[2021-07-18] Reputation

Ten years ago, I signed up for a daily writing challenge. Each day, I would receive an email with a writing prompt. On one occasion, the prompt included this quote by estate planner and author Tim Belber:

One definition of legacy is what someone feels, thinks and says when they hear your name. What are you doing today to build the legacy you want?

I've thought a lot about my legacy since being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In fact, I include the hashtag #legacy in my social media posts whenever I share wisdom on life as opposed to updates on my recovery from cancer.

But a decade ago, when I received the writing prompt with Belber's quote, I wasn't thinking about legacy as much as about reputation. I was still 10 years out from my earliest opportunity to retire, so maintaining a good name was uppermost in my mind.

I noted then that legacy made me think of the past—what we leave behind after we move on. Reputation, I suggested, sounded more like the present—something associated with us in the here and now.

I felt then, and still believe now, that when it comes to our careers, reputation is more important than legacy for all but those about to retire. Indeed, with a few substitutions, Belber’s quote could work as effectively for reputation as for legacy: "One definition of reputation is what someone feels, thinks and says when they hear your name. What are you doing today to build the reputation you want?

We build our reputation through both big endeavours and small gestures. Delivering on a challenging project contributes positively to your reputation, but so does taking the time to thank the assistant who helped you collate 16 copies of a deck just in time to meet a deadline in the Minister’s Office.

A good reputation is increasingly important in any workplace, including the federal public service, as managers rely more and more on personal suitability when choosing candidates to join their teams. And managers have gotten more sophisticated when doing reference checks, asking direct questions such as "Has the candidate ever had difficulty interacting with coworkers?" and "Would you hire this person again?

Building a reputation

As a supervisor, manager or executive for more than 30 years, I have seen many behaviours that have enhanced someone's reputation and others that have detracted from it. I offer these suggestions for nurturing others' positive opinions of you.

  1. Say good morning. I’ve known employees who rarely say good morning to their colleagues. And I’ve heard those colleagues say to each other, "Are we not good enough?" People appreciate individuals who make them feel good about themselves. So when you say good morning or ask a colleague about their weekend, they feel noticed and valued. In turn, they are more likely to notice and value you. Interacting effectively with colleagues will help you build a reputation as someone who works well in a team.
  2. Say thank you. Over the course of my career, I was approached by many employees looking for help. Some wanted my advice; others were looking for a job. Many were grateful for my time. But some would disappear without as much as a thank you after I would dedicate time to them. If these individuals weren't thanking a senior manager in a position to help them, you can be sure that they weren't thanking colleagues for their help. A sincere thank you makes others want to continue to help you.
  3. Be as nice to those at the bottom of the hierarchy as to those at the top. If you had a chance to meet the head of your organization, you’d likely be courteous, attentive and respectful. Do you behave the same way to the clerk who processed your travel claim? Administrative professionals don’t become less important as we advance in our careers: they become more important. They are the gatekeepers to senior managers. They are the holders of knowledge about how to get things done. And they are often under-appreciated for what they do. Be nice to them, not just because it will help you enhance your reputation, but also because they deserve it.
  4. Accept as much work as you can handle, even if you don’t know how to do it at first. I’ve worked with employees who seem allergic to work. I’m not talking about the overloaded employee who wisely says to their boss, "I just can’t take on another project unless something falls off my plate." I’m talking about the employee whose workload is actually rather light because they're continually questioning whether they're the right person for the job, whether the task is in the division’s mandate, or whether now is really the time to be starting such a project. When it takes more effort to convince an employee to take on a task, managers sometimes give up and do it themselves. This might provide a short-term gain to the employee, but in the long run, it’s a career limiter. Not only does the employee risk developing a reputation as someone who is reluctant to take on new tasks, but they also lose out on the opportunity to learn something new.
  5. See what needs to be done and do it. I used to work with someone who had a brilliant mind. He wrote well, made documents look beautiful, and could do things with PowerPoint and Excel that awed me. But you know what I appreciated even more? He saw what needed to be done and did it. He would make photocopies and stuff envelopes. He calmly found a way to do the little things that enabled me to deliver on the big things. He wasn't alone. I worked with many people like him over my career. Nothing improves your reputation as much as being willing to do whatever is needed to help your boss or team succeed.
  6. Step up. If #4 is about initiative, #5 is about leadership. I often think of initiative and leadership as being on a continuum, with the former being something we do to contribute to a bigger objective, and the latter being something we do to lead a project or team. I often found that it was tiring to be a leader. So when someone on my team stepped up to lead, I was grateful and welcomed the break.
  7. Make a contribution before moving on. I've worked with employees who came on board only to abandon ship a few months later. I'm not talking about employees who leave jobs prematurely when it's not a good fit, they have a disrespectful boss or the opportunity of a career presents itself. I'm referring to employees who have a perfectly fine job but jump ship when a shinier opportunity comes along. In other cases, I've seen employees looking for their next job when they've been in their current one for barely six months. Making a contribution in each job before you move to the next one is an excellent way to boost your reputation.

Whether you call it legacy or reputation, the thought that comes to mind when people hear your name is an important determinant of your career success. Be the person who is known for being a team player, and you’ll find yourself getting picked for the team more often.