Introduction:

The areas of three key communication concepts align with my experience in management. They are impression management, perception process, and influence on perception. Self-disclosure and relational development foster a more profound connection between people. Professional experience has a more significant impact on shaping those relationships with professional success. The perception is to build trust, authority, and respect. A leadership position creates a great connection among staff members and creates a supportive work environment. Overall, this paper will apply communication theories with real-world examples from my experience in management.

Presenting self-communication as impression management: My professional career in management is a good example of learning about self-communication during my leadership roles. I have directed and managed 4 to 250 staff members at my locations. Acquiring management skills without formal training by understanding the staff’s needs. The impression of management is shaping or controlling others’ perception of you in communicating consciously in control of your behavior, language, and eye contact when communicating with your audience.

Being conscious of self-presentation when conveying information as a sender to a receiver is crucial, and I am cautious of my approach. My technique is looking at everyone to assess how to communicate with them. Then, using a specific choice of words and tones helps impact the message to send to the employee.

Self reflects protection how you want someone to communicate with you. Years ago, I collaborated with a boss who disrespected me and other employees, and then I learned that was not my leadership style if or when I was in that capacity.

Managing social interaction, both personal and professional, takes skills to navigate in these types of settings. Over the years, my leadership roles have helped me learn how to gain and build trust, authority, and respect among my staff and friends.

Why manage impression: is it because of social acceptance, professional success, and self-protection? Leaders consciously modify their behavior, language, and non-verbal signals to influence how others perceive them. Social acceptance is what most people want and yearn for. People often adjust their behavior or appearance to conform to societal standards for acceptance. In managing people, most individuals align within an organization or fit in with the supervisor.

Professional success depends on how effectively your operation runs and meets your boss’s requirements. One day, sitting in the VP’s office, he asked why I have the least turnover among my staff out of the company locations. The response was that I engaged with my staff and treated everyone with respect, dignity, and equality regardless of position, even though my position as general manager was only a title with lots of responsibility. During my years of management, other colleagues covered up their deception and or dishonesty; one individual was a district manager. Over time, those lacking a management impression usually had a short tenure with the company.

Self-protection is a built-in mechanism that other leaders use out of fear of a threat of training their replacement or losing their position. I have seen a few managers or district managers who will not train their staff throughout my career. The term is called micro-manage, which hinders or curtails personal growth for themselves or staff. Self-protection is a double-edged sword.

Impression Management (Erving Goffman’s Theory) “refers to how individuals attempt to control how others perceive them. Sociologist Erving Goffman described this process as a form of “dramaturgy, where people present themselves in different ways depending on the social setting, much like actors on a stage.” (Johnson, 2021)

“The leadership experience demonstrates impression management by:

• Adjusting your communication style based on the individual and situation.
• Using conscious control over your behavior, tone, and eye contact.
• Managing perceptions to gain trust, authority, and respect among staff.

“This concept is essential in management because leaders must present themselves as competent, authoritative, and approachable to maintain credibility and influence. However, you also question the authenticity of impression management—whether some people merely “perform” their roles without genuine leadership skills.” (Johnson, 2021)

The perception process: Will allows us to understand and make sense of the world around us. Perception is subjective, enabling us to process selection, organization, and interpretation.

The influence we have on others, especially in management, will determine the outcome or success of the business. The company sends me to a location to clean up issues internally, such as lack of training, paperwork, or visuals of the stores. On the other hand, I would look at the operation’s needs and then the staff’s training or development. Most of the time, there is a lack of trained leadership to guide their staff in those locations. When you have created an environment within the organization, the perception process, your staff will believe and trust your leadership abilities. The organization: Like building blocks of a foundation by creating a pattern or structure entity.

Interpretation: Shaped by our personal and professional experiences, cultural background, belief system, and expectations allow the perception process. This process plays a crucial role in interaction with others. Our perception is subjective from person to person based on experience, knowledge, and background.

“Perception Process (Selective Perception and Attribution Theory)(Gibson, Ivancevich, & Konopasake, 2011) “Perception is subjective and influences how people interpret their surroundings. The perception process consists of:

• Selection – Focusing on specific details while ignoring others. (In management, this means prioritizing key business goals and employee behaviors.)
• Organization – Structuring information in a meaningful way. (You describe this as creating a stable company environment.)
• Interpretation – Making sense of information based on experience, culture, and biases.”

My management style emphasizes non-verbal communication, such as reading body language and assessing staff morale. This aligns with Attribution Theory, which explains how people assign meaning to others’ behaviors. You correctly identify that leaders must interpret employee actions carefully, as misinterpretation can lead to poor decision-making. (Heider, 1958).

Influence on perception: impact on how management perceives and interprets information in the environment surrounding them. Making an assessment is a non-verbal skill that helps interpret perceptions of an event.

My management style is to process information. There is a selection stage that is my interest, and the goals impact the outcome of the results. Looking at the situation, I foresaw the potential of the outcome. Being diligent in communication and body language among my staff is especially important; occasionally, some struggle with communication. Identifying non-verbal communication has proven to be helpful in various situations. Staff shared stories about their personal lives, which they could freely express. The phrase “wearing many hats “ includes playing a role as their mentor and not their boss in a leadership capacity.

I felt honored that my staff entrusted me with the confidentiality of information they would share; even when they shared the darkest information, it never influenced my opinion about that individual or their job performance.

My locations had diverse cultural differences, bringing a balance among the staff. That included social roles; there was one incident where a staff member decided to start the process of a gender-affirming procedure. It was a learning process because understanding that person and their feelings was essential. Their decisions never influenced my perception of who they were as a person. The theory of relational development fosters trust and a deeper connection in a professional setting.

Conclusion:

The theories of relational development play a significant role in reflecting on the communication of impression management and process influence perception in forming successful leadership. Throughout the years of management, fostering trust, authenticity, and communication was a foundation for success among my peers, staff, and colleagues. Therefore, this built strong relationships with everyone on a deeper professional connection—these concepts we use daily. They help us navigate social interaction, meaningful relationships, and effective communication. Understanding and applying the theories of communication expands our people skills, improves our interactions, and builds a positive impact.

Written by: Greg MD

Works Cited

Gibson, J. L., Ivancevich, J. M., & Konopasake, R. (2011). Organizations: Behavior, Structure, Process. McGraw-Hill Education.

Heider, F. (1958). The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. Wiley.

Johnson, B. (2021, August 21). Impression Management, Dramaturgy & Symbolic Interaction. Study.com. Retrieved from Erving Goffman’s Theories:: https://study.com/academy/lesson/erving-goffmans-theories-impression-management-dramaturgy-symbolic-interaction.html