Anatomy of negative perceptions

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."    — Warren Buffet

"Reputation is important and should be handled carefully. A good reputation will precede you, but a bad reputation will simply prohibit your arrival to begin with."     — Mike Myatt


While  doing  so many good jobs  yet  unable to be in command of a few fatal mistakes, someone --no matter if s/he is an ordinary person or an organizer of  socio economic development --  often  wonders  why others  cannot perceive progress. S/he laments, 'though I  have done a lot, but these guys see nothing, rather disparage and   bring upfront only negative issues.'  Contenders are blind to their faults and are very eager to perceive foes' failures.
Perceptions are the matter of mind associated with knowledge either proper or improper. Classical Indian Philosophy accepts perception , or perceptual experience, as the primary means of knowledge . Perception  is etymologically rooted in the sense faculty or the sense organ  and can be translated as sensory awareness -- an instrument in the act of knowing. Reality is perception and there are two major forms of perception: what we perceive and  what others perceive.
The true essence of personal perception and its individual bias become obvious in the notion of leadership. There is a tendency to believe that leaders lead and followers follow and personally are effective and efficient leaders (using current benchmark as a guide), but the intended followers may have a very different perception of what leadership should be. Leaders think that they are leading well but very few people might be following! It does not matter whose perception is `right' what does matter is that they perceive and believe. Perception is the truth in reality. People can perceive the same thing differently and should become an integral part of the decision-making process. However, leaders' explanations are that  people of low esteem only have negative perceptions and live their lives comparing themselves with others in a futile and unrealistic way, instead of valuing themselves with all their perfections and acknowledging their own uniqueness and strengths. Not surprisingly, they will never feel good about themselves against such impossible yardsticks- benchmarks-thresholds, neither will they  feel good around them too.
The fact remains that negative perceptions  are not created in a day or two. These grow over the years out of disappointments, of so many denial of rights and privileges, in an autocratic atmosphere  with lack of information, with perpetual demand for  dues , being affected by   frustrating steps, in an environment of non-transparency and bad governance etc . Negative perceptions kill the power of positive thinking, it's like a virus that crashes the impulses of energy , consumes the fuel for firm determination and candid commitment by society at large. It is unfortunate for any manager  of socio economic development to let loose bedbugs of negative perception which hinders progress, creates non-cooperation in a non-coordinating environment .
Managing a manager's reputation is critical to personal branding success. If there are aspects the manager does not like, it should set about trying to change those. First by acknowledging the results or outcomes , taking ownership of it and moving to manage it better. For example, if anyone finds things online that might be negatively impacting is reputation, it is best to do to have them removed. Taking down compromising pictures, deleting posts that might have been seen as insensitive and changing online behaviour are ways to go forward. It is better to upload new positive content and become more proactive online, so that older, less flattering information is relegated to pages further down in online ranking.
If others are responsible for creating any one's bad reputation, it should be shown in true perspective and then the negativity has to be overcome with positive proofs of character that dispel wrong notions people might have in their minds. Actions should speak louder than words and it's more effective to show up the things that have been said as lies than to get involved in a petty argument. However , if one has a bad reputation due to mistakes made in the past, demonstration of mindfulness of those errors should project that a lesson  has been learnt. For example, if one managed one's finances badly, why not admit it, explain that one has received help and offer to assist others in avoiding the same pitfalls.
One should not get stuck in reputation. It is better to re-focus on one's good points and use those for the betterment of others. The reputation will automatically come right.
Over the past five decades, as technology has made tremendous advancement, the power of the media has also gained increased influence as more individuals are able to access real-time information with greater rapidity. Increasingly, people live in a society dependent on information and communication to perform their daily activities. Decisions are made mostly based on the information gathered . In fact , people live in an age where there are myriad media sources and, more often than not, these sources might carry a bias on each issue. Society reposes trust in the media as an authority on a broad range of topics. The media can be helpful but harmful in case of their failure to uphold ethical standard. The inundation of repetitive messages can develop and perpetuate negative perceptions and assumptions as well as shape public opinions and beliefs-sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly.
Seasoned media practitioners should stress the importance of viewing things from different perspectives. The media can shape the attitudes towards a multitude of things from what to buy, the people to admire ( or not), the perceptions of political issues like maintaining law and order , doing distributive  justice to protect fundamental rights, curbing corruption to save public fund as well as uphold moral values, to establish social issues focused on diversity facets such as race, gender, sexual orientation, and age. Members of society need to be vigilant and ensure that they look for opposing opinions and evaluate the facts for themselves, rather than blindly accept one media outlet's or one individual's version of the "truth."
It has to be remembered that generalizations, assumptions and perceptions can all be influenced by the media but it is up to members of society to raise a voice in unison for projection of all perspectives, opinions, and accurate information.
In terms of the socio economic development efforts in  a developing economy like Bangladesh  negative perceptions might create absolute obstacles to the due development process. The money market and the banking sector in particular are losing credibility as  deposits are being laundered without appropriate and timely action. The fortunes created by the common people are seen to be undone by a few misfortunes. In fact, losses of human lives and properties due to mishaps and misrepresentations, mal-distribution of wealth prompted by sheer embezzlements might give rise to growth of negative perceptions. A sense of national integrity and firm commitment to the overall development might lose steam if negative perceptions grow in the minds of many perople.  If blame game governs all norms and practices, the pace of macro-economic growth will suffer. These are vices of negative perceptions.
One should find the roots of negative perceptions. For example, if one tends to have a negative attitude towards the idea of a meaningful marriage and family life, one must be asked if one experienced as a child a painful divorce of one's parents. Or, if one has preconceived bad notions about any new comers in the  family; or if some of the negative comments from friends about marriage are contributing to this.
Review and research in the persons or issues about which negative perceptions are there. For example, if someone has a bias toward politicians because all s/he has seen are corrupt and are involved in scandals in their personal lives, s/he should make a thorough assessment of lives of politicians who are genuinely trying to run their constituencies and cities in an impartial way. These are politicians who seek to improve their communities with job creation initiatives in a transparent manner.
Gathering honest feedback may take a thick skin on people's part, but make it known that those you are working for can voice their complaints without fear of punishment or retaliation. Simply listen to and take notes of their complaints. It may not be all negative but one should be prepared for the worst when it comes to their criticism of the organization.
Responding quickly to their feedback should be a virtue.  One may not have immediate solutions but it helps  at least to acknowledge that it will give patient consideration to what have been said. Also, thank them for their time and honesty. This reinforces the fact that seriousness about promoting a better working environment is coming up.
Fear of failure and fear of criticism are two important ingredients for igniting negative perceptions. If  the manager is afraid of failure and very critical of his criticism, people will tend to misunderstand him . Perfectionists are a good example. Because of constant criticism or not being appreciated, they believe they have to prove themselves-- either through performance or perfection in order to be accepted or appreciated. Perfectionism is not good because it leads to extreme self-criticism. Excessive self-criticism is also debilitating and perfectionists cannot be good enough.
Trustworthiness :  
Intimacy, openness, transparency are all related and they are rooted in trust. People can be open and transparent only to the people they trust. Because of betrayal in relationships, some people find it difficult or are even unable to trust others. Fear of betrayal prevails when mistrust is rooted in the subconscious. It is this fear which breeds isolationism and individualism, two very destructive behaviours in any society today. As human beings we need one another. We are social beings intended to complement one another. A writer, for example, relies on so many people for ideas and even more importantly for inspiration and encouragement. This can only come from trust; believing in someone else and vice-versa. It is not true that everyone will betray. The first step, therefore, is to purge from subconscious the perception that everyone will be a betrayer. There are plenty of trust-worthy people out there who are willing to be taken into confidence.
Lack of self-confidence can also be a cause for creation of negative perceptions. Two great individuals on this subject of confidence may suitably be quoted here, first, Norman Vincent Peale: "Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy". And Thomas Alva Edison said, ' If we did all the things we are capable of we would literally astound ourselves". Lack of self-confidence is the main reason for not doing a lot of what man could do.    
Blame game brews more negative perceptions. It is often found tempers are short and the blame is going in all directions. Design is blaming marketing, business management is blaming design, product engineering is blaming design and marketing, design is blaming the tools, designers are blaming other designers, application is blaming design, programme management is blaming everyone and everyone is blaming programme management.
To master high energy, productive and predictable development, there is need for managing everyone's perceptions. Finding the negative perceptions is not that difficult, one just needs to be listening and paying attention to what's going on all around. People will typically complain about others, talk about "them" and in many cases display a competitive nature with other members. Suggestive signs such as these must be managed to some level of resolution or otherwise  people will be assailed by pessimism about openly working with each other. It may not be logical to maintain the status quo on day to day affairs. No amount of pressure may come from within and financial incentives or sacrificial employee terminations will overcome well-ingrained negative perceptions. The negativity must be minimized and it is the management's duty to do so. Real problems will require real actions. As soon as the people see action towards resolving their issues they will be eager to help. Their participation becomes a priority because "they want" things to be better. There is none who does not want to help improve things when it is clear to everyone that the door to real resolution had opened. Get that door open and the process of mitigating negative perceptions will commence with energy that will surely surprise everybody.
How do we get the door open? Talking to all and "jointly" building a process --one that addresses the negative perceptions. Just need to create an open forum that allows all to brainstorm, putting the known negative perceptions on the table and talking about them. Getting all the skeletons out of the closet by making use of discovery and solutions. Exposure of the hidden "Unknowns" through this process will ensure that no stone is left unturned in the quest for finding negative perceptions. One should not be defensive when receiving feedback or overhearing  things that are inaccurate. Being open to comments and listening to constructive criticism is a sign of maturity and professionalism.

Dr Muhammad Abdul Mazid is former Secretary to GoB, former chairman of NBR and incumbent chairman of Chittagong Stock Exchange. He can be reached at: [email protected]