A tale of two choices…
I was recently reflecting on my daughter’s college selection process and it reminded me how closely aligned it is with a candidate that is trying to select a company to work for, or when a leader is considering an employee for a promotion, or even when a company is selecting a vendor to partner with. It’s all about perception…
Several years ago after high school graduation, my daughter had decided to visit two universities as she continued her college education. She was planning to be a nutritional science major and was excited about the journey ahead. So she set up a college tour with each school which were both major universities and I was fascinated by the difference with each visit.
When we visited the first college, it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the weather was about 75 degrees. It was amazing. We went in to register for the orientation and found our group for the tour. The tour guide was a student at the university. He was smiling, upbeat, positive, and passionate about his school. As we walked around, he would share his stories about the different areas on campus that he enjoyed and how much fun others have from the student union, to the rec center, to game days. He was engaging and connected with his group during the tour. He was proud of his school and transferred these feelings to students taking the tour. When we left, my daughter was feeling pretty good about the college but said she was keeping her options open as she still had another college to tour before she made a decision.
When we went to visit the second college, it was a cool morning with an overcast as rain was in the forecast. We went to the orientation meeting, then met with our group for the campus tour. The tour guide was also a student, but this guide was much different than the first college we toured. He was not very engaging, and didn’t really have much energy. When asked about certain areas, he didn’t really engage with the group other than share what each place was, not the experience. When we walked by the football field, we thought it might be cool to check it out, but he said it was off limits. I thought he missed a great opportunity to share game day stories, or something to let others know what it would be like as a student. By the end of the tour, my daughter turned to me and said that she really didn’t need to think about it because she had made her decision to attend first college we visited. I was proud of her for going through the process and making her own decision.
So what made the difference? Perception… Both universities were great places to get a college education, but being positive and sharing experiences with others to help them feel what it would be like to be part of the journey made the difference. It doesn’t matter if you are in customer service or operations, or work in HR and payroll. Positive passionate people that learn how to connect, ask questions, and build a relationship will get the promotion and elevate your company every time.
Call to action: Are you the tour guide for college #1 or #2? Ask someone you know this week for feedback to see what changes you need to make to elevate for impact. You will be glad you did and it could also mean big promotions ahead as well. It’s a great start to finding your lane for impact.
This has been “A Relocation Minute” on “a tale of two choices” with Bruce Waller, for more information on relocation resources, call 972-389-5673, or email bwaller@goarmstrong.com. Follow me on Twitter too!