How People See You

How people see you translates into what they believe about you and that, in turn, becomes how they interact with you.   It is really important, then, to assure that how people see you is in fact how you wish to be seen.

The issue of transparency.  It is my experience that probably about 90% of all leaders (yours truly included) are far more transparent than they think they are.   The workforce is extremely sensitive to the leader (after all, you are the boss and you, in large part, determine the team's future). Team members become acutely aware of  mannerisms, moods and nuances. . .anything that they think will help them predict your actions.

For instance, if you are not feeling up to par . . .it is very helpful to all (including you) if you explain yourself.  "Look, I'm not feeling like myself today. . .don't take it personally."  If you are preoccupied, you may say, "I'm concerned about a dear friend."   Truthful explanations like this do not demean you, instead, they allow you to control the interpretation of what the team is seeing.  Once the team has an interpretation of what they see - they are able to move forward.

And speaking of moods. . .be careful.  Don't expect your team to be upbeat if they are reading that you're not upbeat.   Don't expect them to be in a good mood if you're in a bad mood.   General rule of thumb - project the attitude and demeanor that you wish your team to project. . that's why you are a leader.

Consistency.  I never gave any thought to the issue of consistency until I had a boss who was extremely consistent. . .and then I realized how incredibly helpful that is to the team.  Again, teams like to predict how you are going to re-act. . .most teams will craft their actions to generate a positive reaction from you.   The more consistent you can be in your actions and reactions. . .the more consistent your team will be in their performance.

The key here is selflessness. . leaders who are responsible for a group of people need to think outward on how the presentation of their leadership will be read, and responded to, by the team members who are ultimately responsible for winning the game.

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Brent Frerichs is the author of "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" available for e-readers, tablets and PCs from Amazon Kindle.