What is the difference between perception and reality?
In my latest chat with Dr Robyn we discussed perception versus reality for our clients and the difference when our clients face someone’s perception of them versus the reality of their experience or knowledge. Or even more common, our client’s perception of themselves versus the reality of the situation.
Perception, in simple terms, is defined as the way an individual thinks. The thinking patterns differ from one individual to another and the way of thinking is decided by several factors. Reality, is the true state of something that may not be realized by individuals easily.
Robyn and I know that clients are often lost and confused about where the next role can come from or what their boss is saying about them in terms of talent. So what can you do about it?
Concepts of Perception versus Reality
Robyn and I discussed the common concepts and (mis)conceptions of perception and reality:
- Most of us do not see the difference between perception and reality since both terms appear to have the same meaning
- Different people may have different perceptions for the same thing since most of the times, the perception is shaped by the society in which the person lives.
- Most of the times, individuals believe that what they think is true and they understand most of the things based on the surface level only.
- Some perceptions are really hard to prove false
- The truth is often buried in misconception and nobody wants to look into the depth and find the reality.
- It is really easy to follow what others believe because it saves people from hard work of finding the reality.
How to use a Executive Coach: Perception versus Reality
With all these thoughts, we discussed how to use the coaching relationship to better understand your perceptions versus realities.
“The best thing you can do is find someone who’ll be honest with you and talk to you. And the challenge with that is, so many people want to go to friends and family for that. Your friends and family can’t really do that because there’s a bidirectional relationship there and they have to be careful about damaging the relationship”.
Dr Robyn
Coaching can really help?
In my experience, coaching can really help. Several clients were not prepared to see the reality of the situation at work. There were times when promotions had passed them by, their personal development plans had stalled or they were not achieving the KPIs.
These realities and the context were highlighted and discussed, not sidelined, but examined and reflected upon.
`Together, we created the next steps; the small changes leading to big changes. We identifies the reality and what we could do to change other people’s perspectives.
That takes time and hard work. But ultimately has been successful many times over. The results are clear: promotions, KPIs and bonuses.
If you are interested in discussing your perceptions vs realties, please contact me .