Part Two
The Four Reputational Toolboxes

‘A good reputation is more valuable than money.’

– Publilius Syrus

This is the business end of the book. The practical side of things. Where you execute. You've learned about it and dreamed about it. You've made some plans and got some direction. Now you're going to action it.

There is no one way to stand out in a crowd. There is no one way to create career capital or build a reputation. You need a few approaches that play to your strengths, your style and your endgame.

images

Coming up for you are four Reputation Toolboxes. These are the ‘how to’ part of your reputation. They give you specific ways you can build career capital, raise your profile, position yourself as the expert in your field and distinguish yourself professionally from your competitors. The four toolboxes are:

  1. PROFILE. Keyword – VISIBLITY. Gives you ways to get your name out there and appear on the radars of influential people
  2. POSITIONING. Keyword – AUTHORITY. Gives you ways to establish your credentials as the expert in your space
  3. PERSONAL BOARD. Keyword – NETWORK. Helps you choose and leverage your own Personal Board of Advisors
  4. PROFESSIONAL. Keyword – PERFORMANCE. Helps you develop continually, professionally and personally to build ‘on the job’ credibility.

Everything here creates career capital that you can trade up for more career choice and work you love. All of them will build your reputation, the single biggest and most critical of your career capital weapons.

In the following chapters, you'll get an explanation of what each one means, then a checklist of tactics you might want to deploy in that toolbox. Remember: play your own game to your own strengths. Your weapons are not mine. You'll do it in a different way to me. Why? Because you're wired up differently. You've got different talents and qualities. You find things easy that I find difficult. And you've got different career objectives in different environments. So do it your way. It's the best way.

How to use the four reputation toolboxes

Where can you have the biggest impact in the shortest possible time? Once you begin to crack this, you can move on to others. Reputations are built over time. As you read through all of the tips, remember that you can do anything but you can't do everything. So don't feel overwhelmed by the list.

There are over 150 ideas and suggestions here. You just need a few. Don't go crazy. You don't need to be brilliant today. Just a bit more brilliant than you were yesterday. As you go through each toolbox, pick two or three that you like based on the following three criteria:

  1. Current. Which of these do you already have a head start with? You're already a good way down the road. You're showing up for them right now, so it's a case of doing them more or more intentionally. Find out what good things people are saying about you currently. If you've already got a track record or a reputation in a few key areas, and you know it will help you down the line, build on what you've got. Otherwise you're just starting again from the ground up. Which is okay if you really have to.
  2. Aspirational. Which of these attract you? Which would you like to be known for? Which have you always thought you'd like to get more into? Looking ahead, what do you want to be known for that you're currently not? If you've had any kind of negative or neutral reputation in the past, which of these would you like to replace that with?
  3. Strengths. You can start fresh with these, but you'll get better and faster results taking action in an area of strength. It's no good saying you're going to be super punctual and reliable if you've never before shown those qualities. It's going to be too tough for you. Leave that to other people and play where you know you can make up some ground.

To begin with, maybe select a few that are easy wins for you. Enjoy the journey. There should be something in here to spark your enthusiasm and make you see that this is possible for you. You're taking control. You're having a say. You're playing the Career Game and with the formidable ‘go-to’ reputation you're building, you're going to win!

Overview 1 – Your PROFILE toolbox: Visibility

You might be competent in your job and have some great ideas. But who is seeing that? It's important that you somehow let the world know how great you are. Call it personal marketing, ethical bragging, profile raising or shining your light. Your incredible feats and skills are no good to you if nobody knows about them.

This is why you need to lift up your profile for people to see. Through a blend of writing, speaking and networking, you've got to take your brilliance out to the world. Your keywords here are visibility, connections and prominence. The PROFILE toolbox helps you answer the following questions:

  • To whom does your work matter?
  • Who are you trying to influence?
  • Who do you need on your team?
  • How can you reach them and engage them?
  • How do you build a formidable network?

This toolbox equips you to identify your target audience and reputational stakeholders. You'll get lots of strategies and approaches to get on their radars and build relationships with them. You'll no longer be a great secret. The more people you know, the more people know of you. Remember: your network is who you know. Your reputation is who knows you.

Overview 2 – Your POSITIONING toolbox: Authority

You might be professionally capable and well connected. But you still have to position yourself properly to develop a world-class reputation. To become extra special, you have to be doing the stuff that your rivals are not doing. So craft your message or your big idea. Define your contribution to the cause and the company.

Decide what's going to make you stand out and how you'll differentiate yourself in a competitive career marketplace. The keywords here are content, contribution and authority. The POSITIONING toolbox helps you answer the following questions:

  • What do you want to tell the world?
  • How will you make the difference?
  • How can you become an authority in your space?
  • How do you position yourself as the number-one choice?

When you position yourself as any kind of expert, you develop authority status. By putting great stuff ‘out there’. You've got to be making a tangible contribution offline (face to face) and online. So this toolbox will show you the different ways to become an authority and a thought leader.

Be seen as an expert. Craft your outstanding contribution or big idea. As a result, your requests for help, support, pay raises, control, choice, freedom and meaning in your work will be gladly received.

Overview 3 – Your PERSONAL BOARD toolbox: Network

This is about making the most of your connections to further your career goals. The most powerful way to do that is by assembling your very own Personal Board of Advisors (PBA) or Directors. These will be your battle HQ. Your mastermind group. Your inner circle of influence.

Your relationships are a critical factor in finding and landing work you love on your terms. The keywords here are leverage, network and advocates. The PERSONAL BOARD toolbox helps you answer the following questions:

  • Who is best equipped and most motivated to help me?
  • Who can elevate my reputation most if I associate with them?
  • How can I best leverage my connections?
  • Who are the best advocates and sponsors for me and my personal brand?

You won't do this alone. All the networking, speaking and writing you do to raise your profile is going to create valuable connections. You must decide what to do with these people. Where are they fitting into your grand plan?

You'll see clever ways to leverage those connections to bolster your career capital. You'll get lots of insight into putting together your PBA. You'll get tips on managing your contacts and leveraging your network and smart ways to add value so that these VIPs and demi-gods want to help you.

Overview 4 – Your PROFESSIONAL toolbox: Performance

This toolbox is all about your accomplishments in your everyday work. It gives you a ton of great tips and strategies to build your ‘on the job’ reputation. The keywords here are performance, delivery and credibility.

Get the basics right. Do your job well. Hit your targets. Make plans. Deliver over and above what's expected of you and you'll soon begin to stand out in the crowd. The PROFESSIONAL toolbox helps you answer the following questions:

  • How can you stand out in your day-to-day job?
  • What will get people talking about you on a daily basis?
  • How do you ensure you constantly keep creating career capital?

Competence at work is a qualifier for promotion. It gets you in the game. It gets you considered. But it's not a differentiator, since pretty much everyone is competent. You need credibility, a ‘best in class’ performance and a high standard of delivery. Any combination of three to five items in this Professional Toolbox will do this for you.