WHAT POSITIVE QUALITIES DO PEOPLE ASSOCIATE WITH YOU?
WHAT KIND OF PERSON DO THOSE PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE?
If you have found yourself disturbed or uneasy about things you can’t quite put your finger on, that can be a signal that you need a personal checkup. It’s possible that some of the elusive or vague signals or reactions from others have meanings that run far deeper than you would like. Worse, it’s very possible that you are not even aware of some of these things. You know that you draw the attention of people. You are important in the company organization and you like being noticed. What is it that is drawing people’s attention to you? Do you have the leadership presence that makes people respect and admire you or are you an executive enigma, and unappealing? What if there is hidden snickering, anger, and disrespectful remarks making the rounds growing uncomfortably on the company vine. If there are should you care? After all you are one of the big wheels and people are going to be jealous.
DO YOU HAVE APPEALING LEADERSHIP PRESENCE?
What you need to be very sure of is that you are being perceived in the way that you want.
Perception is how people formulate their image of you in their minds and in their hearts.
Your dress, voice tone, facial countenance, gestures, articulation, posture, communication techniques, patience, honesty, kindness and congeniality combine to cast a singular vision to all you come in contact with. And from this people form their image of you. Before I turn specifically to these various indicators of character and personality I want to review some of the reasons why they make or break you.
WHAT CAN DE-RAIL YOU?
Credibility is the ability to inspire belief or trust. You brought your education, experience or both to the company that presently employs you. But what about your social and business demeanor and how they reflect on you’re character and your characteristics? If you exhibit flaws in how you portray yourself to others that can have a devastating effect on your career over time. It is very possible that over time your flaws could become so negative that they begin to tarnish your image. That circumstance can make a big difference down the road when your next promotion, or your bonus or your contract comes up for consideration. You can be very smart and good at what you do but still get moved aside or out depending on how your accumulated personal deficiencies have turned the wrong people off. You might, quite possibly, not even see it coming! It happens that way more than people want to believe.
HISTORICAL WARNINGS
There are a number of prominent executives who have lost their jobs because they were rogues and defrauded their companies but there were others who had seemingly honest business practices but lost their credibility, lost the right to lead. These were top level executives and managers. And the Boards that saw them out were influenced by more than just the bottom line of poor performance. What then could cause an otherwise smart, efficient senior executive or manager to fall out of favor? In many cases successful business politics requires a smooth, patient executive who is admired because he/she has it all together. All together is the acquired image of an executive who cared to understand themselves and cared for other people throughout their career.
VISIBLE AND ALONE
When you are that visible, people in the community, at church, on the job, in the board room, at the plant and at your public speaking engagements are all observing you and formulating opinions. What makes you vulnerable in these instances? Well, if you walk through the plant picking your nose or start dozing off during church services, or playing with your blackberry during a board meeting you would gather a great amount of unwanted attention and criticism. You are very likely not going to do those types of things. The question is, do you have negative characteristics you exhibit which, in there own way, are chipping away at your image and credibility? And if you do, what are those things, and who is going to tell you let alone help you to deal with them? The answer is virtually no one. Your enemies will exploit them.
POWER OF NEGATIVITY
Would you believe that a single high ranking executive who walks through the company departments with a pronounced frown, avoiding eye contact can do more harm to him/herself and the morale of his people than if he had announced a five percent pay cut over the loud speaker? Believe it because there have been many surveys run to demonstrate that people would rather have their superiors praise them for their good work than to give them a raise. A survey in the UK with a thousand employees found that they would rather have a nice thank you than a small pay raise. That’s pretty powerful isn’t it?
And herein lays the greatest power you have as an executive. Portray a correct, admirable image and you can be the total executive package. You can elevate your image to a considerable degree. Remember, basic math, when you eliminate a negative factor and add a positive value of equal or greater value you have improved the factor by twice. eg: ( -2 = 0) + 2 = + 2
WHAT TO DO?
How do you tackle a problem of this magnitude and importance? How do you know if you need to?
Look at it like a checkup. I have a basic approach that I take with clients that begins with you taking an assessment test before we have our first meeting. I have only one essential requirement of you and that is to be as brutally honest with your assessment answers and your interaction with me as you can be. There are some things you know about yourself and others you are not consciously aware of. By the end of our first meeting I can suggest to you how we can proceed. Essentially I will need to see you in action during some normal days, also perhaps at a board meeting, a meeting with your subordinates and when you give a presentation. This is arranged according to your comfort levels. My goal is to hear and observe you in action as you proceed during your day touching on the major and more routine things that expose you to observation. It is during these times that I can begin to evaluate how you manage yourself from many different angles. We will meet to review my observations, get your reactions and setup practice sessions to eliminate/improve etc the identified problems.
What I will be developing is a total picture of the characteristic ingredients described in the next section. From my observations of how you conduct and exhibit yourself we can pinpoint the areas and begin to formulate improvements with discussion and practice session.
If not me, then who? If not now, then when?
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Characteristics
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