Your image at work matters.  Yes, I know you thought you left that all behind when you left high school, but no such luck.  All people, young and old, categorize others based on descriptors.  These descriptors are most commonly created based on the image that the person exudes. We all have multiple images that we present based on the environment with which we are in.  For instance, in your personal life you may have a social image seen by all of your friends or you could have a parental image identified by other parents and teachers.  You also have a work image that is conveyed to other employees.

The image by which you are categorized by other employees is either voluntarily or involuntarily created by you.  It is simply a matter of how self aware you are and to what extent you are controlling your “presence” you are putting out there.

The image that you present (again, either directly or indirectly) is made up of many things including, but not limited to your communication style, your work “clique”, your mannerisms and even your physical environment.  Performance does play a part as well, but we are going to treat it as a separate item.  Taken together, these aspects form your image.  Other employees within your organization then begin to categorize you based on this image.  In the simplest terms, you are categorized into one of two columns—positive or negative.  Of course, there will be some who view you as positive and some who view you as negative.  That is just a fact of life.  So what is the point you ask?  Well, there are people within your organization whose image categorization of you does matter—the people who can affect your employment.  It is not just your immediate supervisor, but also anyone who requires something from you or from whom you require something.  The image that you present to this group will tip to one side or another—positive or negative, and that collective image can affect whether or not you are seen as an asset or expendable.  For part one of “Your Work Image,” we will focus on communication style.   

Communication Style

The Anti-Communicator: The anti-communicator never answers there phone, waits for someone to  leave and message and then responds as needed.

The Socializer: The socializer jumps from cube to cube to see what’s new with coworkers. 

The Black Hole: People with a black hole image get this wrap because they never respond to emails or phone calls.  The communication gets lost in a black hole.

The Monotonous Mailer:  A monotonous mailer consistently responds to emails far longer than they should.  If a stream of communication goes beyond three emails it is time to pick up a phone and call. 

Each type of communication listed above connotes some degree of negative image.  Being too closed off to communication or too chatty hurts your work image. 

Monitor your workplace communication over the next couple of days and see if your communication style would fall into one of these areas.  If so, it is time to make a few adjustments.  The ideal communication style is one that has variety.  It is ok and efficient to respond to most of your emails by emailing back, but if the conversation cannot be conducted in three emails or less then change the line of communication.  Additionally, make an effort to go and see someone or give them a call on the phone when you need to communicate with someone.   Make sure not to linger too long at someone’s cube because they may have work to finish.  Finally, be sure to follow up on emails that need a reply; this is the most negative image-maker of all.

Over the next few weeks we will cover other pieces of the image puzzle, and make sure that your image is shining in a positive light.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 10:26 pm and is filed under Workplace. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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