What people say about you is your reputation, which impacts how they define your character. It also affects how loyal people are to you, how well they work for you and your relationship with them.

Reputation: perception

Your reputation is how others perceive you based on your actions, behaviors, and the way you interact with them.

It's the image you project to the outside world. Your reputation can be influenced by your conduct, what you do and say, and how you treat others.

Talking about your reputation, someone might say about you, "You can trust her." or conversely, "Don't trust her."

Character: Your core

Character is who you truly are at your core. It's about your values, morals, and integrity. It's about what you believe in and how you behave when no one is watching. Character is your internal compass, guiding your decisions and actions.

Talking about your character, someone might say you are trustworthy.

Character and Reputation: the yin and yang

Your reputation is influenced by your character. People, however, have a limited view of you, which can impact their interpretation of you or how they would define your reputation.

You may be honest in 90% of your life, but if your employee shared something with you in confidence and you told HR about it, and it got back to them, they may deem you untrustworthy based on that one situation.

Yin and Yang alignment

Over time, your character shines through in your actions and interactions. The more contact you have with someone, the more markers they will have for defining your reputation. The total of your ongoing conduct, actions and behaviors' shapes someone's view of you.

How to lead and still have character

To become an authentic and trustworthy leader, your character and actions need to line up.

The phrase “mean what you say and say what you mean” really takes on a whole new meaning.

1.   Define Your core Values: Start by acknowledging your values and beliefs. Describe the kind of leader you aspire to be and the impact you want to have. This inner work is fundamental to understanding who you are.
2. Be Intentional: Once you've defined the leader you want to be, be intentional about showing up that way. Act in alignment with your self-determined criteria.
3. Consistency Matters: Your character shines through in your actions and interactions over time. The more you engage with someone, the more markers they have for defining your reputation. Consistency in your conduct is key.
4. Reflect on Your Behavior: Repeatedly ask yourself questions like, "Am I late often?" or "How do I share hard messages?" These insights provide valuable information about how others might describe your character.

 Alignment

When you live in alignment, your character is solid, and your reputation will reflect that. That alignment, walking your talk, and being who you say you are leads to more authentic and trustworthy leadership.

Your character is how people describe you. It's the traits that they would attribute to you. It's not what you hope they think of you. Your intentions and conduct are essential for developing your character, but your character and reputation are how others describe you.

• Stubborn
• Positive
• Caring
• Soft
• Bitter
• Narcissistic
• Empathetic
• Approachable

Take a moment to fill in the blanks

• My boss has a reputation for…
• My board chair is known for…
• You can always trust the head of HR to…
• That employee is famous for…

These are some of the sentence endings you came up with:

• Flying off the handle at meetings
• Not letting people speak
• Interrupting
• Being patient
• Inspiring the team
• Being there when I need them
• Knowing exactly what I need to hear

Your character is defined by the words others use to describe how they project you and what kind of impact you have/had on them.

 Your conduct is defined by the actions and behaviors others see that they use to assess your character.

This includes how you act, interact and engage with others. It is what you say and do as much as what you don't say or don't do.

• Are you late? Often?
• Do you swear? In public?
• Are you decisive or wishy-washy?
• How do you share hard messages?
• When something exciting happens, what can people expect from you?
• What's your response when things don't go as planned?
• Do you walk into a meeting with checklists, agenda and handouts in hand, ready to get down to business, with a smile on your face or rushed, frazzled and oblivious to everyone else in the room?

Your answers to these questions give insights into how others might describe your character.

Each incident, response or action doesn't stand alone.

People use all their perceived experiences of your conduct to assess your character and describe your reputation.

Your conduct is not a one-time event.

So, let’s focus on being mindful of your actions and intentions in both private and public areas of your life. It is vital that your leadership is aligned with your goals and how you want not only the world, but also the people around you that you lead.

Whether or not they call you friend, foe or Boss. Leadership is more than just looking authoritative. It is a combination of inward and outward influence and projection of what you put out there.

 "^{If you want to influence others then be a person they aspire to be"}

Until next time,

Stephanie Kay