Your Reputation at Work Is Built in the Small Moments

When someone drops that ball at work, they often say,

“That's not how I normally operate.

I get it. Life is full, especially when you’re leading teams or juggling complex projects.

But here’s the thing: your reputation isn’t built on your best intentions. It’s built on your follow-through.

In leadership, consistency sends a message: you can trust me.

And so does inconsistency.

It shapes how others perceive your priorities, professionalism, and reliability.

Over time, it can either build trust or slowly erode it in ways that are hard to repair.

Let me explain what I mean.

Doing what you say you’re going to do

I had a coaching partner during my coach certification training. His job was to practice coaching me, and mine was to help him develop his skills by showing up as a thoughtful client.

But he kept canceling and rescheduling at the last minute, or forgetting our meetings all together. Eventually, he handed the scheduling over to his assistant, but the dynamic didn’t change.

Every interaction left me feeling like this wasn’t a priority, even though we’d both committed to the process.

He was the CEO of his own company, and he always had a reason. Always apologetic. Always saying, “This isn’t how I normally operate.”

But his actions told a different story, one that made me wonder if he was being honest with himself about how he typically shows up in the other areas of his life.

Prioritizing your employees

In my own career prior to becoming a coach, past bosses frequently rescheduled one-to-one meetings or asked me to sit and wait while they finished up a call or email.

I understood that my meeting was the most flexible on their calendar, but the message it sent was that I didn’t matter as much as everything else.

My time must not be valuable if I could spending it watching someone else type or talk.

One boss did this so consistently that I decided to test a theory.

Instead of giving updates or asking for support, I’d just ask her how she was doing and let her talk. The meetings went great. She got to feel connected, I kept things running on my own, and no one had to acknowledge that she wasn’t really showing up for me.

It worked – but not in a good way.

She got to feel like a great leader without doing much leading. And I learned how to self-manage and support my own direct reports differently. I prioritized being on time, staying present, and asking them what support I could provide for them.

 

Aligning your words with your actions

Even the best leaders miss this.

One of the best bosses I’ve ever had was thoughtful and kept an open dialogue with the team. But even he experienced the unintended consequences of his habits.

But he had a tendency to send late-night emails. It helped him clear his mind and rest, but it sent mixed signals.

Despite telling the team they didn’t need to reply until the next day, some people still responded right away. He couldn’t understand why.

I reminded him: You're the boss. People are going to treat your messages as urgent, no matter what you say.

His position amplified every signal he sent and unintentionally created stress that undermined the culture he was trying to build.

Are you who you say you are?

What concerns me is the gap between how leaders think they’re showing up and how their teams experience them.

Small actions shape big reputations. When you casually drop a commitment or delay a reply “just this once,” others notice.

If you’re not getting the results you want at work – whether it’s recognition, responsibility, or respect – take a closer look:

Are your actions aligning with your intentions?

Because how you handle small commitments is how people trust you with the big ones.

These patterns are everywhere and they’re fixable.

But they won’t fix themselves.

If you want to lead with more clarity, consistency, and credibility, we can work on that together. Let’s talk.

👉 Schedule a conversation with me here