Have you ever worn high heels with a sprained ankle?

I assume that most of the readers of the LeadershipBeyond have not, so let me tell you how that feels.

It HURTS.

Well, maybe you’re thinking, “If my ankle is sprained, I wouldn’t put that foot in high heels.”

Good point. But when I dived down the stairs in that conference hotel high heels were the only shoes that I brought in my suitcase.

I was on my way to present for an association when I fell down the stairs. Falling down the stairs is always a bit strange (yes, I’ve done it before). Suddenly you’re at the bottom. I was shaken by the fall but the sprained ankle was the biggest challenge. Not the best preparation for a 1.5 hour presentation.

And more went wrong – a famous law isn’t it? – but that is something for another E-zine article.

Since that sprained ankle presentation I haven’t presented much. That changed last month. Suddenly a lot of requests for presentations came in and I thought, “Why not?’

Looking back at those presentations I must say that it was fun. It’s my passion to help people growing their leadership and presenting is a great way to do so. The feedback was heartwarming.

It also gave me a chance to visit all kinds of organizations with huge differences in atmosphere, warmth, and interaction. The organizational values and the culture shone on me in the first minutes of my visit. They created strong first impressions.

First impressions

You know that they are super important but do you know what first impression visitors have of your organization? How many times do you as a manager “visit” your organization as a “visitor?” How often do you sense the culture of your organization in first impressions?

I bet not often. Most of the times you enter through the employees’ entrance, don’t you?

But if you would, what would be that first impression of your culture? And if you would assign a color to that  first impression what color would it be?

Take a moment to answer this question. And the moment the color pops up, don’t judge it.

Ask yourself then these questions:

Is that the color that you want a visitor to get? Does that color represent what your organization stands for?

Colors are associated with certain qualities. Below is a little cheat sheet so you can look up what your organizational color stands for.

Red: strength, power, determination, desire, and love (those famous red roses).

Orange: enthusiasm, happiness, creativity, attraction, success, and encouragement.

Yellow: joy, happiness, intellect, cheerfulness, and energy.

Green: growth harmony, freshness, safety, and fertility.

Blue: trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, and trust.

White: light, goodness, innocence, safety, purity, and cleanliness.

Black: power, elegance, formality, fear, unknown, and mystery.

Are you happy with the color of your organization? Or would you like to see some changes? Contact me if that’s the case because that’s my specialty. Just hit reply. Or check out one of the change articles on this LeadershipBeyond blog.