It is true that when we present ourselves to others we are not only representing a company or a job but also ourselves and the important thing is to do our best.

That's what I try to do every time, to be myself, to be transparent and to make myself known as I am. But it has happened to me that in the past I have misrepresented myself, before I was very withdrawn, serious and often I could come across as unfriendly and little by little I have changed that. It has done me good and I represent myself much better.

I don't really fancy social gatherings. Hehe, I believe in staying on my bed rather than going out. However, in a situation such as this, I try my possible best to be who I truly am, which is why I agree with this statement. 

>*We don't all represent a company or organisation but we all represent ourselves every day and how we do that has implications on us and others.*


No matter what, I believe we should always try to represent ourselves well, not because of what people will say but because of us. Our individual self and self-respect which you mentioned. 

I try to do the best I can when I am in situations like that.  Sometimes I don't have much of a filter.  Sometimes it just depends if it is the sort of function where liquid courage is involved.  It breaks down some walls that maybe shouldn't be fully broken down sometimes.  That's the reason that my wife and I don't typically go to after hours work functions.  I was just at a conference a couple of weeks ago and I agree with you about the importance of canoodling.  Many times the networking with others is more valuable than anything you might learn from a speaker in a single session.

I like to portray myself as the guy you go to when you need to get things done. I like to be seen as positive, efficient, persuasive, and a consistent achiever.

I try to be my best self, but there have been times I've slipped to a degree. I can typically compartmentalize insults from customers, sarcastic remarks, etc., but one thing that pushes my "buttons" is technology failing to the point that it hinders my ability to perform. I had one such day where I was noticeably upset, to the point that one of the upper tier supervisors stopped me to ask if I was OK. In all of my years with the company, that was the first time I'd been so visibly frustrated and let my guard slip that the question was asked.

Later, I was brought in by upper management to work with IT to troubleshoot the problem. My inadvertent slip had made them realize that if someone at my level was being affected to that extent and I'm **never** noticeably unhappy or frustrated, then how bad are things with other employees? It ended up being a very refreshing thing to see upper management quickly mobilize help to address not only my issue, but what was likely affecting everyone else and everyone else was reluctant to say anything.

I think we all try to be our best selves. We can't be perfect, but we can pursue excellence, which is achievable. The more we strive for excellence, the closer we get, the fewer times we fail, and the less impactful and significant our failures become in the grand scheme of things.

Those work events are certainly a mixed bag of emotions. A lot of “this is lame” and “I would rather be out hiking” but we endure for the benefits later. 

I’ve got a few things in mind for how I represented myself poorly and some stick in my mind quite sorely but those are the ones we learn from the most, as sad as it is to say. The thing we can try to focus on and make sure is that we don’t make the same mistakes twice if possible, to avoid future issues or embarrassments. 

I think being able to string weeks and months into itself for being our best self is a great goal, it’s not easy but it’s the right thing to do for our family and loved ones. 

My eternal struggle... 
How to improve the way I present myself to other colleagues, known and unknown. 
An introverted person like me, who doesn't like public performances, sometimes behaves like a prickly pig, raises his spines, as a protection from the environment 🙂 
With those thorns, it is very difficult to be pleasant and well accepted in society.
I work on myself and my behavior, various trainings and courses.
Constantly...

 Hi Galen, this topic is one of my weak points. I think I am a very good professional, but in life that is not enough. I recognize that I should be in places where I am not and have more relationship with certain people to grow in my profession. In the last two years I have made some progress... but it's hard for me. I'm self-employed, and I'm still reluctant to believe that part of my professional growth depends on social relationships and not on a job well done. These are my contradictions. Best regards

It is good that you have that attitude to rectify and improve, it should be like that every day for everyone, It would be very good to always ask for advice from your partner or a trusted colleague. Humility is always the best presentation.

For me representation needs to be perfectly but In order to become perfect, I must really do the right thing and trying my best. 

I felt very happy if I will achieved a good results of my representation, I will become proud to myself and be more consistent by doing those things perfectly.

I don't think anyone is "always" their best self. There are bad days and good days. Personally I try to ensure the good days outnumber the bad days. 
I learnt from my days by considering what I could have done differently and implement the change or try to.

Me ?  Human ???  Perish the thought ! 

# 😆

I don't know how I present all the time, but that's a funny subject to me, because I have  thought people took me the wrong way at times. 

I have always liked the person that I am. I know my heart, my mind and my intent and I don't operate with malice.

That doesn't mean I've done the right thing all the time. A few times I tripped up accidently and a few more times I jumped in with both feet to do things I knew would not be considered appropriate in general. Fortunately, that wasn't most of the time and I haven't gotten myself into too much trouble. 

I've always walked the line at work or at work functions.  They only need to know one side of me, the side that is responsible and does what it takes. 

Good morning boss, I can relate with you.
As company employee, being a representation to a certain event like attending fame shows, attending seminar and team buildings is not that an easy. It is really hard to mingle people with not at your level but the reason that I was representing my company so I'd listen very well to the speaker and shared it afterwards to my boss not really my best but as best of my knowledge and understanding. 

What elements do I work to change? Uhm, I think nothing change on how to handle my subordinates but I have something to add for it. Which for me, a good leader must show respect, it must be responsible enough, must be objective, must bear patience inorder to manage the attitude of every of my people and lastly a good leader must be honest in everything.

I think I represented my company well. I was professional, and I try to be the best version of myself. But when I'm out in public, I tend to not care about what people think. I wouldn't be smiley or friendly, I'll just keep to myself.

I think we are all human - but my bosses might think otherwise! For me, it's a little more challenging than the rest because I am more introverted than most people, so I need to step out of my comfort zone and do things that are not so natural to my usual self, e.g. making small talk. At the end of the day, it's a job and I just have to be professional about it.