In our work roles, it is important to understand how others perceive us. As a manager or leader, your team may perceive you in an entirely different way than you view yourself.

To help you understand how others perceive you, interview two people in your life to find out about how your are perceived. You can ask family members, colleagues, or friends to help you with this assignment. Use the following questions to help guide your discussion then make a summary reflection for this discussion question.

1. How do other people perceive you?

Identify one element of how others perceive you that you are interested in changing. It could be a positive perception (maybe they think you are more helpful than you really are) or a negative perception (maybe they think you don't take your studies seriously).

2. What are the reasons why they formed this perception? Think about the underlying reasons.

3. What have you done to contribute to the development of this perception?

4. Do you think there are perceptual errors that contribute to this perception? Are they stereotyping? Are they engaging in selective perception?

5. Are you sure that your perception is the accurate one? What information do you have that makes your perceptions more valid than theirs?