The first thing I want to give you is this phrase, “What you focus on, you empower.” There is no doubt about this. Your employees will watch what you do. And what you do, they’re going to follow. You are the manager, the leader, their point of contact with the business. What you do, they will watch. What you do, they will focus on. And what you do, or focus on, you empower.

Secondly, I want to talk to you about the value and power of perception. Look at this familiar picture.  What do you see?

Do you see the young girl, or do you see the old hag?  It’s not important what you see. What’s important is that others can see something differently than you do. As you walk through your life as a manager, you want to make sure that your employees see what you want them to see. You need to be aware of what they see. You need to know; do they see the young girl, or do they see the old hag?  Again, it doesn’t matter what they see between the two. The important thing is that you know what they see, so that you know; are they seeing what you want them to see?  There will never be a 100% assurance that you know what they see.  But, if you pay attention to the potential for misunderstanding, you will be in front of potential issues.

It’s very important that you know how your employees see what you do. If you’re walking steps blindly without knowing what your employees think of what you’re doing, not as much an opinion but an understanding, they need to get the message that you’re trying to send.   I went through a situation one time, and I’m glad it was pointed out to me early in my career. I had a plan of putting something in place. I was just going through a process of implementing procedures and principles.  Someone come up to me and said, “Your employees are very upset.” And I asked, “How come?” He said, “Because this is what they see you’re doing.” And you know what my answer was? A very common answer, “That’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean that at all.” 

It didn’t matter what I meant. It mattered what they saw.  Perception is reality until proven otherwise. So, between What You Focus on You Empower, and the Power of Perception, these two realities will have an impact on your business and can significantly impact your career as a manager and leader.  It is easy to get wrapped up in what we are doing.  It is fruitful to get wrapped up in what your employees see you are doing.  It is also a whole lot more fun!