Performance Is Not the Same as Perception
Part two of a multi-part series on rethinking leadership visibility.
In part one of this series on rethinking leadership visibility, the focus was on this question:
If high performance isn’t enough, what’s missing?
Now in part two of the series, the focus is on the answer:
Many may think what is missing is having to play politics or self-promote. It isn’t. The missing piece is perception.
Let’s explore why this perception challenge happens and what to do about it.
Organizations Make Decisions with Incomplete Information
Executives aren’t intentionally overlooking people.
They’re making decisions using:
what they’ve observed
what they’ve heard from others
what evidence they have
who has demonstrated enterprise thinking
who they trust with greater responsibility
Every promotion, succession discussion, and talent review is based on the information leaders have, not all the information that exists.
Question: Do the decision makers know you, trust you and understand what you do to add value?
The important distinction is that incomplete information doesn’t necessarily lead to bad decisions, it leads to decisions based what is is available, which may not be the whole story.
The reality is that organizations don’t make decisions based solely on performance. They make decisions based on their perception of leadership readiness.
Leadership Creates Intangible Value That Isn’t Always Obvious
Early in our careers, value is often visible. The success metric is based on performance and it shows others “what” you have done.
We finish projects.
We solve problems.
We hit goals.
As leaders grow, the value they create changes:
Better decisions
Stronger collaboration
Cross-functional influence
Coaching others
Anticipating risks
Aligning stakeholders
Shaping strategy
The “to-do” list of a higher level leader is focused on thinking, planning and strategy vs. performance and easy to measure deliverables.
You may be doing great things, but if you aren’t sharing the results with decision makers and influencers, they don’t know and can’t positively impact your career.
These kind of contributions don’t leave the same kind of visible trail which can create a perception gap.
Leaders to need to help others understand what they are doing, how they’re creating value and why it matters to the business.
That’s not self-promotion.
That’s effective leadership communication.
Closing the Perception Gap Is a Leadership Responsibility
Blaming others doesn’t help you solve the problem. Take ownership of your perception.
The perception of you and your work, whether that perception is right or wrong, is the reality of how people see you.
Instead of saying,
“People don’t recognize my value.”
Ask,
“Have I made my leadership visible in ways that help others understand my impact?”
This is a much more empowering mindset that enables you to take the actions to show that you making an impact and ready to do more.
Take Action. Focus on these two actionable approaches:
Create value.
Help the organization understand the value being created.
Both matter to be viewed in the way that gets you new opportunities.
The first one drives results.
The second one enables opportunity, influence, and trust.
A Deeper Look at the Perception Gap
Let’s start with a simple definition:
The Perception Gap is the distance between the leadership value a person creates and the leadership value others recognize and understand.
One of the biggest barriers to developing future leaders isn’t capability, it’s the Perception Gap.
If leadership potential can be hidden by a perception gap, the next question becomes:
How do leaders close that gap without feeling like they’re self-promoting? That’s where we need to rethink what visibility really means.
Keep in mind that the reality in companies is that:
Performance earns credibility.
Readiness earns promotion.
Strategic visibility helps leaders ensure decision-makers recognize that readiness to close the perception gap.
My work helps high performing leaders in organizations reduce the perception gap through a focus on their leadership readiness and increasing strategic visibility.
This is the impact that creates new opportunities for leaders and strengthens the leadership pipeline for organizations.