Take Advice: Meetings and Mohawks
The TLDR version is…
- I don’t tend to care too much about what people think of my hairstyle. It has given me the freedom to grow and cut hair from various places on my head with nothing but a care of whether I like it or not…
- But if I am going to throw off the norms, I had better be prepared to make the effort to show people that my hair, or lack thereof, does not make me what I am. I am happy to make that effort.
Choosing to be YOUR best you.
I have been lucky to work with teams who trust me or at least know me well enough to know that my hair is not me, and does not necessarily change who I am. At least not to the people who know me.
But if it generates an odd first impression, do I want to spend the time to make up for it?
I remember the first time I had a Mohawk, and we went out to lunch as a team. We were in Smashburger and I was leaving the restroom headed to our table.
Suddenly in my path is a little 4-year-old child, playing with histoy. The parents, recognizing that a “body” was standing there with their child in the way started to move him out of the way.
As they are doing so, the mother turns her head up to my face, and a look of sheer TERROR crosses over her face. She starts hurriedly apologizing and, in double time, removes her child from my path.
While my inner voice was laughing with hysteria at this memory, I also understood her predicament. I have kids myself, and while her child was not bothering me in any way, I don’t think she was expecting to see a 6 foot+ man with a Mohawk (colored red and Orange at the time) standing there… So to allay her fears, I smiled my kindest smile, offered my placations and apology for ME being in the child’s way. I quickly stated that I had three children, and that everything was all right. Then I went on my merry way. Honestly, I didn’t care if she was still wary of me, I was just going to continue being the kind of person I wanted to be; with or without a mohawk.
Hic Monstra Sunt –
Here there be Monsters.
That was (for me) one of those little moments that burn into your brain. A type of memory that, if you pay enough attention, is designed to teach you a fundamental truth. I like to think of this one as;
- “First impressions count, but effort can overcome!”
As the pictures above show, the last 20 years have given me the opportunity to try many hairdos. That mountain man in there was my “cut” of choice when I became the European Regional Escalation for StorageCraft. Needless to say, it does not match my employee badge picture. When I went to visit my team in Cork Ireland, I think I caused a bit of fright to all of those who had not seen me over video conference.
This is the hair I had when I was asked to take on the role of International Support Manager. My next trip was to our APAC region and I was gently, quietly, and kindly asked if I wanted to, maybe, consider taming it down a bit. Note that the reductionist language came from my manager who wanted me to be me. My boss was actually really great and asked me to think about it; no threats or expectations attached. I walked out of the office thinking about it, rather than being upset about it or adamant against any change. What I realized was that I was at a point personally, where losing my hair was going to be ok. While I had enjoyed growing it out, I was ready for a change. (Food in a beard is not actually fun…)
Back to the beginning
Though first impressions are hard to overcome, we can do it. People’s capabilities, effort, help, compassion, and flexibility should be what counts, not the number of hairs on their head, or the way in which they are cut or arrayed.
Please share with me your own personal stories, or your interactions with others, where you remember having your impressions changed.
My name is Kevin Steele and I am very new to the LinkedIn Publishing world.
I have some very non-industry-standard ideas and mentalities. I’ve lived all over the world from Saudi Arabia to South Carolina. I work in Technical Support and IT Services industry and don’t see that changing anytime soon. (Maybe I’m crazy)
I love meeting new people, and I’m so glad you took the time to read this message. If what I wrote made you stop and think, I want to know – Good or Bad! If you have a spin on my post, please feel free to share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
Connect with me on LinkedIn and together we can improve the world.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn on July 2017
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/meetings-mohawks-kevin-steele/