I have never been convinced by the all too commonly used mantra ‘perception is reality’. After hearing it for the fourth time in a week something just wasn’t sitting quite right with me.
I thought that just maybe, despite a degree in English and forty years of speaking the language that I may think perception means something other than it does. This perception was however incorrect. I looked up ‘perception’ in the dictionary and much to my surprise there was no mention of reality.
At the danger of being literal, perception in fact, may or may not be reality. Whilst this may not sound as catchy, it is something that should not be discounted.
If after telling someone once, that the lines in the image in this post do not curve and are in fact parallel, they do not believe you, move on. Similarly if a colleague has the wrong idea of you, or a customer the wrong idea about your organisation – ask for an opportunity to put their notion right, then successful or not, move on. Do not waste time and energy dispelling someone’s delusions.
Perception is intrinsically internal and perhaps the sole perspective in which this saying holds up and is of some positive use, is in the context of your perception of yourself. How you see yourself can be a powerful and helpful (or hindering) self fulfilling prophecy.
Authenticity discussions in the corporate environment often emphasize the need for alignment of values, with the caveat that you must authentically believe in the company’s preexisting or latest values. Don’t fake it and don’t think differently. Put another way ‘my way or the highway’ – very few leaders would dare say this in current times in such an unveiled fashion, yet stressing the requirement for an employee to unconditionally ‘align with the company’s values in an authentic manner’ is stating precisely that.
Alignment of values is something that should be visited at the interview stage. The organisation should be utilizing selection criteria to hire those who personify the company’s values. To instruct existing employees of this need is to absolve the HR department and leaders who formulate the people strategy of all responsibility.
Authenticity too often really means giving the appearance of being genuine rather than simply being genuine. Organisations who engage in this sort of game are rife with leaders who are concerned with how to seem rather than how to be, being convincing rather than truthful, being present rather than being effective; and ultimately preoccupied with perception rather than reality.
