When I taught at a university, I often told my students that the most important element of career success was their reputation. What do people say about you when you’re not in the room?
While it’s important to have a strong resume and hone your skills, often times you’ll be competing for a job or project against people who have similar experience. The deciding factor of who gets selected often comes down to reputation.
As a consultant, my reputation is more valuable than any marketing or networking I can do. It’s easy to put up a fancy website or shake hands at an event. This might get you on the radar, but the decision on whether or not to hire me – you guessed it – will be based upon my reputation.
Don’t burn bridges
Knowing a positive reputation is a key ingredient to anyone’s success, I’ve made a concerted effort to keep tabs on my internal thoughts, facing tough situations (and people) with a smile on my face.
Early in my career I remember grumbling to my mentor about having to deal with a particularly frustrating leader. I asked how he remained so cheerful around such a negative person. His response – they aren’t privy to my inner thoughts. It’s easier to approach them with a smile than to let them know what I truly think about them. My smile doesn’t mean I like them – I’m actually smiling and thinking ‘what a jerk.’
Over my career I’ve worked with a number of difficult people (I’m sure I’m not alone). Keeping my mentor’s sage advice top of mind, I’ve made a point of smiling through tough situations.
Does this mean I agreed with everything they said or didn’t push back? No. But I have refused to get sucked down into their negativity and have consciously avoided burning bridges.
Sometimes this meant quitting a job or client earlier than expected as I could see the direction the relationship was heading.
Living your values
I hear a lot of people talking about values, but what does this really mean?
It’s important you take time to get clear on the values that are most important to you.
I recently went through this exercise as part of a course I’m taking. We were given a list of over 300 values (who knew there were so many!) and told to narrow it down to our 10 core values. We were also told to look at our values list and see if there was any overlap.
For example – perseverance and resilience were two of my values. But upon further reflection, I realized I’m resilient BECAUSE I persevere – making it a by-product vs core value.
This was a pivotal exercise as it made me truly pause and get clear on my core values. Again, when it comes to my reputation, does how I speak, write and show up align with these values? If not, why?
Opening doors
Early in my consulting days, I spent a lot of time cold calling potential clients. Thankfully, these days 100% of my clients are word of mouth.
This means someone who hires me has been recommended by a peer, has heard me speak or follows my blog. While yes, part of the decision to hire me is based upon my skills and experience, the key deciding factor is my reputation.
Doing good work, and showing up as the authentic you, gets noticed.
Again, it goes back to what others are saying about you when you’re not in the room does matter.
Judging the fit
While I appreciate the word-of-mouth referrals, I’m still careful about who I do work with. For me to continue to show up at my best (which is key to preserving my reputation), the project or client needs to be a fit.
This is a lesson I learned the hard way early in my consulting career. Saying yes when I should have said no – just because of the money involved.
Although it was clear the project wasn’t a fit as it didn’t spark my interest or creativity, I said yes. The result – a very stressful few weeks with a demanding client who changed the scope of the project on a daily basis (signs I had seen coming, but chose to ignore). While I did my best to salvage the project (but not the relationship), it was not an enjoyable time. And I’m sure that client didn’t speak highly of me when I wasn’t in the room.
Leading with integrity
Whether you’re an employee, business owner or consultant, I encourage you to guard your reputation as your most valued asset.
When you’re dealing with prickly people, how do you avoid getting sucked into their negativity and responding in a way that’s not a reflection of the true you? Are you clear on your core values, why they’re important to you and what lines you won’t cross? How do you want people to feel when they work with you and when you leave the room?
Only you can foster and maintain your reputation. Make sure it’s one that opens, versus closes, doors that provide new and exciting opportunities. You are worth it!