If you’re IN THAT BOAT, HERE’S your r E pa I r PLAN:

1

Take charge of your time management and make it your top priority to arrive early at work and appointments.

This will influence how your colleagues perceive your work ethic, even if you’re not actually good at getting things done.

2

Remove potential distractions from your core activities.

It’s time to focus on task execution and progressing issues to completion. That might mean turning off emails and your cellphone while you’re completing core activities, and scheduling time for calls and emails.

If you want to have a reputation for getting things done, you must be able to prioritise.

3

Refuse to gossip about colleagues when they’re not present.

This sinister personality trait can affect every aspect of your life. People will think you’re going to talk negatively about them behind their back.

If ONE Of your COLLEAGUES starts to gossip to you, insist that they involve the person being talked about in the discussion before it continues. You’ll find, quickly, that gossiping friends will leave you alone because you won’t facilitate their toxic behaviour, and you’ll also find yourself rising above them in the eyes of your employers.

Before you can design a plan, you need to be honest with yourself about the current status of your reputation and the behaviour that caused it.

Even if you’ve severely tarnished your reputation, the first step to rehabilitating it is to understand the damage you’ve done and the behaviour that led to it. If the damage is so severe that a rehabilitation plan just won’t work, it’s always feasible to rebuild your reputation to enable a new direction that can be just as fulfilling. Just think of The

Wolf of Wall Street.

No matter what the status of your reputation is and how painful it may be to understand the behaviour that’s led you there, the starting point to improve is to understand the truth of where you are. Only then can you devise a plan to achieve your goal.

‘Poor work ethic and gossip are just some of the things that can stick with you for a lifetime’