It is very important to understand the perception that key business partners and senior management have of you. Business partners provide solicited and unsolicited feedback on your performance. Senior management may weigh in on your short-term and long-term career development. Accordingly, understanding how leaders in your organization perceive you and your work performance can impact your career path. You do not need to own or agree with those perceptions. However, the power is in, first, knowing the "word on the corporate street" about you. This knowledge empowers you to decide whether and how to address those perceptions.

Earlier in my career, I wanted to promote a young attorney to a senior role. However, I received pushback from a senior influencer in the organization. As an advocate for my team member, I wanted to get a deeper sense of the pushback. As it turned out, the pushback had zero to do with the attorney’s skillset. Rather, the pushback stemmed from a...