Strong reputations are made possible because of the circumstances prevailing in their arena. They are rarely made in situations where everything is calm and running smoothly. In fact, the most opportunistic time to make a name for yourself is when the conditions are at their most difficult.
Regardless of the state of the arena, organisation or group where you are aiming to establish your reputation, you need to understand the bigger picture in which you are playing a part. Then you can notice the potential impact of your moves and finally adjust your action to maximise your progress.
One of the key areas of activity that understanding your context will prepare you for is the building of networks of supporters, allies and advocates. Here is a simple process to help you analyse the context in which you are operating and to prepare you for this next step in building your reputation:
- Structure: You’ll need to spend some time deepening your understanding of the structure of the organisation you are building your reputation within. Not only do you need to know the formal structure, but also the intricate web of informal groups and alliances which complicate the picture. In many places, it is these informal groupings which drive the real action.
- Prioritisation: Next, prioritise the groups to analyse. Base this on either their impact on the overall decision-making process or their impact on your success, or a bit of both. Point is, you haven’t got time to study them all immediately.
- Goals: Taking each of the groups you are going to study: what are they seeking to achieve? Your initial thoughts will probably be surrounding their formal or public objectives, and these need to be checked out with reliable sources. You’ll also need to delve a little deeper and try to establish the hidden drivers too.
- Challenges: In the pursuit of their objectives, what’s actually happening right now? What challenges and issues are they facing? What is getting in the way and making them think really hard? This might be external competition or internal process problems.
- Strategy: Given their goals and challenges, what strategy is each group adopting? Again this will take some time to figure out and the best way of doing this is by talking to the people who are in there doing it. Building high-trust relationships in each of the groups you are interested in is vitally important.
- Relevance: Now, bring it closer to home. What is the relationship between your work and each of these groups? To what extent does your work have an impact on them and vice versa? This connection needs to be strong to justify spending time engaging with them. Don’t dismiss too early because there may be an indirect impact which could present you with opportunities later.
- Contribution: Given your reputational aspirations, how can you help or hinder each group’s progress towards their goals? This is where you can begin to look for opportunities to get involved and get noticed. Remember, where there are problems and issues, people will be much more open to offers of help and support.
The analysis suggested here should become an ongoing part of your work, continuing to build your awareness and understanding of what is going on around you. Some reputations can stand aloof and detached from their context, but they are few and far between. The vast majority of reputations have to seize the opportunity which times and challenges in the environment create.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
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