“Personal branding” and “pushover” have one thing in common….do you know what?
I hear you saying, ‘yeah…both words begin with the letter ‘P. Here you go…Hehehehe
Jokes apart, they are like Chalk and cheese.
How? Read ahead……
One of my clients asked me recently, One of my clients, aspiring Mid-level manager, asked me recently, “Suba, being a pushover is a trait of a #learner. Why is it considered a negative term? Isn’t it ok to feel influenced by someone whom we like?”
There is a difference between being a learner and a pushover.
A learner is someone who is always looking to seek knowledge from influential people, whereas a pushover is blindly or rather easily influenced by people who may not be that influential.
The traits of a leader would be completely contrasting to that of a pushover. Leaders are people who are bold and confident about every decision they make while on the other side; we have indecisive individuals.
I am certainly aware of how much we are the products of an influential society. We are repeatedly told by our parents and grandparents that ‘log kya kahenge’ – ‘what will people say?’
Let’s assess why emerging as a Good Leader is not everyone’s cuppa?
If the opinions of others influence us, we are also psychologically affected by them, which in turn hinders our ability to think independently. Then we are mere puppets of the society, executing orders of others.
How can you identify a ‘Pushover’ Leader?
- Focuses majorly on ‘happiness quotient’ of teams and talks ‘what they want to hear.’
- Concerned about being ‘liked’ by everyone but fails to lead the teams to achieve greatness
- Identify ‘excuses’ for their ‘yes’ and ‘no.’
- ‘I am sorry’, and ‘apologies’ are part of their every minute conversation
How can one come out of ‘Pushover Leadership’?
- Give more job to your ‘ears’ than ‘talking.’
- Get comfortable to say ‘I don’t know.’
- Consciously Practice to ‘seek help.’
- Get comfortable with making mistakes & failing (‘Design Thinking’ helps here to fail fast and stand up faster)
- Invest ‘right’ for your team’s growth
I was having a conversation on this topic with my niece, Madhumita, a psychology student.
She said, “Aunty, I am proud to say that the millennial attitude is challenging Pushover Attitude. We have a better sense when it comes to being influenced and taking a stand what we feel right.”
That kept me thinking, “Can we expect better leaders in the upcoming days?”
Ok, coming back to our core, what is the connection between Pushover & Personal Branding?
Share what you think……