Self-marketing & self-presentation: the beautiful appearance in business

How much self-marketing is necessary today to be successful – that Ask themselves many People, which overly obtrusive Advertising seems inappropriate. But how do you find the right size?

More appearance than being?

No question: in ours Society perfection reigns. You only have to turn on the television or open a magazine and seemingly perfect looking, healthy and, above all, always inexpressibly good-humoured, happy people jump out at you. There are tons of how-to literature out there that wants to show you how to become just like you are perfect satisfied and live happily, find the perfect dream job or completely free of side effects Career make it and still be able to get rich with your left hand.

But that Problem, seeming more than being does not only concern our personal sensitivities. Perfection is omnipresent in our everyday work. Employees should be perfect in this Companies fit and do their job as flawlessly as possible. What counts above all is strength and competence, which are suggested by alleged flawlessness and the perfect appearance. Everyone plays their part as best as they can. The beautiful appearance often counts more than the actual content. That true competence consists in recognizing mistakes and non-Background being able to admit in order to learn from it is often overlooked.

Achieve perfection?

Of course we want to emulate the perfect “role models”, because the perfection that is displayed intimidates us. Therefore, we set the bar for ourselves higher and higher, make an effort and give our best. In order to achieve supposed perfection, we often accept major disadvantages - even if we should actually know that the ideals can hardly be achieved in reality.

The fact that extremely high expectations are placed on us, especially in the job, and that we always strive to meet them, is primarily due to the high importance that work has in our society. Anyone who thinks about it will notice that there are jokes in Germany about all sorts of things - but not about the unemployed. Because joking about losing your job would be downright impious. According to surveys, many people find the loss of a job almost as big a stroke of fate as the death of a close relative.

Job, the means of self-expression

Many people define their personal identity and social affiliation through the job and therefore feel obliged to be successful. No wonder we always try to make it perfect!

The Significance of work in our society cannot only be explained by the fact that it is financially necessary. Nowadays, work offers more than "just" the monthly income: it is the ticket into society. The neat one Job and the related Income increase self-esteem and create recognition, earning a regular living stands for reputation and stability, a seamless career marks success. The Workplace is considered a place of self-realization. Anyone who doesn't fit into this pattern of thinking is out of line. "And what are you doing?" – this question is somewhat symptomatic. This applies to new business contacts, but also to privacy the job inevitably intrudes further and further. No new acquaintance, no party without this obligatory question. On the job you are measured and weighed. An appreciative nod if the job is interesting or a lot Money brings in, while there are disparaging looks for poorly paid, boring jobs.

Work as a paradox

For some, work is no longer just one mandatory or a means of making money to earn and a social one Status to achieve. No, Work should also serve self-realization and Fun make. This credo is represented by many small entrepreneurs who have dared to take the step into self-employment according to this motto. The paradox, however, is that they face the financial pressure they are now under with dogged perfectionism, thereby ruining exactly what they enjoy about their work. At the same time, the situation on the labor market is taking away from others Courage to exactly this kind of self-realization, because they are perfectionistically busy with securing their jobs.

A look at history shows that this combination of identity formation and gainful employment, which seems completely normal today, is by no means natural, but rather a fairly new phenomenon. Graeco-Roman antiquity equated leisure with freedom and social participation, while work was only done out of existential necessity. It was therefore associated with the stigma of compulsion and bondage, and above all hard physical work was the task of the slaves. Is it any wonder that the meaning of the word work in almost all Western European languages negative and is originally equated with pain, torment, toil or suffering. In the Jewish and especially early Christian tradition, work was seen in a more differentiated way. It was seen as a divine duty to provide for oneself and support others. But nothing more - work was not a value in itself with which people identified, rather people should reflect on their religious duties and the common good. A rest day was planned for this, based on the story of creation, and it is not for nothing that Benedict of Nursia put prayer before work in his principle “Ora et labora”. The people of the Middle Ages probably had no choice but to plan anything other than days off, because the rhythm of life in the pre-industrial agricultural period was determined entirely by the climate.

paradigm shift

Since the late Middle Ages, more and more destitute people have flocked from the countryside to the cities, which had become extremely important through trade. If they did not want to collapse economically under the influx, the cities had to force the masses to work and needed a new ideology. Martin Luther made the work, which had so far been neutral in value, a sacred duty imposed by God, a profession, and declared idleness to be a sin.

But Luther, too, in keeping with the traditions of the Middle Ages, rejected work for his own benefit and for personal enrichment. It was only for the Puritans in the 17th and 18th centuries that it became a sacred duty to follow their calling and live to work, and material success through hard work was considered a mark of God's mercy. Even if it was frowned upon by the ascetic Puritans, the prosperity public display, they could now become rich with this attitude without a guilty conscience. This paved the way for capitalism.

Tell me what you work and I'll tell you who you are

Work with the bourgeois was really re-evaluated Revolution: Instead of legitimizing oneself by being born, as the nobility used to do, willingness to perform gave everyone the chance, through work and Performance to improve his life. Above all, the aspiring bourgeoisie set out to implement this as perfectly as possible while always maintaining the appearance of busyness and efficiency.

However, these changes were only made possible by the fundamental economic upheavals of that time: industrialization. The rapid increase in population led to an increased demand for goods that had to be served. In addition to technical progress, the optimal utilization of human labor through the centralization of work in factories and the systematic division of routine work processes, the division of labor, became necessary. the strictness required Organization and the dependency on rigid working hours was only made possible by the invention of the clock and electric light, which made it possible to work even without daylight. In general, work has always served as a means of pressure on those who needed it to secure their livelihood and was thus the privileged’s instrument of disciplining the workers. It was the same under communism, where the proletariat was sent into “battles of production” and had to worship “heroes of labour”. Today's capitalism, on the other hand, tempts with consumption and promises people the material fulfillment of their needs needs, for which he has to work.

The perfect manipulation

Willingness to perform thus serves both as a means of pressure to secure existence and reputation, i.e. also to Tampering, because it is suggested that more performance than meeting one's own needs also means more happiness.

So companies want to drive their employees to perform. Companies also expect perfection. But why actually? The answer is simple: what promises perfection is more attractive and sells better – in all areas. Someone who is "error-free" appears more competent than someone who admits not knowing something. And who promises a problem fast and solve without major side effects, gets applause. This is no different in business than in politics. Simple truths and clichés just fit better into existing thought patterns and what is more catchy is used by the Brain processed faster; the companies that own them know that too customers some merchandise want and make use of this mechanism.

The perfect employee

Bestselling author Corinne Maier reveals in “The Discovery of Laziness” how much it is important in companies to maintain the appearance of infallibility and productivity: The language in companies is often full of empty phrases, nebulous abbreviations and meaningless foreign words that give it a pseudo-scientific aura. Simple things are expressed as complicated as possible in order to make even the most banal things appear important. The patch Business-Jargon is primarily used to impress at all costs, while behind the facade there is often an anti-innovation climate in which only those who behave inconspicuously often survive. That is exactly the advice that Maier gives her readers: adapt to the beautiful appearance as well as possible in order to act as a perfect employee, at least to the outside world.

Even if Maier's approach is certainly exaggerated and cynical, perfectionists often have problems with precisely this adaptation. Because they tend to unite others with their high expectations Spiegel held up and therefore quickly become unpopular. In addition, ambitious people stand out from the crowd simply because of their ambition. Because they are often extremely truthful, idealistic perfectionists gain rather than gain merchandise, likes to point the finger at burning wounds, even if it would sometimes be much more convenient to simply play the game of appearances. Even if this Behavior may even be commendable from a moral point of view: they neither help themselves nor advance their careers, because typical perfectionist traits are anything but career-enhancing.

Less perfectionism, more self-expression

Because even if it tends to be right to make as few mistakes as possible and even if bosses tend to appreciate high willingness to perform - as a rule, they transfer the good positions especially to those employees who they notice positively. Studies show that career leaps only depend on performance to ten percent. 30 percent depend on the image. And 60 percent make up how you are perceived in the company.

So it depends on how you are perceived in the company. However, perfectionists often only realize how important self-portrayal is when colleagues pass them on the career ladder and they fall behind professionally; because while others do not speak out when it comes to staging their good performances, many perfectionists remain silent because this form of self-expression seems inappropriate to them. Instead, they always work on the performance limit and hope that the others will notice their commitment and talent on their own. Secretly, however, they silently dream of accomplishing something really big that surprises and outshines everyone else. But it rarely happens that the increased commitment is also noticed, because the performance is a matter of course for most bosses. In addition, most superiors are too busy with themselves to appreciate the work of their perfectionist employees, who they take for granted.

Self-confidence instead of boasting

Perfectionists don't have to become chubby to get their work recognized. Show and showing off are foreign to them. But it's helpful to be confident in yourself instead of constantly being self-confident criticize. Because then good performance can also be better sold to the outside world and you can react calmly in difficult situations.

Nobody achieves just by bragging about their achievements and at the same time Criticism exercises on colleagues or superiors to ensure that they are perceived positively. Rather, it is about making yourself indispensable - because no company dismisses employees who are always there when they need it. This does not mean those who work overtime all the time. It's about the company and the Executive to help you achieve your goals by putting yourself in their shoes and anticipating their desires. It's about being informed about the processes in the company at all times in order to be able to act correctly if necessary. And it's about your own Competencies expand to be useful to the business. Because whoever acts in this way makes life easier for his boss and can thus achieve the status of an irreplaceable problem solver.

An optimistic attitude is important

In order to act as a problem solver, it is important to know things optimistic to look at and trust yourself. Because only then will you be able to react calmly and flexibly to suddenly arising challenges and become an indispensable problem solver.

But let's look again at the characteristics of some perfectionists: Anxious avoidance behavior works confident and competently? Can a perfectionist who broods over the details focus on critical business issues? Is someone who is hesitant to make decisions able to act correctly in difficult situations? Facilitates an employee or colleague who is constantly harassing his boss or his office neighbors and colleagues Spiegel of their own mistakes, other people's life and does he make himself popular? Does someone who is constantly putting himself under pressure in addition to all external demands remain calm? Is it possible for a perfectionist who adheres rigidly to certain modes of thinking and behavior to react flexibly to challenges? And does someone expand their skills, who are primarily concerned with avoiding mistakes instead of learning from them? You can actually give yourself the answer to these questions: It's no. Because other properties are far more promising.

Communication deficits

In addition to the positive self-portrayal, the correct handling of other people is a far more important aspect for professional success than pure willingness to perform. On the other hand, the lack of staff networking at the workplace is one of the greatest employment risks. Because only those who have good contacts regularly receive important background information that enables them to overcome new challenges. For example, if you know in advance that restructuring is planned in the company, you can even prevent impending termination by using the right network by using your contacts to get a new job in another department.

In order to achieve this, it is important to mobilize the sympathies of others for yourself. First of all, this means always being polite and showing a minimum of good behavior, such as greetings or smallTalk in the hallway. It is also important to approach others and deal with the wishes and needs of colleagues and superiors.

How do you forge alliances?

But that's not as easy as it sounds for all perfectionists. Because for some, dealing with other people is problematic. Introverted perfectionists in particular often perceive other people as a potentially aggressive threat. Because if you try to do everything right and put yourself under pressure with high demands, you are naturally much more susceptible to criticism, demands and problems Stress than more relaxed natures. In addition, the Contact with other people is always an unpredictable moment that cannot be controlled. What will the other say? How will he react? Especially for perfectionists who like to take situations Control have, such communication situations are sometimes a real one Risks, which they prefer to avoid.

And even if shyness towards other people sympathisch works: The shyness of some introverted perfectionists is rather a hindrance in everyday working life. Anyone who avoids other people behaves in a correspondingly dismissive manner instead of improving their ability to communicate; as a result, valuable sympathies and the networks and alliances that are so important for professional advancement are lost. Not to mention that the reduced willingness to communicate has a negative effect on self-expression. This is especially true when shyness escalates into outright social phobia; in this case, even simple conversations, such as a chat in the canteen or in the hallway, can become a real problem.

Competitor or partner?

Even extroverted perfectionists find it difficult to deal with others and thereby unnecessarily hinder their own careers. A healthy competitive attitude is certainly an important one Motivationin order to advance professionally, because the human pursuit to excel others is one of the most important driving forces in life for psychologists. It is precisely for this reason that many perfectionists are of very bad use when it comes to meeting other colleagues in the Team to work together.

Because those who view their colleagues more as competitors than as cooperation partners are naturally more likely to try to assert themselves against them than to work with them on one Objective to steer towards. Needless to say, these people also have little trust in others when it comes to delegating work to others. The fears of many perfectionists are too great that others might not do the work as well as they themselves or - on the contrary - do the job much better and thus make the perfectionist replaceable. In order to have that under control, they prefer to do everything themselves.

Perfectionism can be contagious

Studies by occupational psychologists show that career-oriented, perfectionist natures often influence the mood so negatively through their aggressive and hostile behavior - for example, by infecting colleagues or employees with hectic and uncertainty - that productive work is no longer possible in the end.

The comparison and control addiction of many perfectionists as well as the constant bossiness gets on the nerves of colleagues and superiors and ultimately costs important sympathy points. The but decide in many companies it is often more about professional advancement than diligence and performance. Those who have a good connection to the right people climb the career ladder faster. The results of neurobiological research also prove that humans are in fact so “polarized”. The previously prevailing Darwinian thought pattern of survival of the fittest has had its day, science has proven: because man is neither mentally nor physically suitable to endure a constant competition of everyone against everyone; the desire to constantly want to be better than others does not come from healthy productivity, but does not arise Anxiety and only leads to excessive stress in the long term. Both make you not only unproductive, but even ill. You don't make a career that way, you get sick a lot more.

So if you work in a functioning cooperation with other friendly colleagues, you simply work better. The basic requirements for this are mutual recognition and sympathy. A study of the Respect Research Group at the University Hamburg shows why this is so. According to this, people have certain ideas about how likeable and competent people should be – namely trustworthy, reliable and fair, among other things. On the other hand, if you are unfriendly, rarely praise your colleagues, constantly want to check others or put off decisions and make promises you cannot keep, you lose the sympathy of bosses and colleagues faster than you would like.

To be friendly does not mean to say yes and amen to everything

Unsure perfectionists tend to equate friendliness with putting up with everything. For example, they consider it indecent to counter criticism with a snappy comment and therefore simply accept it instead of reacting. Or they want to please everyone and always do all the work with the highest degree of perfection.

But it is much better than putting up with everything instead of wearing yourself out like this. A nice a packaged but firm no even earns you the respect of your colleagues. Instead of criticism insulted to react, it is better to show competence and self-confidence with a clever and funny reply.