In an Instagram world, the perfect picture doesn’t tell the whole story. Sometimes it doesn’t even tell the true story.
Sunday, I sat next to a woman on a flight who spent 2 hours scrolling through 300 pictures. 300 versions of the SAME picture. I was fascinated!
How many pictures do you need to take for the PERFECT pic, and how many hours does it take to PICK the perfect pic? Apparently, the answers are 300 and 2. She finally settled on one with a hair flip, looking “surprised” at being photographed.
My husband Jeff Rasmussen and I attend the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) annual conference each November. The conference ends with a fabulous cocktail party, meal, and hours of dancing. And I mean, wedding-dance kind of music! I look forward to it every year.
The second year we attended, a lady came up to us in the hotel lobby as we were checking in. “I’m so glad you guys came again! It was so fun watching you dance last year! It made me get out and dance too!”
We are those people who are first on the dance floor, and the last to leave. We stay until the last song, and we voice our musical opinion by walking off during poor choices. We are THOSE people.
There are those who say, “Dance like no one is watching,” and I can’t argue with that idea, but I see it differently.
Our actions, and inactions, tell a story about us as leaders, professionals, and as individuals. We must be brave at times when others need us to light the way. We must be willing to stand out, show our true selves, and stand up for what we believe in. Sometimes we have to be the first ones to voice an opinion, make a decision, or take action, whether anyone is on that dance floor with us, or not.
Taking 300 pics to find “the one” is not reality. Life, and work, are messy. I’m not saying we shouldn’t put our best foot forward, but we also should remember that others look to us to show our true selves.
Our teams want us to be visible, be real, and allow them to be as well. In light of the #GreatResignation, in my podcast interview last week with Betsy Cerulo, she reminded me that we are moving into a #GreatReconciliation when businesses are redefining what their workplaces could and should be in order to nurture and develop a great team. There is no “perfect” pic of an employee or an employer, but we are entering a new opportunity to speak and be heard. To be bold. To be first on the dance floor.
Last month we just attended the wedding of Brittany Hampp, the daughter of my good friend Eileen Hampp. We knew “one’s” of people (literally…we knew the bride and the parents of the bride). We danced like no one was watching. Knowing that everyone does.
