We all perceive the world according to our own reality. The experiences we have had in the past and the experiences we have today all create the perceptions that we hold about other people. Those perceptions influence our biases (and we all have biases), which in turn influence our behaviors.

Sometimes our biases are so ingrained that we don't even know they exist.

To be successful leaders and successful team members we have to become aware of our biases and how they influence our interactions with others in the workplace.

"I am who I am."

I can still remember sitting in front of the TV after school watching my favorite spinach-eating character flexing his "musKles" and saving the day.

But, my perspective of Popeye's quote, "I am who I am" recently changed when I heard a client use the phrase to describe people who had no interest in adapting and no interest in working with others who were different from them. "I am who I am, and if you don't like me - who cares."