building reputation | Gautrey Unleashed

Building Reputations: Key Messages

June 21, 2014 by Colin Gautrey

Over the last ten years, I have worked with many people to help them to build their reputations in some very difficult organisations. Much of what I have learned in that time has been conveyed during this series of articles. I hope that it has landed well with you and that you have begun to implement the ideas, appropriately for you and your situation. In this last article of the series, I wanted to pull out some of the key messages which I expect you to have gleaned from what I have shared with you. I am doing this because I think they are absolutely critical to the work you are engaged in. Pay heed — they might save you a great deal of time and pain. It would be a shame for you to miss these final points and suffer the consequences in a few years' time. And there are only five, so I won't keep you more than a few Read More

Assessing Your Reputation Building Work

June 5, 2014 by Colin Gautrey

In the lead article for this series (How to Build Your Reputation) I laid out six areas which have to be considered in order to be able to make significant progress towards establishing your reputation in a tough organisation, or in any other place for that matter. The articles in this series have been following that structure, and I wonder how you are getting on? No doubt you have been making changes along the way, improving your positioning, your distinction and visibility. As we begin to reach a close to the series, now is a good time to sit back and take stock, and to perhaps prioritise where you need to be going next. For each of the areas below Read More

Safeguarding Your Reputation Building

April 23, 2014 by Colin Gautrey

As you begin to create a disturbance with your reputation building, others may become uncomfortable with the change in the way you are operating. The status quo has gone, and they may be more, or less, happy with the new challenge you are presenting. In the last article I shared some ideas on how to prepare for these changes and the potential consequences (Ruffling Feathers and Due Diligence). That done, I’d now like to suggest that you turn your attention to a more positive thread of activity and adopt a clear set of principles to guide all of your behaviour going forward. These principles are naturally Read More

Defining Your Distinction

April 10, 2014 by Colin Gautrey

For a reputation to be really useful it has to be distinctive in the environment where it needs to do its work. This raises a vital question, what do you want your reputation to be? What reputation will precede you and create useful expectations in the minds of your stakeholders? In the last article in this series you were asked to focus on the competition so that you could gain an awareness of what reputations there are around your organisation, and what those people are doing to promote their reputation. Now you need to turn Read More

Standing Out from the Crowd

April 2, 2014 by Colin Gautrey

To build a reputation, you have to stand out from the crowd. Considering those who already stand out in your crowd, or your arena, provides a wealth of role models, of what you could emulate, and what you may need to avoid — some people stand out for all the wrong reasons. It is great to set your sights on being able to move towards becoming a role model in your own right – that could be the destination you will focus on. Before that though, it is worth taking a look at the competition, and the challenge in front of you. You don’t necessarily need to climb the dizzying heights to succeed, only be a great deal better than everyone else around you. Whatever your ambition, the first step will Read More

Purposes, Targets and Role Models

March 30, 2014 by Colin Gautrey

In order to establish a reputation, it really helps to understand what it will take to do this in the place or arena in which you want to land a big impression. The easiest way to gain this insight, and it will differ widely between organisations, is to study those who have already done it. Before you do this, you’ll need to answer another rather important question — who do you want to establish a reputation with? The things which will work and the things which will not work can only be understood if you know Read More

How to Build Your Reputation

March 19, 2014 by Colin Gautrey

Building your reputation is hard work, it takes time and commitment, but will certainly be worth it. If you have a reputation for being a tough negotiator, you will influence the other party before you even meet them. Your reputation will precede you. They will be expecting a hard time, they will be working harder on their strategy and even harder on their alternatives. They may even be expecting to get a poor deal and this may become a self-fulfilling prophecy. They will certainly be more stressed and their performance might nosedive the moment they meet your cool, expressionless face — or worse, that charismatic (or enigmatic) smile. Yes, your reputation may influence them to bring their heavy hitters to meet you head on. Brilliant, another opportunity to strut your stuff and boost your credibility. At the other end of the spectrum, a reputation for being kind, considerate and trustworthy will bring many people knocking on your door. Your intelligence about what is really going on in the organisation will give you significant advantages not available to the hard-nosed people around you. You don’t have to agree with everyone, but your approachability will keep you in the loop. More importantly, it Read More

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