What You Don’t Know About Your Professional Reputation is Dangerous

"A bad reputation can cost you jobs and promotions. You need to find out what people really think — before it's too late."

Rebecca Knight at Business Insider

The headline above caught my attention because of its wisdom.

It is helpful to “find out what people really think” about us and might they may be communicating to others, as it can affect our job and career security as well as our upward mobility.

What usually happens instead in problematic situations is people are oblivious about what is being said, or they know but don’t care or when they have an inkling or strong suspicion but don’t intelligently choose to seek out other people who are willing to honestly talk to them about how they’re experienced and judged.

Of course, yes, that latter deficiency is difficult to address. No one really wants to do it and they might be concerned about what they will learn.

That’s why if you have someone you reasonably like and trust and they have healthy interactions with people around you, you could glean at least a little of the narrative surrounding you and your name.

You could also consider speaking to human resources and higher ups who might be in the know and receptive, if they are not put at risk responding, to sharing what they have heard or read.

If you decide to assertively do research, go on a fact-finding mission so to speak, do so with poise and humility and work hard to be open to what you might hear that you disagree with or is upsetting.

You might along the way hear some surprising positives or facts that debunk some of the concerns you have with yourself. The experience could be more positive than you anticipate.

If there is hurtful feedback, no matter how much it hurts, apply your best, healthiest stress management. Breathe deeply. Be in control of your ego and impulses.

Ask yourself, ”Is any of what they say accurate? Why might they think this? Am I possibly doing or not doing what they believe?”

The more honest we are with ourselves the more we will learn and the better we will be able to respond.

Michael Toebe is a founder and specialist at Reputation Quality, serving and helping successful individuals and organizations further build reputation as an “asset” and when necessary and wanted, help ethically, responsibly protect, restore or reconstruct that reputation.