When everyone in a room shares a similar perception, people tend to get along and understand each other even if they disagree with that perception being right or wrong. As soon as someone in that rooms has a personal perception that is at odds with the remainder, they become a shard of the group and each side begins to perceive the other as being crazy to some degree.
Remember the 6-image pictures that were all the rage a few years ago, each one showing “What my friends think I do,” etc?
All of those functions are based on the various perceptions of different people. Granted, few of them actually compare with reality, but until a persons experience is changed, their perception will remain, and for them that is reality.
Consider the people you work with, how do they perceive you and the work you do? In the image above, if they’re anything like what your boss thinks, you may have a real problem — one that involves updating the resume and applying for new work somewhere else really soon. If you’re a manager, how do your employees perceive your leadership skills? Chances are it’s not how you perceive them yourself.
Here’s the thing. Personal Experience drives Personal Perception, and those two things combined are an individual’s Personal Reality. As a manager, or just as a representative of a group (i.e., a member of the IT support team), it is your responsibility to ensure perceptions of you and of your team are positive and accurate. When interacting with someone, that should be foremost in your mind, ensuring their experience is right such as to drive that perception. Because if your employees or your customers perceive you as not caring about them, it doesn’t matter what you do or how hard you try. If their experience working with you can lend them to believe you don’t care for them in the slightest, that’s what they’re likely to believe. That will be their reality.