Emily Johnson

First Impressions

First impressions create vivid images and feelings that are often hard to reverse or change. I can recall entering the workforce and being advised "remember to make a great first impression". I now know and have experienced first-hand how relevant this can be.

Reading the first image of John as an extrovert was very emotional and engaging for me. I felt his positive energy as he left the office and skipped, literally had visions of him skipping, through the street. His energy was contagious. I could sense his connection he had with anyone and everyone he came in contact with. I was engrossed in his patience as he waited to be helped in the store and I could barely wait to read about his next positive encounter.

Then I met John the introvert. I tried not to have a first impression of him before I read the scenario but even just the title "introvert" led me to start making up my own story of him. I continued to read and even though the words stated the day was "brilliantly filled with sunshine" my mind kept visualizing a cloudy gloomy day. His walk seemed like he was

crossing the Sahara desert alone with his head hung low, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. He seemed meek and anti-social even amidst a bar filled with people of which many he even recognized. His presence seemed draining and his best decision was to retire to his house for the evening.

The task to reverse my thinking about John as an introvert in the second example was nearly impossible. I read and reread the example, trying to force myself to think of the positives. I read it aloud, changing the pitch and tone I had branded in my head. I tried to convince myself he was happy and content in his being. I refocused my reading on the what if scenarios. What if John chose to take the long walk to work because he was a marathon runner in training? What if he chose the shady side of the street because he did not have sunscreen and he was protecting his skin? What if the girl he saw again he had a great conversation with the night before? What if John was hearing impaired and couldn't speak to the bar tender? No matter how hard I tried, I still felt a negative energy surrounding John in the second example and vice versa with a great connection and feeling with John the extrovert.

Johns behavior in both examples ties to the readings of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. (Alderfer and Vroom) I directly relate John's

behaviors after leaving work to the level of engagement and motivation he received from his job. Both character's behavior also align with McGregor's Theories X and Y by showing an employee successfully lead in his work environment. Extrovert John has a satisfaction leaving the office that can only assume that his needs are being met at work. Perhaps he is led by a manager that handles employees dissatisfiers and has given him all motivators. (Alderfer and Vroom) Maybe he has reached a level of self actualization as he portrays a level of confidence and self accomplishment. Introvert John seems like his needs are not being met. Perhaps treated with little respect, given little responsibility and therefore leaves work feeling unaccomplished. Both John's behavior could be caused by how the are managed at work and are difficult not to carryover into their personal lives. In turn, these carried over behaviors lead to first impressions that can have lasting impacts on the person in their personal and work environments.

Reflecting on this assignment I further reflected on how difficult it is to change first impressions. Changing or reversing the feelings and images is a difficult task. I really tried to change how I felt about these characters I met for just knowing them through a short paragraph. This was an eye opening experience and very relative to my own personal struggle with changing perceptions in my own career. I have found that in the

corporate setting, perceptions and first impressions are often created from single experiences are spread throughout the organization like wildfire, both positive and negative. I have been challenged with how difficult it is to change peoples perceptions once they are created. This assignment validated that "you can never have a second chance at a first impression".

References

, C. (1969) An Empirical Test of a New Theory of Human Needs. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, vol. 4, pp. 142-175.