What is your personal identity? Who do others think you are? Where are the gaps?
Today I decided to take a break from interviewing a guest and just talk to you directly.
In this short episode, I deliver a short and potent message about our identities, how they frame out what we can offer the world and the importance of sticking to who we were born to be.
This might just be the message you need to hear on this particular day!
How you see yourself VS How others see you
As leaders there are oftentimes when we see ourselves one way, there’s a gap between how people perceive us and how we actually present ourselves in the world. And then also there’s this thing and focus about who we want to be and how we want to be perceived.
Oftentimes, as leaders or influencers inside of our organizations, we are perceived one way and usually it’s not the way we want to be perceived #leadership Share on X 
That’s usually based upon our actions and how we present ourselves out there in the world to others.
I spoke with a team and we were talking about the organization’s perception of them, their perception of themselves, and the gap that exists there. It was critical for them because they were looking at how they could rebrand their department as it relates to the organization’s perception.
After we spent quite a time talking about the gaps that might exist on what they do well and what they don’t do as well.
It all boiled down to this - how well are they communicating to themselves, how well are they communicating to one another. #leadershipwithheart Share on XThat was critical because they didn’t have a strong personal identity in line with what they wanted to be perceived as or who they wanted to be perceived as. Their identity was kind of wrapped up into the perception of others of them.
The Gap Between Two Perceptions
We all get tied up to a larger extent as to how others perceive us, perceive us as customers, perceive us as employees, as members of the community, as family.
If we do that, we really do everyone a disservice because
Most of the gap that exists start with the gaps in our mindset, the mindset that we are not good enough, that we are missing the mark. #leaderswithheart Share on XWe might have guilt around things we haven’t done or have done, and it weighs us down.
Takeaway
Think about how you perceive yourself, how others perceive you, how you want to be perceived, and determine if there are gaps. #leadershipwithheart Share on XAside from that, think about how you have been walking your journey. Have you been putting more stock in how people perceive you and how you should be? Or more stock in what it is you were born to be, and what it is you were driven to be. What is your put on this earth to be? That’s what’s most important.
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