Obsession is frequently defined along the lines of:
“The domination of one’s thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image or desire.”
If you want to build a reputation, becoming a little obsessive about it is a good thing. The trouble with most great ideas (such as your new idea about how to become distinctive) is that given a few weeks, they start to fade into the background. Little by little, they get forgotten.
Don’t let this happen to your ambition to build a strong reputation in your organisation. If you’ve put the investment of time and thinking into crafting your desired reputation, now is the time to capitalise on that clarity and make sure you continue to build it in your mind, and in your behaviour.
Here are five ways to help you make it more prominent in your daily life:
- Keep it quiet. This may seem counter-intuitive; however, especially when you’re starting out, shouting too much about the reputation you want to create can be detrimental — judgment and ridicule can be very disheartening. Instead, keep it private, even from close (albeit well-meaning) friends.
- Score yourself habitually. Every morning, give yourself a score out of 10 for each of your brand words or statements. How well did you do yesterday? Then ask, how could you have done better? Do this day in, day out. Make it a daily habit to challenge yourself to become more of what you want to be.
- Create a visual reminder. Get yourself a mascot, or an object of some sort, or maybe a picture or logo that represents your brand. Then keep it handy as a visual reminder of what you are engaged in building. Nobody else needs to know its significance to you.
- Install an automatic reaction. Every decision you make, make as if you were your idealised brand. What would someone with your reputation decide to do? How would they take the decision? Every time you need to respond to something do so as if you were already the full embodiment of your reputation. This may sound a little odd, but if you can do this, you will be stepping into your role and beginning to live with it. This will speed things up enormously.
- Become a reputation scout. Nobody else will have your reputation, however, they can all give you clues about what to do, or what not to do, to create the reputation you desire. During quiet times in the meetings, observe others. What are they doing which you could learn from and help in your own behavioural adjustment? Keep notes too.
Consistency is the most important aspect with these. Don’t just do them once or twice, do them daily. Make them habitual. Keep your reputation running in the background of everything you do.
And remember, if you’ve got a well-defined and relevant reputation that you’re aiming for, all of the above is really just about doing your job at an exceptional level. What the ideas above will do is make sure that as you do it, you’ll maximise the chances that people will get the impression you wish to make.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
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