Your image as a Scrum Master or a Product Owner or even as Stakeholder in the eyes of the world could be an asset or a liability for you as a leader. Building an image is magic wand, it could not superficial or unimportant activity. Crafting your own image requires a better understanding of what people in the group, project, organization or the society at large are perceiving, you need to gain a clear picture of your image in their eyes and needs.
Your image is the concept that others form about you as a result of the impression you make on them. It can be an asset or a liability as you engage in tasks and roles of Leadership. It is not easy for anyone to see themselves as the world see them or thinks about them. One needs to have a clarity how your image is hindering or making your effective in the world where you operate. You also need to decide what image you would like people to perceive about you.
Your image is based on multiple elements, which would include but not limited to: Physical appearance or formal status, behavior, body language, your tone when you speak and style of communication – all these contribute to the image of yourself.
People form opinion of others all the time (that is the favorite – pass time of this universe), People make assumptions about you, in absence of solid information and frequent communication people form opinions based on some assumptions, and what they invent is likely to be a distortion of truth, which then leads to your image risk. Remember your image speaks louder than you
Image is always referenced by personal experience, People want their leaders to be likable, approachable, be above average, be their role model and so on…
As you work to convey your effective leadership style, keep in mind that working on your image is not about faking anything, it is all about polishing your behavior and skills that allow your authentic self to be most effective.
Myths about Leader’s perception of Image Management:
- Only celebrities and political leaders have to manage their image
- People know me, what is there to manage
- What you see is what you get
- Creating an image is all about faking
- My position creates the image
Assess your Image and Leadership Style:
- What feedback have you gotten about your image and how you communicate?
- What image is conveyed by your leaders in the Organization and how does your image fit in this puzzle?
- Think of time when your image worked in your favor or advantage
- Also think of time when your image worked in against you
- Does your body language show that you are comfortable in your role?
Based on your observations from the above and the data you have, plan to do the following (if appropriate):
- Seek feedback from your colleagues / peers
- Seek opinion of your strongest critic (they would give you the best view)
- See guidance from your reportees
- Pick a focus area to improve upon
- If your office or the area where meetings are held has a CCTV – seek if you can get access to the tapes of your meetings / discussions – observe your tone, behavior, approach, body language.
As Scrum Master / Product Owners, we are always under pressure to deliver value to the customer, improve morale of the team, create the right environment for success / failures and many more. We get pulled in multiple different direction and each stakeholder has an agenda of their own and not serving any of them, creates an impression, leads to an assumption, that forms an opinion and creates the image (GOOD, BAD or UGLY)
Like we do Product review during Sprint Review and Process / Relationship review at Sprint Retrospective, it is equally important to review our own behavior, our own internal approaches and see what corrective actions have to be taken, what tweaks have to be performed.
As we always it is all about Transparency (with your own self), Inspection and Adaption is the key to success … it is time we implement the scrum guidelines on ourselves before we move to conquer the world
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