What’s Your Reputation As a Leader?

Your reputation, or leadership brand, is what you are known for. It’s about what others believe to be true about your character, personality, skills, competencies and values.

People develop an opinion of these things based on what they have experienced. When you leave a positive impression, you open up many doors of opportunity. A poor reputation, despite great credentials, is enough to close doors and or slow down your advancement.

When it comes to reputation, actions speak louder than words. What you DO means much more than what you say about yourself or your work. Reputation is also fickle. It can take years to build a good reputation and only seconds to destroy it.

Reputation Management: Build the Reputation You Want

Step One: Evaluate your reputation from your own perspective.
Use a personal SWOT analysis. What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to what’s important in reputation management? Use the following questions to guide your thinking:

• What personal characteristics describe my work habits? (Dependable, trustworthy, creative, late, cuts corners, gossips, etc.) These are things people see quite easily and form their opinions about you.
• How up-to-date are my leadership skills? Are they well-hone or am I just getting by? You build a name for yourself by being well informed and on the ball.
• What do my extracurricular activities say about me? Your hobbies, interests and other activities you pursue outside of work form part of your reputation.
• What are the reputations of my profession, my colleagues and my company? The organizations you affiliate with and the people you spend time with shape your reputation.

Step Two: Determine your true reputation.

• Ask for a frank assessment from your boss, co-workers, clients, past business associates and anyone who has dealt with you professionally. You are essentially asking for a 360 evaluation of your reputation.
• Probe to understand which behaviors cause them to feel the way they do about you.
• Ask them what percentage of their assessment is based on what they have experienced directly versus what they have heard about you.

Step Three: Compare your assessment to others. 

• What trends do you notice?
• If your assessment is way off, why is that?
• What positive elements come up consistently? What negative elements?
•  Do you have different reputations with different groups of people? Why?

Step Four: Develop your desired reputation profile.

• Ask yourself what you want to be known for.
• Benchmark the characteristics of people in your profession who enjoy good reputations.
•  Consider what areas of your present profile need to be modified or enhanced.

Step Five: Create a plan for developing and maintaining your desired reputation.

•  Identify what you need to do to develop or change your reputation.
• Set yourself a series of goals that will move you towards the reputation you want.
• Work hard to fix the negative elements of your reputation sooner rather than later.

My Motto Is:
“If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got. Therefore, MOVE outside of your comfort zone; that’s where the MAGIC happens.” To bring that magic to your leadership and business, subscribe to Marcia’s monthly Execubrief: “Business Edge – Smart Growth Strategies” with a insights, inspiration and intelligence on how to build great businesses that matter – those that do well and do good.

What’s Your Success Score?
Are you starting a business; growing a business; selling a business or re-charging a business? Do you have the right stuff to build a highly organized, innovative, productive, and profitable enterprise? How well does your business stack up with other companies? The ManageHub Success Score will tell you!