Do You Know Your Reputation?

Do you know your reputation? While it is your character that truly counts, your reputation at work influences decisions that may affect your career, such as what team you work with or what project you are assigned. However, this does not mean you need to be obsessed with your reputation every moment of the day. Instead, your reputation should represent the best of who you really are – your authentic you.

If you don’t know your reputation, find out.

Ask your team and your manager for feedback. If you have a great reputation, they will usually tell you very quickly. If there are problems, they may hesitate or give you vague answers, so you may have to ask more specific questions. Don’t bombard your colleagues with questions or it will feel like an interrogation. Instead, ask one or two key questions such as whether they think you are good at a particular thing or how a recent interaction went. If you are aware of some personal challenges, admit it and ask for help on how to improve. If your company has a 360 feedback process, you may want to initiate it, even if it is not during the annual performance review period. If you receive unexpected negative feedback, try not to get upset. Instead, listen to ensure you understand what the feedback really means.

Determine whether your reputation represents the real you.

Examine the feedback and evaluate whether it reflects the real you. Does your reputation represent your values? If you haven’t yet, take the time to reflect on who you are and who you want to be. If your reputation reflects who you are, are you happy with what it shows? If  your reputation does not reflect your character or you are not happy about the part of you it does reflect, it is time to do some work.

Focus and DO what you want your reputation to reflect.

If you try to be all things to all people, you will just drive yourself crazy and wind up exhausted. Instead, focus on one or two things you want to improve and do the things you want your reputation to reflect. Want to be considered reliable? Make commitments and meet them. Want to be viewed as a technical expert? Develop your technical skills and share your knowledge. Want to be a collaborative team player? Spend more time listening and less time talking. The team will give you insight on what they need from you. Find a coach or mentor to help you improve your soft skills.

What they say is true, it takes years to build a good reputation and an instant to ruin it. A good reputation is a valuable asset, particularly if it reflects your true character. It is worth taking some time to take an honest look at how others perceive you, focus on one or two key strengths and do the hard work to build the reputation that reflects you authentically.

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