In the gig economy your reputation precedes you.
As automation begins to make some jobs more scarce others will crop up to serve the gig economy.
Your ability to stand out and differentiate yourself from others may come down to one thing… Your reputation.
Reputation is a Currency
The fact is… Reputation has always been a currency.
In a sense nothing has changed. But, on a global scale, everything has changed.
- What determines reputation?
- Who determines your reputation?
- How do you repair a battered reputation?
Will there be reputation repair agencies in the future?
Thinking About Reputation
If someone were to ask you… What Three Words Sums Up Your Reputation?
What do you think you’d hear?
Would you be happy with what you heard?
If not, this is a good place to start on Reputation Management.
Note: The idea for this came from Rachel Botsman’s TED talk.
Some factors to consider when Thinking About Reputation:
- Should I be trusted?
- Do I behave well?
The Reputation Economy
In the not too distant future your reputation may be the thing that defines you. Perhaps, a little like the Black Mirror episode “Nosedive” from Season 3, but hopefully not so easily manipulated and contrived. There are pros and cons if we are to be defined solely by our reputation. The pros are, as they always have been, that we are known for what we do and what we deliver. That we are trusted and that we do behave well.
Some of the challenges that impact a reputation economy include the fact that you may not be the proprietor of your reputation score. Think about the way social media represents and maintains our online social repetition. A similar set of tools will likely be tracking your reputation. Perhaps it will be some sub-set of the same tools we re using today. These pros and cons may play out in the form of your reputation dashboard.
Ultimately reputation comes down to three things. And these three things are the basis for your reputation capital. It comes down to these three and how well you wield them, protect them, and promulgate them.
- Power
- Trust
- Influence
Tomorrow, just as today, your reputation precedes you.
When you manage your reputation wisely you will stand out in your career.
