BE the Intent: People's Perception of You At Work

I have hundreds & thousands of acquaintances due to my experience in Sales, but I also have a select handful of people I call friends. On average, my friendships are at least 20 years old. Point in case this bunch of people know me very well. So, why am I sharing this with you here?

In 2020, when I shifted my career track from corporate sales to learning and development or educational content creation, many of my friends were surprised. They said, "how come you are creating educational content?" or "I always thought you would do stand-up comedy". One of them said, "I can't believe this is you on YouTube (or whatever platform)".?

My friends had a set perception of me and behaved around me accordingly. Once they saw the "new me (apparently)", they were not only surprised, but their behaviour also changed somewhere. Some of my ex-clients also gave me similar treatment in the initial days.?

The Power of Perception

The power of perception is inexplicable. It takes me back to a book I read a decade back called The 48 Laws of Power - by Robert Greene. In one of the chapters, the author talks about a War between two Kings, A and B. King B comes to know that his enemy's army (King A) is busy elsewhere fighting another War. He takes advantage of the situation and marches to King A's city gates.?

Upon arriving at the city gates, King B is shocked to see the deserted city, and outside the city gates, King A is sitting cross-legged all by himself, directly staring at the oncoming enemy. What do you think King B does? He retreats with his entire army! Do you know why??King A had a reputation for being a brutal & uncanny strategist.?His brave and unexpected move of sitting alone and vulnerable made King B shiver and question himself.?

Perception at Work > Interpersonal Skills?

Have you noticed that some of your colleagues (even within your teams) tend to have better interpersonal relationships with others? Yes, they have better interpersonal skills, alright. But you can attribute most of the results of applying those skills to the perception your colleagues carry with them. In short, if you had the same interpersonal skills, the results would vary per people's perception of you.

Communication: Intent Vs Impact

You know that most of our communication is non-verbal (at least 70%). A few components of non-verbal communication are body language and facial expressions. People tend to focus on unsaid messages or clues in all spheres of life. Often, we cannot align what we intend to communicate with our faces. It leads to a poor impact on the Work itself or our colleagues (or clients).

For example, almost everyone who knows me has said that when they first saw me, they felt I was someone who had a lot of air about self. Only after spending some time with me over time did their perception change. I never intended to give that vibe, but I managed to fail and give a wrong first impression.?To summarize, align intent with perceptions to realize full impact (at Work or otherwise).

Perceptions & Career Damaging Downward Spirals

Perceptions work as a can of worms. They multiply profusely and are a mess to handle once out of control. It primarily happens because people generally have a herd mentality. A prolonged and branded perception of someone can become a reputation in no time.?

When you begin to carry a reputation for being or doing something, it says with you longer. It becomes difficult to break away from it. Thanks to the Group-Think, such a move can be career-limiting and cause a downward spiral. In short, all your efforts, sincerity and good intent can say goodbye!

How You can BE Your Intent and Monitor People's Perception of You at Work:

I remember attending a training session years back where they told us to do homework. We were to complete a 360 assessment and feedback about ourselves. I have been using this method since, and it works.

1. Identify one associate in every department of your company with whom you have a great rapport. If you don't already know people across departments, work on it.??
2. Make sure you hang out with these people out of the office too. Go for a coffee, get lunch/dinner or movies. I understand that you do not like to mix Work and pleasure, but the goal here is to expose yourself to them outside the office.?
3. After two-three months, sit with them and ask them specific questions about yourself. For example, on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the best), how would you rate me on my punctuality at Work??
4. Next, identify one confidante. With this colleague, you share everything. Ask them associative questions like "if you had to define me in one word, what would that be?"
5. Later, when you become good at these exercises, you can also reach out to your manager or discuss your perception openly in one-on-ones or catchups.?
6. Lastly, do not forget to identify the influencers in each department. Once you have a clear idea about how people perceive you (thanks to your exercises in points 1-5), align your intent with your perception and communicate with these influencers.??
7. Remember, these influencers are the ones who turn perception into a reputation. If you handle them well, you will never be subject to hearsay Group-Think.

P.S. - The difference between perception and reputation is that the former can be imaginary while the latter can be imaginary and factual.?

What are your thoughts on perception? How has people's perception of you affected your career so far? Please share in the comments. Also, if you have not subscribed to The BE School Newsletter, please do! (or I will start forming a perception of you, kidding).

Follow Pritesh Zavery (Prits Zav) for more content that helps you suit up and be your own hero.

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