Non-verbal
Signs That Say "I'm the Boss"
by Tag Goulet -
The man in the
photograph is leaning back in his chair, fingers
laced behind his head, one foot on his desk.
“What do you think
he is communicating?” I ask a group of management
communications students. To many of the students,
the man appears casual and relaxed.
In fact, he is
communicating superiority. The foot
on the desk conveys ownership or territoriality.
If this man is
not the boss, he is someone his co-workers need
to watch out for, say Gerald I. Nierenberg
and Henry H. Calero, authors of the popular How
to Read a Person Like a Book.
Nierenberg and
Calero studied the meaning of non-verbal communication
in business and found many gestures that appear
on the surface to be casual are in fact signs
of dominance and aggression.
Such gestures
also include straddling a chair or sitting with
one leg over the arm of a chair.
If this seems
far-fetched, you may want to ask yourself who
appears casual in your workplace.
Is it the boss?
A co-worker who seems to rub people the wrong
way? A junior employee who likes to challenge
authority?
If a junior employee
uses such gestures it may be only when the boss
isn’t around. If the boss happens by, the
employee may “snap to attention”.
Notice the non-verbal
communication in your workplace, but don’t assume
from a single gesture that someone is communicating
dominance or aggression.
A particular gesture
may be a habit or may have an entirely
different meaning for the person making it.
Watch for clusters
(a group) of gestures that communicate a similar
message, and notice the circumstances in which
they are used.
Does someone adopt
dominance gestures during a negotiation or in
the presence of certain people? If so, those
gestures may be more than just a habit.
Should you use
dominance gestures yourself? In a negotiation,
such gestures may help to convey that you are
confident.
However, if you
would not verbally challenge your boss or someone
else in a position of authority, you should not
challenge them non-verbally either unless you
are prepared to face the consequences.
Published with permission from FabJob.com. Visit www.FabJob.com to discover how to break into the career of your dreams
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