Many years ago at a secretarial lunch, our team of personal assistants was asked to participate in a team-building exercise. We were asked to anonymously write a few words about each person at the table on a small piece of paper. Ultimately, each person would end up with a pile of comments about themselves in front of them.
It was an eye-opening exercise to see how my work colleagues described me.
There was a vast difference between how I viewed myself and how I was perceived by the people I worked with. The feedback wasn’t necessarily negative, but it was certainly not what I was expecting.
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How do you think your work colleagues describe you? While we’re at it, what words would you use to describe yourself at work?
Here are a few ideas to mull over.
- hardworking
- reliable
- unreliable
- knowledgeable
- firm but fair
- friendly
- bossy
- demanding
- overbearing
- annoying
- unrealistic
- kind
- supportive
- nurturing
- lazy
- social
- antisocial
- inspiring
- motivating
- demotivating
- manipulative
- organized
- disorganized
- timid
- aggressive
- controlling
- negative
- optimistic
- arrogant
- focused
- disciplined
- narrow-minded
- flexible
- honest
- dishonest
- professional
- creative
- detailed
- a team player
- a problem-solver
- innovative
Did any of the above suggestions trigger a reaction or some form of recognition? Did you think about some of the people you work with while reading through the list?
Did certain faces spring to mind reading certain words? Did you think of yourself reading particular words?
While we don’t want to obsess about how people perceive us, it is important to be aware of how your work personality and work practices affect other people in the workplace.
Pick out some keywords from the above list – feel free to use your own if necessary. Do the words carry a negative connotation? Could your actions be jeopardizing or holding back your career advancement?
Books that can help you at work –
- Getting Along: How to Work With Anyone (Even Difficult People) by Amy Gallo
- Surrounded by Idiots: The Four Types of Human Behavior and How to Effectively Communicate with Each in Business (and in Life) by Thomas Erikson
- Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott
I want you to take a closer look at the list. Don’t assume that words such as friendly or social (which we associate with being positive attributes in social settings) are not projecting negatively on you at work.
I once worked with such a friendly person that he struggled to do his actual job because he was too busy chatting with everyone and being popular. He was widely liked, but as a manager, he was difficult to work with.
Related posts –
- Are You Talking Too Much at Work?
- How to Deal With Too Much Talking at Work?
- The 12 Types of People You Will Talk to about Work
If you are the boss or a manager, you might be thinking it doesn’t matter what people think of you. On a personal level, that may be true, but from a work perspective, I think it is important.
If people don’t have some form of respect for you on a professional level, you may have a hard time getting them to perform at their best. They won’t trust your management or leadership skills if they have no respect for you as a leader.
So how do we know how our colleagues perceive us? That can be the tricky part.
If you have a trusted co-worker, you could certainly ask them; otherwise, listen for feedback from people on an everyday basis. Pay closer attention to how people talk to you, their body language, and the feedback, both negative and positive, that comes your way.
It is important to point out that you shouldn’t get bogged down in office gossip and talk behind people’s backs. This sort of behavior will certainly harm your career (even if it is not apparent straight away).
Awareness is the key. Give some thought to how you would describe yourself and whether some of your work characteristics could be harmful (or helpful) to your career.
Ultimately, it is only your behavior and actions you can control. Take pride in yourself and strive to do your best work.
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