprofessional. "

Don't gossip

What, did you think we were going to say that gossip is for women? Gossip isn't for anyone. Gossip in the workplace is destructive, counterproductive and unprofessional. What's more, keeping your mouth shut is a supremely manly quality. Only a fool tells everything he knows; the wise man observes and considers. Running your mouth at work can get you in all kinds of trouble, from making promises you can't keep to looking foolish to your superiors. So, if you overhear something or happen to have inside information, be a man and keep it to yourself.

Speak your mind

It's true that you should keep your mouth shut at work when it comes to gossip and idle chatter, but that doesn't mean that you can't have an opinion when it comes to the work. When you're asked for an opinion on the issues, speak up. Be informed and be able to support your conclusions, but make sure you have an opinion and take a side. Not having a strong stance just makes you sound wishy-washy. Yes, sometimes this will mean disagreeing with your boss, but remember -- this isn't an excuse to be a bully. You still need to present your ideas with tact (the whole “I'm just keeping it real” thing makes you sound like Carlos Mencia). But nobody likes a yes man, and there's nothing that says you can't disagree with others in a polite, productive way. Think a little less Carlos and a little more Don Draper.

poised and professional

Being a man at work doesn't mean being macho, but it doesn't mean being a wimp either. Being an aggressive, chest-thumping lunatic is just as bad as being a lukewarm pushover, but in our experience, most men in the workplace tend toward one or the other. There is, however, a middle way: being polite but powerful. The key is to go far enough without going too far. Think of work attire -- just because you need to dress well for work (and fellas, seriously, you need to dress well for work) doesn't make wearing a tuxedo appropriate. That would be overdoing it, and guess what else would be overdoing it? Being such a competitive jerk that you care more about winning every workplace disagreement more than you care about what's most effective.

So, with the same sense of balance you use in dressing for work, start bringing just enough of your masculinity to bear in the workplace. It will make you more productive, and you can leave work each night with that most manly of rewards: the confidence in an honest day's work.