My Reputation is Fine, Really, or Is It

We see it in the news on a regular basis - individuals in a reputation crisis, both personally and professionally. It happens nationally and locally. We also might occasionally see people not in the news but in our lives - family, friends, coworkers, etc. also in crisis. Yet do most people respond in a successful manner?

Reputation difficulty or crisis is not easy to admit to ourselves yet comfortable denial is not always intelligent, wise, protective or corrective of problems. 

Yet that comfortable denial - or anxiety leading to analysis paralysis - is not decision making, whether conscious or subconscious that is helpful in the vast majority of situations. Evidence has proven that reputation crisis rarely just blows over, bypassing consequences. 

Reputation crisis almost always, without question, has to be addressed wisely, morally, skillfully to problem solve, whether that being mitigating damage and consequences to significantly problem solving and retaining, restoring or rebuilding reputation so that you protect all the benefits of a healthy reputation and limit the pain of a damaged or wrecked one.

Moving towards that problem solving and relief is an emotional hurdle to jump over, an unknown door to walk through yet when we exhibit skill in stress management for increased poise and then engage in our strongest level of courage, we can think more clearly and effectively, considering the solutions that will come with protection and correction of our difficulty, conflict or crisis. 

Think risk management of your desired, best life. Don't allow fear or denial or minimizing the severity of the situation lead to false beliefs and substandard or poor decision making, Many people struggle to overcome badly damaged reputation when it was always possible to take corrective and protective measures and problem solve successfully.

Michael Toebe is a specialist for reputation and crisis - serving individuals and organizations with advisory, consulting, coaching, communications and risk management for reputation and crisis. His published articles have appeared in online magazines Chief Executive, Corporate Board Member, Corporate Compliance Insights and the New York Law Journal. He publishes the Reputation Times newsletter and is writing a book on reputation crisis (expected publishing date, early 2020). You can find him on LinkedIn and Twitter (@ReputationTalk).