What's Your Reputation?

 

“Your chances of success in any undertaking

can always be measured by your belief in yourself.”

~Robert Collier

 

You work hard to build an excellent reputation in your firm, among your client base and in your community.  Because you need a good external reputation to build trust with others, garner respect and enhance your influence.

But what about your internal reputation? By that I mean the reputation you have with yourself, your overall self-esteem.

I’ve had some high-achieving clients who, despite their success and evidence to the contrary, don’t think much of themselves. They are highly self-critical and demand perfection in everything they do.  In their minds, they challenge their competence and their ability to learn new skills. They say things to themselves that they would never say to others. They set such high expectations for themselves, how could they possibly measure up? 

So, why do they do it? They mistakenly believe that this overly harsh, self-critical approach generates better results.

Quite the contrary. Their lack of self-esteem is actually a barrier to outstanding leadership and performance.  Here's why.

Self-acceptance is one of the six pillars of self-esteem (i.e. our reputation with ourselves) that author Nathaniel Branden identifies in his book Self Esteem at Work: How Confident People Make Powerful Companies.

According to Branden’s research, if you accept yourself as you are at work:

• You are more accepting of others.
• You are calmer.
• Not everything is such a big deal.
• You are more open to hearing other points of view.
• You are less defensive.
• You handle critical feedback well.

 

Can you see how the above behaviors can enhance your leadership effectiveness and performance? If you believe in you, others will believe in you, too.

 

So ask yourself: What can I do today to begin building my reputation with myself? How can I take an honest look at my strengths and weaknesses and accept myself just the way I am? Because in the end, that self - acceptance is the foundation for successful change.

To your success,

Mary