A good name should make the work easier to trust, not harder to question.

LEADERSHIP

WHAT THIS MEANS

A strong reputation is meant to save people time, standing in for evidence they cannot gather themselves. It goes wrong when it starts working as armour, so that doubts about the work get read as doubts about the person and quietly go unspoken. Then the name keeps its shine while the work stops being checked.

If people defer to you, make questioning cheap on purpose. Ask what would have to be wrong for this to fail, invite the objection out loud, and thank whoever takes you up on it.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Where has your reputation made people afraid to question your work?

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