As I finished my meal in a restaurant in Orlando, my waitress, Sherry, offered to get me a piece of pie for dessert.I declined but decided get a chocolate chip cookie “to go”. When the waitress returned with my chocolate chip cookie in a cute little bag, she carefully handed it to me with these words, “I have personally checked every inch of this cookie and you will have at least two chocolate chips in every bite.” I smiled with admiration at her customer care techniques and gave her a generous tip.

Sherry was efficient, friendly and kept my water glass filled. She smiled and made me feel as if I was her only customer as she ran the extra mile to make my dining experience exceptional.

Samuel Butler, an English writer who was born in 1835 and died in 1902 said, “Every man’s work, whether it be literature, or music, or pictures, or architecture is always a portrait of himself.”

We could add in 21st Century terms that every man’s work whether it be customer service, writing code or managing employees is a portrait of him/herself and brands each individual in a specific way.

Sherry painted a picture and imprinted it in my brain. I can still see her, the booth, the food and the restaurant. I will return to her restaurant on my next trip to Orlando and as I mention the experience to friends, I recommend they give the establishment a try if they are ever in the Orlando area.

Laura Morgan Roberts, Harvard Business School professor says that “people are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment.”

In your organization the process is not much different than my experience with Sherry. Just like Sherry, you paint a picture of yourself as you work and co-workers or customers rapidly disseminate the details of that painting, your competence and your character, to others.  

When you perform your work, what picture are you painting? How does your self-portrait brand you as a person of credibility? Fairness? Dependability? Trust? Competence? Character? Commitment?

Professor Roberts offers this advice: “It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish. Be the author of your own identity. Take a strategic, proactive approach to managing your image.”

To make your voice heard and manage your professional image, consider the following steps:

 Evaluate your personality preferences or social identities you want to emphasize and incorporate into your workplace interactions, and those you would rather minimize. Taking a personality profile such as the Human Behavior Depuzzler can help you understand your strengths and your blind spots. Then you can magnify your strengths and find way around your blind spots so they do no limit your professional success. (You can access information about the Human Behavior Depuzzler by going to http://www.karlabrandau.com/newkarla3/products.htm#depuzzler.)

Work from integrity, character and authenticity; in other words, present yourself in a way that is true to your values. If you are not true to your values, you will appear inauthentic to co-workers while undermining your productivity and work relationships. If you meet deadlines, give candid and honest feedback and work collaboratively with others, you will paint positive vivid colors of trust in your self-portrait.

If you follow the recommendations above, just like the Picassos of the art world add subtleties to their paintings that make you want to view them time and time again, you can add subtle nuances to your character that make people want to be associated with you project after project. You can create a positive emotional experience that will be etched in your colleagues and co-workers’ right brain where the strongest links to memory reside. The permanent portrait in their minds of you will catapult you forward to career success.

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April – Time Management and Technology Webinars 

April 12th - Unique Click and Drag Features. Getting more out of your investment in Microsoft Outlook is easier than you thought. Just learn these easy Click and Drag features.

April 18th - Discovering the Power of Tasks. If you keep lists of lists, this is the session for you! You'll discover the power of the Microsoft Tasks folder and how to keep track of all the minutia in your life.

April 24th – Planning Microsoft Productivity with the Microsoft Outlook Calendar. You'll learn how to speed up,  keep up and move work forward when working together and collaborating with these little used Outlook features.

April 26th - Surviving E-mail Overload. Learn all the survival skills you need for e-mail overload. You'll want everyone in your organization to learn these techniques. If they do, e-mail problems will be significantly reduced.