Very early in my article writing days, I spoke about sophistication and how we sometimes struggle within ourselves to accept that we endear it for fear of being stereotyped (search for it easily by key word on my website!).

In this article we will discuss the component of corporate discipline that I call “being poised”. I would like to distinguish it from the word “positioned” due to the risk of being understood as promoting rigidity! The word “poised” allows me to embody maneuver between being hard-nosed at times and flexible at other times when you need to. In other words, versatile.

Being poised as a corporate actor entails that you posture for the role, ready for opportunity and challenge with a stance to face them. It is also nonverbal communication of confidence, competence and seriousness. I must hasten to point out that poise also relates to your ability to communicate approachability, empathy, kindness and other softer but equally important attributes. This buttresses my point above that poise must have built-in versatility.

The way we present ourselves to each other and stakeholders is also very important. Poise should also be present in your dress, gestures and language to name but a few. Yes, there is what we call corporate dress, speech and body language! Sometimes perception can be everything especially when there is no opportunity for you to defend the way you have presented yourself before judgement is conferred on you…

My advice is that for one to grow the poised component of corporate self-discipline, there is need to invest time and other resource in it. The simple truth is that “when in Rome, do what the Romans do”. The corporate world can be said to be “regulated”, and such regulation is both written and unwritten.

Embrace the poised position and even if it feels a little awkward at first, there are high chances that it will be part of you with deliberate practice. Take the poised position that says, “My aspiration is success at this!”

Poise should be part of your personal and organizational culture and should be treated as a living organism. By this, I mean that actors need to be abreast with the latest of these trends that by their nature, are hardly written down for us to internalize.

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