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It's a familiar setting; you, the intelligent employee, are yet again biting your tongue when your manager says something contradictory to his or her own policy or statements, or is once again making a promise that you know, that you KNOW, will never materialize, ultimately wasting your time and their own.

Perceived incompetence.

While I talk a LOT about Perception Management in the interview setting, it is important to remember that an interview is a microcosm, an attempt to concentrate as much of your personality and work ethic into as small a time frame as possible for the examination of those determining your hireability. As we all know, though, managing perception is something that some do very, very well (Rudy Giuliani) and some the very, very poorly (George W. Bush), often at their own peril. Now, if you're in a position of leadership imagine for a moment the possibility that you have been perceived in the way that your employer was portrayed above. Now take that possibility and move it firmly and finally into reality; you have and will again be perceived as an incompetent boob by those that you are in direct command of. It's a sure thing, because entirety of perception is something that NO ONE has control over. This idea extends into all facets of mentality, including a person's feelings toward race, gender, nationality, even hair style, speech style and physical body presence.

The key here, though, and the reason I bring this up is not to make you feel like you're going to be looked at like a moron constantly and in every exchange with those that you believe respect you. That simply isn't the case. I say this in the hopes of preparing you a bit better for when you ARE looked at in that way and so that it comes as less of a shock. Much like when you get a flat tire, it's something that will happen to all of us in life, and knowing how to deal with it is the key, rather than avoiding every single nail or replacing your tires every 500 miles.

The key is flexibility of self-perception. Know that you can and will be wrong at times and that it's not a bad thing. It's true; much like any deviation from average, everyone has a degree of deviation from "correct" judgment, and it's something that's built into business. This delightful margin for human error is reflected in cushions in operational productivity, in slush funds for overages in budgets, and in a million other small places that allow for wiggle room. Now, I'm not advocating that you go about your professional life all nimbly-pimbly, jumping from uneducated decision to bad business speculation like some sort of jungle cat. No, there are plenty of people who deviate so much that they ruin the margin. Do, however, acknowledge when you've made a mistake and own up to it by fixing it and learning from it. This lets those below you AND above you see that you are, in fact, human and will, in fact, make mistakes but will always fix them and not repeat them.

This DEFINITELY applies to those leading YOU, as well. Be understanding and be the ADVOCATE for the person struggling, even if they don't know they are. I believe that those that support me from below have saved me more than I know and many more times even than I have saved them. I am definitely OK with this and am very proud of this fact because as a leader of a team you are also a member of that team.

Long story short, remember that people are human, and that no one is just a title, regardless of whether all you see from them is their email address or phone number. 

WARNING: If you have ever conducted a number of interviews in a given day, or for a specific position over a number of days, you may not want to read this. The experiences described herein may evoke facial twitches, blinding migraines and instant balding due to flashback. You have been warned. Your hairline is in your own hands now.

Let's talk about big picture interview strategy. You've got your resume polished to a mirror shine, your suit looks like something from which Giorgio Armani might draw inspiration, and when you smile the daisies bloom. Great. Your visual and preemptive presentation are dialed in. Feel good; you deserve it.

So how about the interview? If you're as prepared as Johnny (or Janet) On-The-Spot here, the smart money says that you've also been practicing your interviewing skills. Here's where it gets important. These skills probably include responses to specific questions dealing with your position. If you're lucky (or a tricksy little Career Ninja!) you may even have come across a copy of the exact questions you will be asked. Excellent!!!

You have, however, never been in greater danger.

Why, you ask? Because the Ninja that spars with the same opponent each day will be dealt a sore blow the first time he is thrown a new blow. This is doubly true of your interview. I have seen this happen to a number of my clients, ranging from a entry-level college near-graduate to an interview for a Vice President position within one of the largest news networks in the U.S. You walk into the interview with A++ answers to the ten questions that you're sure they are going to answer, and you walk out with C- answers to the 8 questions they actually asked. Devastating.

The key is to practice concepts, not specifics, and to have five very specific examples ready, each of which could apply to a few different ideas. It's the difference between Erica (candidate A) and Angelina (candidate B)

Candidate A: Prepared for the interview question, "Please provide a specific example of a time in which you motivated a team to improve less-than-projected sales numbers while simultaneously focusing on morale." Erica has an extremely well thought-out description of the example situation and has rehearsed the answer to this specific question to near Miss America-level perfection.

Candidate B: Prepared for interview questions that involve specific concepts such as leadership, driving morale, motivating sales, and diversity. Angelina has sat down and laid out five clearly though-out examples of times in which she shone through each of these key managerial challenges.

If (when) the interview question changes, even only slightly and in the wording, there is a good chance that Erica will be the deer and the interviewer will be the semi, if even for only a moment of perceived panic. Angelina, however, having practiced in a medium of versatility, will have been anticipating only that she cannot anticipate the question, and will be much more relaxed and prepared in her answering of it.

Focus on preparing your responses around concepts, not specifics, and you will also be able to calmly and effectively answer question that are more peripheral. The candidate that prepares for questions involving leading teams will be able to seamlessly segue into an answer about how individual affect the team dynamic, and vice versa, by discussing many of the ideas covered by the initial preparation.

Because, after all, the successful Ninja knows that you cannot know where the blow will fall until it is thrown.

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