OJ’s rants What would OJ do?

The Issue of Perception

What is Perception?

As cheesy as it sounds, I'm going to start off with a definition ripped straight off Dictionary.com:

per·cep·tion

–noun

1. the act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding.
2. immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight; intuition; discernment: an artist of rare perception.
3. the result or product of perceiving, as distinguished from the act of perceiving; percept.
4. Psychology. a single unified awareness derived from sensory processes while a stimulus is present.
5. Law. the taking into possession of rents, crops, profits, etc.

Take a moment to digest the meaning of the word. Can you see how subjective it is? One's perception varies greatly depending on the observer. The motivation of the observation is also going to skew how one is perceived. The relationship one has with the observer is also going to impact how that observer perceives you.

Finally, it's important to note that what was perceived and any point in time is not necessarily the same as what actually occurred.

Motivation for Writing

So why am I talking about this? Earlier this week, the team I am currently working with had its fortnightly iteration retrospective. Quite a few issues were raised. A few home truths were revealed. A few of the team members implied that there was a perception issue, in that what appeared to have happened in some cases is not actually what happened.

This whole issue of perception has come up on almost every job I have worked on. This time round it has motivated me to write about it as I feel that for some reason people don't really understand the core of the issue. Not only that, they fail to see that there is actually a great deal of value in learning how to manage it and use it as valuable feedback to improve yourself as a professional.

How are you Perceived?

The answer to this question will vary greatly depending on the situation, your relationship with those who are observing you and what lengths you go to in order to portray the right image.

People will look at you differently if you're a contractor compared to a permanent employee. Their expectations will be higher, and hence when you're being obvserved people will be a little more critical. The expectation is that you're there as a domain expert that is adding value directly proportional to the cost of the service that you provide. As a permanent, the expectation is that you'll do the job to a "sufficient" level, work "enough" hours and "care" enough to get things done... eventually.

There are many shades of grey within these two categories as well as between them. I won't be covering all of them, but I believe there are a few points which apply to all of them when it comes to have they are observed from the perspective of the man who is paying the bills (for example, the Project Manager).

How much time do you spend...

• ... reading and writing emails?
• ... on the phone?
• ... reading and writing blogs?
• ... talking about non-work related stuff?
• ... messing around with personal gadgets or laptops at work?
• ... going out for coffee?
• ... using some sort of instant messaging client and/or social network tools?
• ... actually at work, at your desk? (ie. do you get in late or leave early)?

Don't get me wrong here, everyone does a few of these things when at work, regardless of there position. The question is where to draw the line, to make sure you don't go too far.

Now compare these to how much time you spend...

• ... starting and/or participating in design discussions.
• ... at your desk actually doing the work you're there to do.
• ... helping others do the work they do.
• ... helper others improve the level of quality of their work.
• ... attempting to add value in areas you're not directly involved with.
• ... going above and beyond to highlight and rectify problem areas.

These are all time-based issues. There are others which relate to attitude as well. How about..?

• When participating in team discussions, stand-ups or retrospectives, how much do you get involved?
• What does your body language say about how you feel or what you're thinking about at any given time?
• Do you get involved in discussions that have nothing to do with you?
• When dealing with people who you consider to be bad at their job, or people who you either don't like or respect, does your tone of voice give away you feelings?
• Do you find yourself getting personal for any reason when discussing issues with other members of your team?
• Do you attempt to discuss things that you don't understand while attempting to make it sound like you're an expert in the matter?
• Do you attempt to abuse your position of power (if you have one) even if it's to the detriment of the project you're working on?
• Do you wear appropriate clothing to work?

There are so many more, but I won't list them all as it'd make this post even more boring

Don't underestimate how each of these things can make you look bad if you don't manage your percetpion properly. A few small things can have just as big an impact on how you are perceived as one big thing. This can be bad enough even when the observer is a friend, but it's substantially worse if the person isn't!

Skewed Perceptions

This is where it gets nasty. Skewed perceptions can have a drastic effect on the employer's view. Most of the time, the employer's view is made up of those from a selection of people including some which will work alongside you in the trenches every day. If one or more of those people have a reason to dislike you then you have to make extra effort to manage how you are viewed. The smallest things can be blown out of proportion in this situation.

People who have a reason to dislike you will make every little thing you do look worse than it actually is. A slightly delayed email response will "put them back a few hours". A broken build will cause "huge issues with the work they're doing". A controversial email thread will be considered "extremely offensive" and having a laugh with some co-workers will be seen as "highly distracting and obnoxious".

Bear this in mind while going about your daily work.

Managing Perception

Ultimately, the best way to manage perception is the most simplest way: do your job, and do it well! That's really what it boils down to. If you do your job while you're at work then by definition you're not wasting time. You're not on the phone, you're not reading blogs, and you're not wasting time at all because you're doing what you're paid to do. The only grey area here is email. There are always going to be a plethora of work-related emails, and it's important to manage those and respond to them in a timely manner. Just make sure you don't spend your day in front of *insert email client of choice*.

But let's say that for some reason you aren't doing your job for the full eight hours per day. This isn't an unrealistic scenario, because everyone has something else going on in their lives which can have an effect on them during working hours. What do you do then? How do you make sure that you're not unfairly perceived? Again, it's very simple. Here are some examples.

• Phone calls: Don't take personal calls during the day. If you have a wife/partner that you want to speak to then call them during lunch. Make sure that they only call you during lunch or when it's an absolute emergency. If you have some other high-priority thing going on (eg. you're buying a house and you have to make sure the solicitors are doing their job) then make sure that you inform your manager/workmates. Tell them that you're expecting to deal with this issue during the day and that you'll be making an effort to keep it to a minimum. This means that if you're on the phone, people won't be asking questions as to why. Also, when taking calls, do yourself a favour and move away from your desk. Your colleagues don't want to hear the conversation (especially if it involves sentences like "I love you baby. Kissy-wissy! Love you!"). Give your colleages the space they deserve and go outside or to a private room. But make sure you keep it short.
• Coffee: I can be bad for this one sometimes. In short, get your coffee before you go to work. Don't take trips out after arriving. This can apply to other things such as late breakfasts.
• Care-factor: So you're in a meeting and you're either pissed off because of something someone said, or you're just not interested. We've all been there right? Er... have we? Anyway, let's say we have. Sitting there looking very disinterested isn't going to do you any favours. Don't constantly look at your watch. Don't glare at people like a sourpuss. Don't check your phone every 60 seconds to see if something more interested has landed in your inbox or Twitter stream. Pay attention! Sit up. Contribute something. At least do your colleagues the justice of listening to them and see if you can add value somewhere.
• Passive-aggressive behaviour: This comes in so many forms. Via emails, via jokes, via general conversation. It's a bad thing to do. It can be as subtle as a comment like "You're the Lead now, it's your problem". Avoid the jibes. Deal with the situation in a professional manner instead of behaving like a petulant child.
• Personality clashes: Someone at work has an issue with you, or you have an issue with them. Rather than let things turn bad, nip it in the bud. Take the person to one side and have a constructive discussion with them. Find out what it is that pisses them off, and try to deal with it. Attempting to work alongside someone when the air not clear not only causes issues for the two of you but can also be very distracting for the rest of the team.
• Caring too much: The work means more to you than the other people you're working with. You care about quality, standards, managing costs and expectations and you make an effort to stay in touch with the world you work in. The fact that your colleagues aren't like you infuriates you. This becomes evident in everything you do purely because of the anger and/or dismissiveness that you display whenever you interact with them. This fits into the professionalism category. Deal with it like a professional. I'm not asking you to like them any more, nor to lower your standards in any way. I'm asking you to learn to work around them. There will always be people that you work with that will make you feel like this (especially if you work in the government or in enterprise software). Learn to manage it and deal with your anger.
• Proactivity: This is something that isn't only going to improve your perception but will ultimately make you a better professional. Demonstrate some forethought for the area you work in. Read up on things in your own time and share them with your colleagues when you get to work. Constantly review your work methods and see how you can improve. If you find a way of improving yourself, you can again share that with people, but make sure you emphasise that you got a lot of value of it first. Make an effort to preempt some issues and deal with them up front rather than putting them off. Try to look past today's work and see what's coming down the track. Don't just look at the current line of code, be aware of the bigger picture. Don't be constrained to your field. If you're a tester you can improve the life of a developer (and vice versa).
• Do your hours: While a bigger issue for contractors, this definitely applies to permies as well. It's simple: do your hours! You get paid to do around eight hours of work per day. Less if you're a government employee. Eight hours is not that difficult. Whether you like it or not, your hours will in some way be monitored, and the perception of you will change if you don't do what is expected. Getting to work earlier than other doesn't mean you have the right to do less hours. If you rock up earlier, yes you can leave earlier, but if you're taking a lot of time out for personal stuff or lunches, then you should make the effort to stay back longer and make up for the time you have lost.
• Punctuality: Get to work on time, especially if you're a contractor. Rocking up after 9am most days doesn't look good, especially if you leave before 5pm and take a full hour for lunch. Get to meetings on time. There's no excuse for tardiness and it makes you look very unprofessional while wasting other people's time.
• Deal with criticism/feedback: When people have the nerve to come to you and talk openly about issues, be open to them and don't get angry. Don't try and justify your position by pointing out the flaws in other people. Don't attempt to make it sound like you're no different to anybody else. Listen to what people are saying. Use that information to better yourself as a person and as a professional. The best thing to do is separate yourself from the rest by learning from what you hear.

Trying Too Hard

When the issue of perception raises its ugly head, most people attempt to solve the problem instantly. This cannot be done. Changing people's perception of you is something that takes a long time. It's not something that will happen within a day, a week, or even a month. Expect it to take quite a while.

Here are some sure signs that you're trying too hard:

• You email everyone every time you do something related to your job. You're attempting to demonstrate that you're doing your work, but all you achieve by doing this is annoying everyone. You don't need to email everyone all the time. Only when it's relevant should you make the effort. Don't add noise, just try to add signal.
• You get involved in discussions that are outside of your area of expertise. I don't think I need to elaborate here. (this post is a classic example ).
• You make a point of highlighting other people's faults.
• You take the time to add value to anything and everything you can, splattering your workplace with "look how good I am" propoganda.
• Including lots of people in email threads when they don't need to be.

Instead of putting effort into directly changing how people perceive you, the best thing to do is change the way you work. Focus on doing your job better.

By the way, please let me know if you know of any more signs!

Conclusion

Perception tends to be directly related to your quality of work, though it can sometimes be skewed by interpersonal issues. Managing how you're perceived is actually very simple. If you care about your job and you want to do well you'll find that the whole perception issue fades into the background.

If you're floating along in a job you don't like or with people you don't like, and you're not really giving it 100%, then chances are you going to face this problem sooner rather than later.

Step up. Improve yourself for your own benefit, and you'll find that the rest of the perception issues will go away.

Thoughts, feedback, abuse and cheap-shots are, as always, very welcome