What’s Your Reputation?

Estimated Reading Time 3 Minutes

I recently had the good fortune to attend a training session by Mark MacDonald who is a speaker and an author of a book I just finished reading titled Be Know For Something: Reconnect with Your Community by Revitalizing Your Church’s Reputation (2017).  I was in attendance seeking some ideas to inspire me for some long-range planning committee work I’m involved with at my church.  It was a “real find” for me and a reminder that as managers, you need to be out there interacting with smart people who are willing to share ideas.

There are many connections to be made from reading this book, but there most definitely is a connection to what this blog’s intentions are.

You Are Known For Something Already

Mark MacDonald’s book talks about being known for something.  As a manager of people, understand you are known for something already.  You have a reputation “on the street” even if you have been a manager for only a short time.

What are you known for?  Is it what you want to be known for?  If not, what can you do about it?

The Importance of Branding

In a sense, what you are known for as a manger is a brand.  Brands are important to us because we have infinite choices in the marketplace and we need help in narrowing down the options available.  One of the ways we do this is by looking for “brands” we know and trust.

So how does having a good brand help you as a manager?  There are at least two ways having a good managerial brand can help you.  First, it puts you in position to attract new people to your team, both internally and externally.  When you have a positive reputation, people will seek you out.  Second, once they have joined your team, they will follow your leadership because your reputation says you are someone they can trust.

Be Intentional About Your Reputation

It is likely that if you are a new manager, you haven’t given a lot of thought to the type reputation you want to develop.  You were good at the work and that’s what your team knows about you so far.

It’s important that you spend some time on this.  Being intentional about what you want to be known for will have an impact on you in profound ways.  Here’s some examples of possible things managers may want to be known for :

1. Do you want to be known as a good coach?  Someone who will be the best at grooming raw talent?
2. Do you want to be known as someone who gets their people promoted to the next level?
3. Do you want to be known by the bosses as someone who delivers team results on time, every time? A “go to” person?
4. Do you want to be known as someone who cares deeply about their people?
5. Do you want to be known as the innovator?  A manager willing to try new things?
6. Do you want to be known as someone who can be trusted?  A person with high moral and ethical standards?

There is a Connection to Being a Continuous Learner

I see a connection between those who are intentional about developing their managerial reputations and those who are continuous learners.  Reading books, listening to podcasts, going to business and professional gatherings, all put you in position to observe top managers around you.  And when we label them as “top” we’re referring to their reputations.

Make this a matter of study and research.  Be observant and thoughtful when it comes to developing your reputation.

Be Authentic

One of the things I want to caution you about is that you need to be authentic as well as intentional.  You can’t build a reputation on something that isn’t true.  At the same time, you can “become” that which you seek if you work at it.  As I said at the beginning of this post, you are already known for something as a manager.  I’m encouraging you to be intentional about that reputation, but I’m also encouraging you to “become” that reputation.

 

Transformation Exercise

Take five minutes right now and write down a list of things you want to be known for as a manager (or as a person).  Identify at least one that you may need to work at in order to make it a reality.