Harvard Business School professor Laura Morgan Roberts says that if you aren’t managing your own professional image, others are. In today’s competitive and ruthless world, if you are not taking special efforts to create a reputation it will leave a vacuum for others to create one for you.
Because specialisation is on the rise, your motives and actions are constantly under the microscope. While it is true that you should let your work speak for itself, there is also the need to accentuate your worth with a spotless image.
While you have to constantly work towards breaking stereotypes, you also have to undertake impression management. So, what is impression management?
Impression management strategies enable you to explain predicaments, counter devaluation, and demonstrate legitimacy. People manage impressions through their non-verbal behavior (appearance, demeanor), verbal cues (vocal pitch, tone, and rate of speech, grammar and diction, disclosures), and demonstrative acts (citizenship, job performance). Warren Buffet has said, “Honesty is very expensive gift, don’t expect it from cheap people.” So, an honest person is an asset and will always manage to create a positive image at work.
There is also the new category of Social- Identity Management, which basically means the effort you put in to have a distinct and positive social identity at work. This is mainly the Facebook posts you share or how you speak about your weekend plans with your colleagues. If you are planning to visit an NGO over the weekend, or help your family clean the house, or go on a road trip. While it is necessary to keep personal and professional separate, these inputs in a casual conversation at work could make or ruin your reputation.
Priyanka Chopra admitted in an interview that she went back to work after 4 days of her father’s demise. This showed her honest and passionate approach to the work she does.
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The right company is also important in maintaining credibility at work. According to a study by the same professor in Harvard Business School, how others perceive the company you keep can affect your reputation. If you are always punctual, but hangout with latecomers at the office, some of their reputation could rub off on you.
Resolution over a conflict in any discussion can also help to build a good image at work. Nobody likes a negative person. During a crisis or problem, if your contribution in the discussion has a note or solution, instead of pointing fingers or complain, it helps to create a positive professional image.
It is better to under-promise and over-deliver. People never like persons who break their promises or do not deliver their commitments. Keeping your word is the beginning of creating a spotless image at work.
