Our “Credibility Bank”

September 17 | 10:51 am

As professionals we spend our entire career building our reputation.  Our reputation is our “Personal Brand”.  When others such as our boss, co-workers, direct reports, customers, clients, etc perceive us as credible (possessing competence + character) this helps us create a positive reputation.

Imagine that we are constantly putting “credibility dollars” into a bank.  Each time we do something positive such as achieve a performance goal, assist a co-worker with a task, give recognition to a staff member for a job well done, solve a problem or present an idea that saved your company millions we add “credibility dollars” to your “Credibility Bank”, and thus positively impacting our reputation.

Conversely when we exhibit such behaviors as –  immediately responding to a co-worker’s idea by stating “that will never work” without considering the idea, or aggressively pushing an idea or opinion to the point where we have silenced all others in the room, or demonstrate a lack of emotional self-control, or are consistently late for meetings and appointments; we withdraw money from our “Credibility Bank”. Each time our “credibility bank” shows a withdrawal we damage our reputation.

In my experience the most effective leaders are those that have learned from the times he or she has made a withdrawal and prevent future withdrawals from occurring, but also consciously look for new ways they can improve and increase his or her value.