According to the Cambridge Dictionary,
“Reputation is the general opinion, esteem, or public belief that people hold about a person, group, organisation, or product based on past behaviour and character.”
A reputation usually takes some time to take shape.
People, be they colleagues, bosses, clients or suppliers, need time to get to know how you work and think.
Consistency is how you build a reputation, good or bad.
You can deliver consistently. Work hard consistently, and treat people fairly (also consistently).
These and other positive traits will build a reputation that will stand you in good stead with all of the above groups.
On the other hand, being consistently overbearing, aloof, or tardy in your work habits will earn you a totally different reputation.
If you want to attract the best people to your team, the former version will be a massive asset.
That’s because most people want to work with the best leaders and do excellent work.
Reputations can be won and lost, and losing can be painful.
Here’s Cassio bemoaning the loss of his rank in Othello.
“Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial”.
Loss of a good reputation usually comes from making a poor decision.
In Othello, Iago tricks Cassio into getting drunk (Cassio is a lightweight drinker); there’s a brawl and a wounding, hence the demotion.
The brawl didn’t happen by chance—Iago, jealous of Cassio’s promotion, engineers the fall.
Politics rears its ugly head.
One way to overcome the machinations of office politics is to be quietly good.
That doesn’t mean being a shrinking violet.
It means having a reputation for being focused on delivery rather than debate.
Sooner or later, those that promise much but don’t deliver get found out.
Their reputation suffers, and many don’t get the reinstatement (spoiler alert) Cassio enjoyed.
It’s never too late to start building an excellent reputation, and maybe you have already.
If you’d like to build it faster, the New Manager issue can only help.
It highlights the foundational things you need to build an excellent management reputation.
You can see what it covers by clicking this link.
Very best,
David O'Beirne