Why (mis)Perceptions Happen

As you have probably experienced, there are times when a misunderstanding, a game of telephone, or a good old-fashioned saboteur, lands you in a situation where others (especially leaders) perceive you differently than you believe you are. They may believe you aren’t as “strong” or “capable” in your job or perhaps that you are too junior for the next one. These are moments when many of us wish we could turn back the clock and start over again. Unless you have built a time machine and can go back to fix things, read on to see how you can reshape perception with a little bit of effort.

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​When you are seen as the rock star you truly are, the list of benefits can be endless. Some of them include:

1. Becoming a go-to person for prime projects

2. Asked by leaders for your opinion on strategy and direction

3. Ability to influence beyond your immediate team

4. Make an impact on the greater organization

5. All the while being rewarded in a way that is commensurate to your perceived value

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Before I give you some essential tips on how to triage perception when it’s going askew, let’s make sure we are aligned. Though we wish things were fair and equitable within the corporate world, the fact is organizations are comprised of human beings, and as such, they do very human things. One thing humans do is make snap judgments.

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Humans make snap judgements about people, situations, and even teams for a variety of reasons. I took the liberty of checking in with ChatGBT and it shared a few sentiments as to why humans tend to judge others. I have augmented each point, with additional thoughts and context for the corporate setting. These are marked in in the color teal. Once you read through the why, I spend time addressing how you begin to tackle perception at work.

 

1. Survival Instincts: Evolutionarily, humans have developed the ability to quickly assess their environment and the people around them as a survival mechanism. Judging others allowed our ancestors to make quick decisions about potential threats or allies. This continues to be something that happens in business.

2. Social Comparison: Humans naturally engage in social comparison to understand their own abilities, attributes, and status. This can lead to judgment as people assess how they measure up against others in various aspects of life and business. Remember it’s difficult to take the human out of the human being, especially in the business setting.

3. Cultural and Social Norms: Society including companies, establishes norms and standards of behavior that help maintain order and cohesion. People often judge others based on how well they adhere to these norms, reinforcing the shared values of the group. Sidebar, we are often not explicit about these norms and therefore sometimes we suffer within a particular organization as a result. We flounder trying to figure out how to fit in!

4. Cognitive Biases: Our brains use mental shortcuts or biases to process information efficiently. These biases can lead to snap judgments based on limited information, which may not always be accurate or fair. This is particularly an issue in our fast-paced world of tech. We often don’t have time to sit back, pause, and think logically about someone or something, instead relying on this cognitive shortcut just to stay afloat and survive the day.

5. Insecurity and Self-Esteem: Individuals with lower self-esteem or unresolved insecurities might engage in judgment to feel better about themselves or to deflect attention away from their own shortcomings. By the way, this can often be people in leadership positions too. I know, it can be a little bit frightening.

6. Fear of the Unknown: People tend to judge what they don't understand or are unfamiliar with. This fear of the unknown can lead to preconceived notions and stereotypes. This is often the case for snap judgments in times of change. Easily resolved, and I addressed it below.

7. Confirmation Bias: People often seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs and judgments. This can reinforce biased opinions and lead to further judgment of others who hold differing views. I could go on about this one! There is so much to say about our internal structures, but for now, just know that this is a big thing we often face in the corporate world.

8. Competition and Resources: In competitive environments, there may be limited resources or opportunities. This can lead to judgment as individuals vie for these resources and assess their competition. This continues to be the case in most corporations. Whether a startup or a publicly traded company, given the pace of change and the limited resources, this often becomes a reason for some people and leaders to make snap judgements about who you (your team) are and how much they contribute.

9. Projection: Sometimes, people project their own insecurities, fears, or desires onto others. This can result in unfairly judging others based on one's own unresolved issues. Like points 2 and 5 above, we wish our better selves showed up at work, but they don’t often do.

10. Need for Control: Judgment can be a way for individuals to exert a sense of control over their surroundings. By categorizing and evaluating others, people may feel more in control of uncertain situations. This speaks for itself, it just is.

11. Emotional Regulation: Expressing judgment can sometimes be a way for people to manage their own emotions, such as frustration, anger, or jealousy. Add another to the grouping of points 2, 5, and 9 – also known as People being People-y.

12. Group Identity: People often align themselves with specific social or cultural groups. Judging others outside of these groups can serve to reinforce a sense of belonging and loyalty to one's own group. The tribes within tribes, even happen with the company setting, even when we espouse being “one team”, some people are just wired to create an us versus them environment, so read on to see how you navigate these waters.

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5 Tips to Shaping Perception at Work:

Now that we’ve had a psychological, sociological, and anthropological tutelage on why perception often wins out over reality in the workplace, let’s talk about how to navigate it so that you can successfully do your job, add value, and bask in the positive impact you are having.

 

Your job, to help manage perception is as follows:

1. Stay grounded in reality and ensure others are too. This often means remaining calm and sharing the facts, dispelling rumors, and conjecture. The more you can focus on facts, the easier it will become. Note, that there will always be someone who wants to stack all the perceptions to generate a hypothesis about how you or someone on your team is wrong, did something wrong, goofed, and so on and so forth. Stay calm and clear on the facts.

2. Ensure you have sponsors in the organization that can help you. This doesn’t necessarily need to be your manager. Who are the people in powers of influence that you can walk through what’s happened? Not only can they help fight your battle proactively, but when in meetings with others can also help correct the narrative with the facts. When perception has taken hold, course correcting is a matter of being able to share the facts from various points of view.

3. Another great thing to do, outside of triaging a misperception, is link what you and your team (if applicable) are doing in service of the business objectives . Be open to feedback on why they may disagree. At this point, depending on the level you are within the organization, you hopefully have someone above you who has signed off on what you are doing – this helps reinforce that you aren’t operating in a vacuum, rather you are executing on a broader and “sanctioned” strategy.

4. Understand that some people won't ever "get it" or “get you”. Sometimes, some people will think of you in one way, and finding ways to make peace with that will be important.

5. Finally, stay open to the fact that you could be wrong. There might be a thread of feedback within that perception that is invaluable. Listen for it, and find a way to better understand. If you have, and it still doesn’t resonate, then go back to number four above, and find a way to let it go.

 

I often say you can’t take the human out of the human being. Remember that business can get messy, but if you keep that cool head and focus on the facts and framework you are operating in, it makes it easier. Possibly frustrating at times, but definitely easier.

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Want more help...

I hope this will help you as you navigate your way around various perceptions at work. If you want more support or need help working through your situation, you can always apply for a Prepped for Promo strategy call. By applying for this 45-minute call, you will get a lot of clarity about what is working, and more likely, not working for you at work. Take advantage of this free call (valued at $375), to understand what is truly standing in the way of your career!

 

Once you apply for the session and I review your results, you will be invited to book a time with me, at which point you will go through another set of questions to prep for our call. These questions will ensure we optimize our time together by helping me understand the landscape at work. Given these calls are coveted, you may reschedule one time by contacting my virtual assistant (remember this call is free to you if you get accepted and it is valued at $375).

 

Beyond one rescheduled call (changed a minimum of 24 hours in advance), you will lose the ability to take advantage of this free to you offer. You can however pay the full amount and get time with me if it’s something you’d still like to pursue. Regardless, I’m confident that the two assessments prior to the call (one to be invited into a conversation, and the second as prep for the conversation) will give you a ton of clarity and insight as to the direction you need to head.

 

Again, if you want to take the opportunity to spend 45 minutes with me, talking about your career, apply for a 45-minute – Prepped for Promo call with a $375 value!

 

Good luck and welcome to the Hey Silvia community!

 

Best,

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