A Second Look at First Impressions You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This is a common mantra from parents, professional coaches, and other mentors. First impressions are formed based upon analysis of the person’s behaviors and traits, often using our own values and beliefs as a gauge. Once formed, first impressions may be difficult to change. My first impressions of John painted him in a specific light. Upon reversal and reflection I was challenged to look beyond my initial findings and seek a deeper understanding. The same situations may happen in the relationship between leaders and followers. What if we took the time to take a second look at our first impression? How can we revise someone else’s first impression of us? In order to successfully motivate their followers, leaders must be cautious of first impressions and their impact on determining the best approach. Forming First Impressions First impressions are created through global impression. Although different labels may be used, two common categories of first impressions are competency and morality (Pagliaro, Brambilla, Sacchi, D'Angelo, & Ellemers, 2013). Competency relates to how well a person significantly executes and can be a symbol of dominance. Morality refers to how well a person connects and can be characterized as safety. Competency and morality impressions are not created equal (Pagliaro et al., 2013). It is often the case a first impression is made leaning upon morality traits than competency. It seems first impressions are based more so upon emotional connectedness than rational analysis. This is important to realize as we each create and form first impressions with partners, colleagues, leaders, and followers. Feeling safe and warm is ... ... middle of paper ... ...es their existence, the leader can customize motivators to drive success. Conclusion First impressions are inevitable and made disproportionally upon an individual’s value-assessment. Labels are another’s impression of the situation and should not be used to form an impression. Impressions can be changed if one is willing to seek truth from multiple angles to form an inclusive view of humanity. Leaders who continue to push beyond initial impressions of followers will find new opportunities to understand, connect, and motivate. References Clark, D.R. (2014). Leadership & Human Behavior. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadhb.html. Pagliaro, S., Brambilla, M., Sacchi, S., D'Angelo, M., & Ellemers, N. (2013). Initial Impressions Determine Behaviours: Morality Predicts the Willingness to Help Newcomers. Journal Of Business Ethics, 117(1), 37-44.
Morales-Sánchez, Rafael, and Carmen Cabello-Medina. "The Role Of Four Universal Moral Competencies In Ethical Decision-Making." Journal Of Business Ethics 116.4 (2013): 717-734. Business Source Complete. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
“Most people in the U.S. want to do the right thing, and they want others to do the right thing. Thus, reputation and trust are important to pretty much everyone individuals and organizations. However, individuals do have different values, attributes, and priorities that guide their decisions and behavior. Taken to an extreme, almost any personal value, attribute, or priority can “cause” an ethical breach (e.g. risk taking, love of money or sta...
Typically, 2 people will form an opinion of others within the first 3 seconds of meeting one another. The way these opinions are formed so quickly is, generally speaking, solely because of physical appearance. All too often, in our society today, people are criticized for what material possessions they have and how much money said people have to spend on things that they do not need, but instead just want. It does not matter where you go; this can be observed almost anywhere. Sometimes, when people notice that someone has cheaper clothes or less objects of purely material value, the people who have more frown upon those who have less. Ev...
Thus, a leader may be defined by certain qualities and skills, as well as the demonstrated ability to use certain task-oriented and relational-oriented behaviors that may be dependent on a situation, or simply the desire to accomplish a specific task or goal; furthermore, a leader may also be defined by power along with power’s use or misuse. According to many followers, the most desirable leadership traits are honesty, forward-thinking, competency, inspiration, and intelligence (Shead, 2016). Amongst the follower defined leadership traits, honesty was identified as the essential leadership quality that causes people to follow a leader; thus, the courage to admit failure is the most reliable sign that a leader is honest and accountable to the follower (Shead, 2016). Ultimately, in behavioral science a leader is defined by effectiveness, and, unfortunately, behavioral science is still attempting to define effectiveness by a single leadership
For example, working in a surgical ward, a nurse was discussing with other colleagues about a certain patient who was in the holding bay, talking negatively about her lifestyle choices, when approaching the patient for the first time when arriving into the suite, she refused treatment from any of the nurse staff on the shift as she was upset at the things the nurse had said. First impressions influence people’s judgments of others and their willingness to engage in any further communication (Boc and Franklin, 2013).... ... middle of paper ... ...
It has been stated how the transformational effect of charismatic leaders lead to increased follower motivation (Humphreys, 2009). Due to the various attributes that transformational leaders have, such as charisma and understanding, they are likely to motivate others to follow after the examples that they may display. There is also Effective followership. Effective followership prepares a person to be an Effective leader since being a follower is considered as a prerequisite to leading. According to Humphreys (2009), organizations are comprised of groups of followers and leaders, who are listening and taking direction from one
First impressions are created by a composite of signals given off by a new experience (Flora, 2004). The judgment of these impressions depends on the observer and the person being observed (Flora, 2004). When you meet someone for the first time it takes about three seconds to be evaluated by the observer (Mind Tools, 1996-2011,). During this time the person forms an opinion about you based on your appearance, your body language, your demeanor, and how you dress (Mind Tools, 2996-2011,). Impressions are important to us because they are impossible to be reserved and the set the tone for all the relationships that follow (Mind Tools, 1996-2011).
Good prototypical leaders gain a greater amount of trust from their followers. However, the issues that challenge this concept of prototypicality are that it is utmost importance that the leaders represent the group well and have unwarranted trustworthiness. Thus meaning that prototypical leaders are viewed more importantly than the ingroup followers and yet this doesn’t determine how well they will perform; the outlook of the leader is analyzed more so that than their input in the group. Another issue is that prototypicality can cause followers to have false perceptions of the leader’s effectiveness (Gissner 2008). The followers may interpret the leader as being representative of their group and leader them well although it may simple be because of the position the leader
How are the perceptions of human nature conveyed by individuals subject to the influence of
A common example of impression management and a personal experience I have encountered with this is working at a restaurant. I was a hostess and as I seat the family of 6 with 2 young children, I anticipate the reaction of the server as they sit in their section. The server approaches the table with a big smile on their face as if it was the highlight of their day to serve the table. I watch throughout the night as they run back and forth to this table while trying to keep up with the...
I discovered how sticking to one’s morals should be the topmost priority for everyone involved in business, whether personal or professional. Regardless of what the consequences may be, the intensity of the problem, and the complexities it may bring, sacrificing one’s integrity should never be an option, as integrity goes hand-in-hand with the morals of an individual (Duggan & Woodhouse, 2011). They further go on to say that having individuals take part in building a code of ethics that supports employee integrity, they will act ethically. Also, I believe that companies should place more emphasis on the moral behavior of their employees, and clear-cut policies should be set regarding such ethical situations. Furthermore, I realized how serving justice while making decisions really helps in the long run, and that opting to go for the ideal rather than they deserved is not always the best option, and could hurt a company in more than one
How first impressions are formed has been a subject of interest by many researchers in the area of psychology.
What is a first impression anyway? It is probably the judgement a person makes on another based on the way he or she talks and acts in the first meeting. But in a lot of cases, first impressions are made based on the stereotypes, especially racial ones, that person fit in.
McFerran, B., Aquino, K., & Duffy, M. (2010). How personality and moral identity relate to individuals' ethical ideology. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20(1), 35-56. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
First impressions are very important to your every day life. They are the basis of how relationships start and how you are seen by other people. People, based on first impressions, form opinions. The opinions could begin many things and lead towards success or these opinions could be ones that are misleading and have a negative impact on how people relate to you. First impression are very important on people’s social life, in your education and in employment. In your social life, first impressions come from your friends, family, and even new people who come into your life. First impressions for your education consists of your teachers or classmates when you are taking a class. First impressions on employment go from your current co-workers, boss, and former employers. The are very significant in job interviews. First impressions are important, but are not always the final word.