Leader's Toolkit: Tips, Tools & Stories
No More Little Lulu: How Others Perceive Us Is Up to Us
What image do you project? Based on communication studies, it takes no more than five seconds for people to form a perception about you. That perception is based on your appearance, tone, words, and the nonverbal and gender signals you project. Your success depends upon how others perceive you.
Early in my career, I became supervisor for a creative services department at Honeywell. It was my first official leadership position, and I was in heaven. I was going to be the best leader I could be, and I was going to get results.
Then, one morning a colleague came into my office and said, "You should never allow yourself to be photographed next to Sarah." She tossed the company newsletter on my desk. There we were, Sarah and I, for all the world to see. Sarah, was about six feet tall, elegant, and she looked exactly as though she could answer any question at any time about any topic. Standing next to her, I looked like Little Lulu—a shy, 5 foot, 2-inch Little Lulu in a grown-up suit who didn't really look like she had anything important to say. It was less about actual appearance and more about how I stood, my expression, and how I faced the camera.
The image I projected was so far from how I felt on the inside. It was so far from how I wanted people to see me as a leader. I wanted to project confidence and credibility. So, I started to study the techniques of the most effective leaders in the business world so that I could learn how to present myself and my ideas to get the results I wanted.
The more I learned, the more I knew that I wanted to help others learn how to project themselves with confidence and credibility as well. Over the years, I worked with leaders at Honeywell, GE, American Express, and many other companies to help them present themselves to get the results they wanted.
Helping sales and corporate leaders get results is the reason I established Leader's Theatre. It's why I created The Sales and Corporate Leader's Video Mirror™ , which is designed to help leaders understand how others perceive them in formal and informal situations, under stress, during difficult conversations, and during unexpected challenges.
The Leader's Video Mirror™ is a powerful, tailored process built around the issues you personally face on a day-to-day basis. As a result, if you are a:
- Sales leader, you will learn techniques and tools to convert more prospects into clients.
- Corporate leader, you will learn techniques and tools to gain buy-in, commitment, and accountability from senior leaders, peers, and direct reports.
For more information about how you can schedule your Leader's Video Mirror™ session, call us at 763-432-6888.