PAR for the course: how to help your employees deal with workplace stress
Learn how the PAR approach empowers employees to co-create solutions, reduce workplace stress, and improve well-being through data-driven action....
Brain Circuits
The pros and cons of catering
Most of us ‘cater’ to others in certain social and work situations. But is this effective leadership behavior? Jennifer Jordan lays out the pros and cons of catering.
What is catering?
Social scientists define catering as consciously or unconsciously adapting one’s approach to impression management. In other words, it means attenuating your behavior to what you think will please other people to create a favorable impression. It could also be understood as the opposite behavioral approach to acting authentically (i.e., in accordance with your own behavioral tendencies).
The pros: how catering can lead to positive outcomes
By catering to someone, you’re essentially focusing on them, which usually makes them like you more.
It often involves adapting yourself to another person’s preferences (possibly using flattery), which can increase affinity and attraction.
Adapting your actions or words to what you believe are the other person’s preferences can help create a ‘connection,’ which could be useful in terms of leadership.
The cons: why catering can backfire
Catering to other people’s expectations often makes you feel uncomfortable and stressed, and therefore less likely to perform well.
It essentially requires you to guess what the other person wants from you – and you might not always guess correctly.
Not being true to your own tendencies can make you feel you have compromised your integrity; feelings that can spill over and affect performance.
Being seen as a ‘caterer’ means you are likely to be perceived less positively than someone who acts more consistently with their true self, which has damaging implications for your leadership.
Key takeaway
Presenting your best, most authentic self is generally preferable to positioning what you say and how you act because of others’ expectations. So, next time you have a critical presentation or an interaction, think about how you can present this best self, given the needs of your audience, without compromising who you really are and want to be.
Authors
Related
The energy trilemma: why it pays to get the balance right
Dealing with the conflicting demands of price, sustainability, and security of energy supplies is challenging, but it’s a useful way to assess your firm’s resilience and agility....
Audio available
How to be remembered for the right reasons #4: Keep it simple
In leadership, we often mistake complexity for intelligence, believing that technical jargon and detailing every nuance demonstrate expertise. In reality, it signals a failure to master one’s material. In the fourth of...
The 4 strategic personas of GenAI – which one are you?
Generative AI (GenAI) promises massive transformation, but only if strategy and execution align. After studying 100 GenAI implementations across sectors, we’ve found that most firms fall into four GenAI personas. Each reflects...