I love synchronicity.  I was emailing back and forth with Byron Van Arsdale regarding the question I posted on LinkedIn, and he mentioned the concept of Credibility Metrics. I find that managing one's online reputation is so important I'm including it in my presentation even though I have a limited amount of time. After all, what you say and do can and will be held against you, especially online; and once you say something online, it's permanent. 

That really started me thinking even more about reputation, branding, credibility/authority and online reputation.

As I work from home, I either turn on the radio, TV, or an iTunes playlist or podcast. I know far more than I ever wanted to know about forensics, pacific theatre naval history, and that I am what I eat, so I'm off the TV as background noise for a while (and no, it's not in the same room as I work).  So I decided to check out the Project Management Podcast, which I started listening to last year as I was cramming for my PMP certification.   I'm behind on listening to the podcasts, which is a shame, because it's very informative (and sometimes funny, such as the April Fool's episode). 

Cornelius Fichtner's informative podcast is geared towards PMPs, and is an easy way earn PDUs and stay current.  While most topics are more PMP and PM tool and technique oriented, he keeps the topics diverse, and Episode 095, "Your Professional Brand, Guard it With Your Life!"  caught my eye as being particularly topical.

Margaret Meloni, a career coach specializing in IT professional career coaching, was his guest.  She had practical advice on how to define one's brand, and the pitfalls of false-branding.   She explained the concept of branding in a practical way, including why it's important to have a brand that aligns with your style and expertise.  But what really stood out for me was when she said "you don't own your reputation."   Talk about a lightbulb moment!  

That one sentence sums up what I've been trying to articulate for weeks, and it reinforces the concept "credibility management."  My ever-growing Things To Do list now has a line for researching "credibility metrics."


We're about to kick off the 2008 Austin PMI Job Fair project (see the APMIJF tag), and I'm doing a little research to build on last years articles on the Job Seeker's Tool Kit.  I'm also polishing up my presentation on Blogging as a professional development tool, so branding, reputation, and credibility are churning in my brain. I want to expand on last year's articles, especially after hearing a recruiter friend tell me on Monday that she doesn't even want to see a project management resume, the market is so flooded with Project Managers. 

You don't own your reputation. It's what other people say about you. It ties into the networking truism that it's not what you know, or who you know, it's who knows you.  The best you can do is influence and inspire a reputation that aligns with your intention.  Meloni also stressed asking others for feedback; that made me think of the people I know who have high opinions of their skills and value, whom their coworkers avoid because they're difficult to work with.  Do you know what your reputation really is?  Do you dismiss negative perceptions, or do you consider what you need to do to mitigate, and even eliminate it? Are you aware of what your strengths are?

Back in college, I had an obsession about my name for a few weeks (Yes, I overanalyze. I do try to use my powers for good). I started asking people if they thought "Jennifer" matched me, the individual.  The feedback I got was very enlightening; I found out my self perception was very different from other people's, and I found out I had a reputation for being thoughtful, confident, and not caught up in posturing.  It was a life lesson, because I became sensitive to the disconnect between self image and reputation, and I periodically solicit feedback from friends and colleagues to see where my reputation is at.

Your brand exists, whether you're managing it or not.