10 Things You Want Your Reputation To Say About You

Copyright (c) 2007 Mary Foley

When it comes to building your business or your career in a company, how people perceive you is often to the difference between more sales, promotions, and certainly your satisfaction. Here are ten things you want your reputation to say about you. Use it for yourself and share it with a friend to help her build her business or career (these tips work for personal relationships, too!).

1. Give credit where it's due. You're nothing without the support of other peoples' contributions, technical know-how, and creative ideas. When it's obvious that you respect others by taking this step more support always shows up.

2. Create a safe place for brainstorming. People need to know you'll receive their ideas in a respectful and kind manner. Remember, you don't have to like or even agree with everything that comes out of a brainstorming session; simply listen with an open mind. The most valuable input will be things you never thought of yourself.

3. Respect yourself and take yourself lightly too. Your ability to laugh at your own moments of foolishness or mistakes will make everyone relax around you. Perfection is extremely tough to obtain and impossible to maintain so don't set yourself up!

4. Keep confidences. Make sure you remain discreet and people will continue sharing valuable information with you. Remember the saying "Loose lips sink ships"? Simple but true. It may be tempting to share, especially if it means you'll get another juicy morsel in return but it's never worth it.

5. Seek out diversity. Create space in your life that will hold anyone of caliber.

6. Be comfortable with conflict. You may not love it, but you need to accept that conflict is a dynamic circumstance that can lead to even more powerful creativity. Conflicts that reach resolution are our most powerful assets.

7. Share information. Share "public domain" information from your department or other parts of the business that will help others. It's a universal law, what you put out is what you can expect in return. Foster this camaraderie.

8. Try to assume the positive in a questionable circumstance. People will feel safe with you if they know you're thinking the best of them. As a single person on the outside, you cannot possibly know every thought or element of what has happened. Trust that the intention was good.

9. Don't inflate negative situations. Sure bad things happen, but try to keep them in perspective. Don't take anything personal because it very rarely is. If you refuse to absorb it on a personal level, it's much easier to see it objectively and consequently have the outcome be of value to you. Those things that don't kill us truly do make us stronger.

10. Don't appear doubtful about your principles. When you put a stake in the ground, mean it. Take a stand. Don't be swayed by difficulty. Remember Eleanor Roosevelt's words: "Women are like tea bags, we don't know our true strength until we are in hot water". Don't betray yourself just to get out of that water.

Your reputation is sort of like a tail, it follows you everywhere. At all times, in any situation staying true to yourself and standing firm on it will create and preserve your reputation – the one you want to have following you.