Manage-Wise

Manage your ethos

Aristotle, round two. The Greek term ethos translates loosely into English as ethics. However, in communication at work, it is the idea that the credibility of who you are persuades people. Master communicators know their ethos and use it to strengthen the influence of what they say.

The Boardroom

The doubt starts when you wake up: You remember that you are supposed to present to the senior executives. You don’t need coffee now. You put on what you think they will like. You have your PowerPoint presentation on your data stick, and you print a hard copy just in case. But in contrast to the racing thoughts as you drive to work, something strange happens as you walk into the corporate headquarters: you feel important. Your manager chose you to represent your group before the senior management.

You thumb through every page of the PowerPoint to make sure everything’s there, and as the elevator door opens, you look up and see the CEO’s assistant. Does she know that you are supposed to be there today? You walk down the hall toward two large mahogany doors. You pause and choke down a breath, and as you enter the world, you see a long wooden table surrounded by leather chairs filled with the leaders of a billion-dollar company.

You have to present an hour of material—statistics, metrics, and recommendations. You don’t want them to be disappointed and cut you off. You want to come across as a leader. The question is: do you have the right ethos?

Perception and reality

Who has the higher ethos—a Harvard grad or a person who dropped out? What about when we tell you that the dropout is Bill Gates? Your ethos is your credibility. In addition to what you have done and the positions you have held, it’s what the people you work with believe you to be, and it changes.

For instance, in a law firm where everyone else wears suits, the attorney who walks around the office in jeans and sandals may still be the best, and his dress adds to his ethos as a creative, free thinker. But when that same attorney begins to make mistakes, his appearance only increases the perception that he is sloppy and unorthodox.

• Your ethos is relative—it changes based on who you are with and the environment you are in. When the CEO of a Fortune 100 company walks down the hall, everyone straightens her posture and politely says, “How are you, sir?” But at the family barbecue, that same CEO may be asked to get the diaper bag. His ethos at work is that of a powerful leader, but when he is with his family, this same person may have the ethos of a well-loved pack mule. In fact, this very issue is why many business professionals have difficulty making the transition from their work lives to their home lives each day. Master communications are aware of how and when their ethos changes, no matter where they are.
• You can measure your ethos. Aristotle thought that your ethos should be determined solely by how you communicate, and he wanted your reputation and your appearance to be irrelevant for your ability to influence people. The old master was an idealist. As certain world leaders have proven, your ethos is not based solely on how you speak. It is a synthesis of everything that you do and say, your physical appearance, and the reputation of the organizations, people, and places that you represent.

Your ethos exists whether you like it or not. Is it strong or weak? You first need to know what your ethos is, and then how you will let others know it. In some cases, your reputation will precede you, and people will learn it from others. If they do not, you will have to invent ways to communicate what makes you credible. As a manager or leader, the ethos you have in the eyes of your subordinates will be determined mostly by your behavior.

Leading and managing

Your credibility determines your ability to lead and manage effectively. Aristotle was entirely correct that communication is the most consistent determinant of ethos, but at the same time, you have to manage other qualities that help to establish that what you say is worth listening to.

The recipe: Every person and every environment is unique. Your ability to adapt will determine the impact of the work you do. Your ethos is what you adapt to create connections:

Ethos = your credibility

Your credibility = your impact

The second technique for every leader is to

• Discern your ethos with the people and in the environments you want to affect.
• Figure out what your ethos needs to be if you are to achieve your goals.
• Write a list of behaviors that demonstrate that ethos.
• Practice those behaviors until they become natural.

The method: Begin discerning your ethos by finding trusted advisors to see whether what you feel gives you ethos is both relevant to your position and perceived by others. For example, you may think that your having managed trade show 10 years ago will help you be a better operations manager today. Will your team see that as credible? In your mind you may see the relevance, but others may not see it. You may think you know your ethos, but until you have tested it with those who understand the people and the place you work, you have a dangerous blind spot.

To figure out the ethos you need if you are to reach your goals, ask your trusted advisors to be very specific about the behaviors that mirror the needs of your audience or your environment. You and your team already know people who have succeeded at what you want to do. Do you have the characteristics that they embody? If you went to Harvard, but the people you manage didn’t go to college, your Ivy League degree could actually weaken your ethos. You are not going to pretend that you didn’t go to Harvard, but you might choose not to emphasize that fact as you build relationships. How will you show others that you have credibility?

Excerpt from ‘Mastering Communication at Work’ by Ethan F Becker & Jon Wortmann. Reproduced with permission @ 2009,
Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. Price: Rs 295. Email: vishwanath_ghanekar@mcgraw-hill.com