I learned many new things at PodCamp Europe over these last few days in Stockholm, but I think the lesson that YOU can put to work in your universe right away is this: where you choose to focus your attention is what your competition, peers, and subordinates will consider that to be something which you endorse. And it turns out your endorsement might send many signals without you knowing.
Implied Endorsement
As a parent, you can fall into this trap often. My daughter might look at me as she’s committing some lesser sin. When we establish eye contact, if I choose not to correct her actions, she understand that I’ve made a choice, so she continues to do that which I haven’t asked her to stop. Perhaps it’s something I’d rather she not do, but because we made eye contact while she was mid-act, she now feels I’ve given her permission, my endorsement, to keep doing what she’s doing.
In a work environment, you might provide hints of endorsement to an employee or a project such that other employees make choices that will support that action, regardless of whether you meant things to go in that direction. In a management situation, that might be as simple as not taking corrective actions against Michael who’s perpetually late, such that Sheila determines that she can be as late or early as she chooses.
Endorsement of Stature
If you are an authority in some form or another, your very presence might dictate an endorsement. If you’re a brilliant presenter, and people see you commenting all the time at Presentation Zen, people will assume that you are endorsing the content on that site (which I strongly endorse). People look up to those that come to symbolize something in a community, and thus, sometimes the actions one takes carry a little extra meaning, whether or not it’s deserved or should be that way.
In my personal case, I’ve learned over attending the last few PodCamps that my presence in a session triggers a sense by people new to these events that what I’m sitting in on must be important, because I’m sitting still to watch. The truth of the matter is that I’m just a curious geek, so whenever I have an opportunity to sit still and focus a moment (or my best approximation of focus), I sit where something seems interesting.
With Great Power
The old Spider-Man quote, “With great power comes great responsibility” applies here (though I don’t feel I’ve any great power). If you are in a position of influence or authority, it becomes important to check your actions from time to time to determine whether your actions might be implying an endorsement that isn’t necessarily your intent. Great if you want to really get behind something and support it, but it’s in those times where you’re thinking you are being innocuous, or when your actions trigger several reactions by others where the problems might come in.
What should you do differently? It’s a bunch of subtle things, but one pointer: if you realize you’ve inadvertently set something in motion – for instance, if you’ve unintentionally boosted up the perceived stature of someone in your organization or circle of business colleagues – it becomes important to set the tone (subtly or overtly) to what you truly meant, and as soon as possible.
People want to think they’re following your lead and are running independently from queues. Think on that. Your slightest ripple might be the next wave they surf. Be aware of this, and don’t be paranoid about it. Just think your actions through from time to time, and check whether you’re inadvertently endorsing something.
Personal note: I’m flying back from Stockholm today, so I’ll be out of contact for a bit. This isn’t an endorsement of anything. : )
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