Your Reputation – what is it?
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Your reputation is how people perceive you and judge whether you are someone they will trust. It has a life of its own, moving independently of you, from person to person without you knowing.
It will often arrive at a meeting ahead of you and predetermine how people respond to you. It takes time and effort to build a strong reputation, however, a single misplaced word or action can destroy it.
Your reputation is one of the most valuable assets you will carry with you through your career, and yet the one you may understand the least.
Why does it matter?
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You may work in business or the public sector, the services or the City; you may be a performer, an artist or a sportsperson. Whatever it is you do, you will have a reputation, whether you like it or not!
A strong reputation will benefit you in a myriad of ways; it will create opportunities, help you perform more effectively and make a greater impact personally.
The result can be getting the jobs you want, the career progressions you desire and the success you need.
Doesn’t reputation ‘just happen’?
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For the majority of people, their reputation is something that ‘just happens’. Only a few are naturally great at building a strong reputation.
The rest of us tend to go through life neither understanding how others perceive us, nor doing anything about managing our reputations.
That means that rather than having no reputation, we have one with a life of its own, without any conscious influence from ourselves.
Can I manage my reputation?
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Yes, you can. A strong reputation is made of two components – your trophy cabinet of achievements and how you present yourself to other people.
Let’s assume that you are continuing to add achievements to your trophy cabinet.
Your challenge is to be clear and consistent in how you present yourself to others; giving them every opportunity to build a positive understanding of who you are and develop a feeling of trust for you.
What should I do next?
Take Reputation Buzz’s five question health check to find out how well you manage your reputation at the moment. It’s free and only takes a couple of minutes.