What Kind of Impression Do You Make?

Back in my facility management days, I would process up to 120 timesheets every two weeks. Obviously, this wasn’t my favorite task — especially when Dave’s timesheet came through. You see, Dave didn’t understand that his paperwork was a reflection of his professional image, and he apparently didn’t care about the impression he left with me every two weeks.

Dave couldn’t complete his timesheet accurately. His math was wrong, or details were missing. I would frequently send it back to him asking for corrections to be made and then receive the second version with the same oversights.

To make things worse, Dave usually completed his timesheet during his lunch break. So almost every one had a “scratch and sniff” opportunity on it — sometimes peanut butter and sometimes jelly. If I were lucky, both would be smeared together on the page.

In one of my review sessions with Dave, I asked if he realized that at least eight people saw his timesheet every two weeks. He needed to know that his paperwork was leaving an indelible — but almost edible! — impression on his professionalism.

Dave didn’t last long at that job, and not just because of his inability to follow directions and his paperwork habits.

I bring him up here to ask what kind of impression your work leaves with colleagues? Is the snapshot a positive professional image, or is it one that could use some improvement?

Your reputation is based on the impressions you leave each day: what you say and don’t say in meetings, in the hall and in simple conversations. Your communication, whether written or spoken, makes a mark.

Remember, your boss doesn’t promote you. Rather, everyone you work with contributes to your success or failure based on the impressions they have of you.

What impressions did you leave today?

(Photo by iStock)