OFFICE | OFFICE LIFE | REPUTATION MANAGEMENT | WORK
How to Develop and Ruin Your Reputation in Office
10 ways how you can ruin your reputation around the office
Achieving success in the office politics game is a juggling act of developing your reputation and maintaining professionalism.
To gain an edge, one must first focus on building their reputation through credibility, trust, visibility, and relationships.
To lay strong foundations for these elements requires time, effort, and finesse to make sure that you don’t come off as trying too hard or too little.
The key to playing the office politics game is to establish yourself as a reliable source of information by developing your credibility.
This can be done easily with consistent good performance on duties assigned to you such as projects and tasks.
By consistently performing well at work, colleagues will start to view you as trustworthy which helps build rapport.
It also doesn’t hurt to become knowledgeable about important topics related to your position so that it becomes easier to hold meaningful conversations without having any grievances from other employees.
Creating visibility within the workplace is essential when it comes to making progress along the political ladder; individuals need to get noticed by senior management in order for them to receive recognition and rewards for their work-related efforts.
Make sure not only are you seen but also heard in team meetings. Use such meetings as platforms for demonstrating leadership skills while simultaneously highlighting achievements pertinent towards project goals.
Moreover, attending social events — both inside and outside of work — can help create a positive impression among peers and superiors alike which could lead into potential opportunities down the line.
Another effective way of winning hearts in the office is by forming personal relationships with colleagues across different departments.
Understand each person’s roles and responsibilities so that communication flows smoothly between teams working together on projects.
This helps foster collaborative environments where everybody feels respected regardless of rank or title which leads to improved productivity overall within business operations.
By developing strategies around building reputation through credibility, trustworthiness, visibility and relationship building — all essential ingredients necessary for achieving success in office politics — one can gain momentum quickly if done right.
How to build a strong reputation in office
1. Be Reliable: Make sure to complete projects on time and be reliable when it comes to getting tasks done. Show that you are a dependable person and will go the extra mile to get a job done.
2. Be Respectful: Respect your coworkers and the office environment by being polite and courteous. Offer help when needed and be willing to work together as part of a team.
3. Take Initiative: Show that you are proactive and willing to take on additional tasks when needed. This will help demonstrate your value to the team and will give you a reputation for being a hard worker.
4. Have a Positive Attitude: Always come to work with a positive attitude and be willing to take on challenges. Demonstrate enthusiasm for the work that you are doing and be open to feedback.
5. Be Proactive: Stay on top of tasks and be prepared to take on any new projects that come your way. This will show that you are reliable and can be trusted to take on additional responsibility.
But there are ways to ruin your reputation as well…
How to ruin your reputation in office
1. Gossip and spread rumors about colleagues and clients.
2. Refuse to take responsibility for mistakes.
3. Be unreliable and fail to meet deadlines.
4. Take credit for the work of others.
5. Be unprofessional in emails and conversations. Crack offensive sarcastic jokes at every opportunity.
6. Disrespect superiors or colleagues.
7. Take extended breaks and arrive late to work.
8. Display a negative attitude and be uncooperative.
9. Complain frequently and be seen as a negative person.
10. Engage in unethical practices or inappropriate behavior like using the company vehicle for personal reasons or stealing the company’s customer list to start your own business on the side.
(Excerpt from How to Win Office Politics Game)
