- A Reputation for Fairness
- Do you deal fairly with those around you? Are your choices self-serving ones, driven by politics, fear and greed? Do you expect more from those around you than you yourself are willing to give? Do you seek advantage over others instead of cooperation and shared success?
- A Reputation for Honesty
- Do you tell the truth…all the time? Do you hide problems until it is too late? Do you face up to mistakes and are you prepared to correct them? Do you simply tell others what you think they want to hear? Do you say one thing and then do another?
- A Reputation for Decision-making
- Do you make decisions quickly or are you mired in the depths of “analysis paralysis?” Are you prepared to make mistakes, as everyone does, knowing it is a natural part of success? Are you prepared to decide, even when it means you might fail? Do you let others make decisions for you?
- A Reputation for Empathy
- Do you truly feel for those around you? Can you place yourself in their shoes when it is time to make tough decisions? Are you isolated, Marie Antoinette-style, from those around you, making decisions in a vacuum, where your only thought is how it effects you? Can you remember what it is like to not know something?
- A Reputation for Clear Thinking
- Is your thinking muddled and confused? Can you find your way through the confusing fog of conflicting goals, data and thinking? Do you allow others to tell you what to think instead of thinking yourself? Can you keep your head when all about you are losing theirs? Can you help others think more clearly?
- A Reputation for Trustworthiness
- Can people trust you…all day…every day…no matter what temptations you might face? Do you abuse people’s trust while exhibiting little of your own? Are you a hard-bitten cynic who expects the worse from those around you? Do you only do your best when you know others are watching?
- A Reputation for Helpfulness
- Are you ready to chip in and help someone, even if it isn’t “your job?” Do you look for opportunities to help others, even when they might not realize they need help? Do you accept help from others easily? Do you seek to make the world a better place or leave others to their own devices and fates?
- A Reputation for Compromise
- Do you seek to win at everyone else’s expense? Are you constantly taking advantage of other people for your own benefit? Is life and work truly win-win or is there always a loser? Do you compromise to solve problems or do they reappear time and time again?
- A Reputation for Clarity
- Do your co-workers understand your projects, your goals, your directions or is your work a constant litany of misunderstandings, recriminations and a struggle to make things clear? Do you use 10 words when 3 might do? Do you blame others for their lack of understanding when you are the one being unclear?
- A Reputation for the Big Picture…and the small
- Are you able to see the Big Picture of a project and all the individual pieces that make up that project? Does your focus always fall on your area of strength, allowing other segments to falter and fail? Can you see how your actions deeply effect others?
- A Reputation for Balancing Work and Self
- Is your work your life? Do you understand when it is important to make decisions for your own benefit, even when it might conflict with your work? Is your work life as fulfilling as your home life? Does your family support you and do you support your family?
- A Reputation for Creativity and Innovation
- Are you regularly generating new ideas? Are you capturing these new ideas in some way? Are you ready to create new ideas when needed by your company, your manager or your clients? Do people come looking for you when they need the “next big idea?”
All of these smaller reputations, and more, make up your “Reputation” with a capital “R”. Each can raise or lower people’s opinion of you and directly effect your ability to succeed in your career. They also point the way when building a career or finding the next job.
For a more in-depth discussion. check out my Kindle eBook, Cultivating Your Career Reputations, from Amazon.com
