5 habits of impeccable male professionals

In this article, we will discuss five habits of impeccable male business professionals that can take you to places in your careers. These are simple, easy to adopt, yet being successful in life.

Layout your dress at night:

Some organisations, in the name of so called “Informal Attire” or “Business Casual”, have not only destroyed their workplace culture but they don’t even prepare their future business leaders to develop any sense of style. All they know is to buy a pair of jeans and they call it “Super comfortable”.

You would agree and you may have seen it that business professionals who are always well dressed are appreciated and admired by their peers, juniors as well as their seniors. This may sound a bit rigid, as our parents used to tell us the same in our school days. This is, in fact, part of self-discipline. We all have those days where we hit the snooze button of our clocks and oversleep than expected and consequently we run a little behind our schedules or we are having a bit of an off morning. The last thing you should be worrying about what to wear @Work the next day? 

It is always better to ensure that you have everything nice and ready for tomorrow that includes making sure that your shoes are clean and your jacket, shirt and trousers are ironed (keeping in view the upcoming load shedding season in our cities) and your socks are ready with the accessories picked out the night before. If you have a meeting next morning or whatever commitment you might have, this is going to make sure that you look presentable the next day. 

All you need to do is to shave and take a quick shower, which is a MUST before leaving for work. This is not only hygienic for you but some relief to your co-workers not to suffer due to bad odor for 8 or 9 consecutive hours. This little extra attention to detail will put you ahead of everyone else to make sure that you look your best at all times. 

Give people your undivided attention & exhibit good manners: 

I am sure we all pay undivided attention when it comes to conversing with our bosses or seniors at our workplaces. The same amount of respect and attention, if not more, is due on our part to our co-workers and employees in our direct supervision as well. Let’s discuss a few pointers to focus while talking to our team members:

• Don’t multi-task when you have an employee or co-worker walking up to you to discuss something. 
• Put your phone face down and on vibration or silent mode.
• Look at people in their eyes.
• Nod your head when they’re talking.
• Let them know that you are genuinely interested in them and in their conversation and they have your full attention. When somebody pays attention to what you are saying, it means so much to them. Make it a habit to do this every day with everyone you talk to, regardless. 
• It really doesn’t matter what position you are serving in your organisation, a simple “Please” and “Thank you” goes a long way and people start to like that. It also shows your gratitude and appreciation for your colleagues at your workplace. Needless to say, that people judge you how you treat them. Your empathetic behavior towards them plays a great role in extracting more out of your people. Being a man with good manners is what gives you confidence, warmth, kindness and people look forward to such gestures. 

Being In-charge and Assertive:

Whether it is making tough choices or picking an annual retreat venue for your team, being in charge is vitally important. It shows people that you are a leader but it also means taking charge when you are making mistakes. Get into a "Handholding" mode when it comes to being In-charge. Make sure that you do that too but the biggest reason why being in charge is so important is because you are a problem solver. You are committed to fixing anything that needs improvement. This is true for all facets of your life. This makes everyone around you feel safer and securer. 

While being In-charge and assertive, your body language and posture has a lot to contribute. You may be the most well-dressed or most stylish person at your workplace, you may be wearing the most expensive watch or suit, you may be the CEO of a multi-million-dollar company but if you have hands in your pockets and you’re slouching, no one is going to take you seriously. Always walk with your back straight and chest out and be confident. Walk into the office knowing that you’re the very best and you know what messes up your posture more than anything is the cellphone in your hand. Be very careful when you’re on your phone so that you’re not slouching forward like texting people because this is not the way you want to be. Get used to looking tall and you’re going to look like a business executive who is strong and that’s what you want for you. 

Being Positive: 

We can all easily identify and relate to the negative people around us who are the energy sucking vampires. A friend of mine uses a term “Constipated Business Executives (CBEs)”. Such people are equally energy suckers as well as they drain you both physically, mentally and spiritually. There is a reason we don’t like being around them. They bring us down, make us feel very low on a fresh, sunny, bright day. Instead, we like people and want to be surrounded by who lift us up and bring positive energy into our lives. I am not referring to that you need to look artificially happy and overly excited or energetic when you are not, because this is not realistic but it is important to exhibit positivity and calm in all situations. The secret to be positive is never finishing a sentence on a negative note, e.g. “We have this problem but we, as a team, are going to figure out how to overcome this situation.” Instead: “Man I can’t believe this happened and this only happens to me or.” Be a positive person because that’s going to get you more business, better job options and friends and allows you to lead a better and quality life.

Having A Good Grooming Routine & Skincare:

Imagine, you had a great work day and upon returning back home in the evening, you look in the mirror and you realise you were wearing untidy shoes or your shirt sleeves had stains or you badly needed a nail cut or a haircut which was long overdue now. This is a true confidence killer. To avoid such an embracement, set up a day in a week, preferably a weekend. This will make you feel good about yourself. 

Skincare is generally ignored or avoided by men in this part of the world assuming that skincare is meant for female. We only see men turning up to salons for facial treatments either on weddings or festivals. On the contrary, skincare should be a daily affair in men’s lives. The sooner you start it, the better the results are going to be. It is meant to keep your skin fresh, young and clean at all times. It is not something that you can just easily fix after damage is done. 

Normally, we either idealise or look up to the celebrities we admire or associate with. If you are a super observant, you can find both the extreme examples at your own workplaces, in shape of some really fresh skins vis-à-vis some really damaged ones and if you think that daily skincare routine has nothing to do with it, you are badly mistaken. Genetics definitely play a role but, in most cases, it is conscious daily actions of washing and moisturising your face and wearing sunscreen for the professionals who have to spend a lot of their work-time in the field. 

Conclusion: 

We generally find too little on topics like these but we must recognise the fact that men at workplace do get noticed due to their looks, attire and style. You don't need to buy expensive dresses. All you need to know what is in and what suits you.

Please continue to visit my LinkedIn page  https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/msajwani and read similar or more different topics that I will be writing in near future. Also please drop in your comments and feedback in the Comments Box below.