What Do You Want Your Team to Be Known for?

Think about your team for a moment. What would you like people elsewhere in the organisation to say about them?

Perhaps you want your team to be known as reliable, collaborative and responsive. Maybe you want people to see them as the team that solves problems, understands customers, shares knowledge or consistently delivers.

Just like leaders, teams develop reputations. And those reputations can have a powerful influence on trust, relationships and performance.

Read this alongside the article ‘What do you want to be known as a leader.’

Why does your team’s reputation matter?

People quickly develop expectations about what it is like to work with a team.

• Does the team respond when someone needs help?
• Do people take ownership?
• Do they communicate clearly?
• Do they collaborate or work in silos?
• Do they find solutions or simply point out problems?

A strong team reputation can make collaboration easier because colleagues know what they can expect. It can also give team members a stronger sense of shared identity. Rather than culture being something written in a set of values, it becomes something people understand through everyday behaviour.

Ask your team the question

Instead of deciding the answer yourself, make this a team conversation.

Ask:

“What do we want people to say about our team when we’re not in the room?”

You might hear answers such as:

• “They always do what they say they will do.”
• “They are easy to work with.”
• “They understand our customers.”
• “They find a way forward.”
• “They challenge constructively.”
• “They support each other.”
• “They deliver high-quality work.”

Encourage people to think beyond words such as excellent or professional.

What would you genuinely like your team to become known for?

Turn the words into behaviours

Once you have agreed what you want your team to be known for, define what that looks like in practice.

Imagine your team chooses collaborative.

What would colleagues see?

Perhaps the team would:

• Share information early.
• Ask for input before making decisions.
• Offer help when others are under pressure.
• Share credit for success.
• Challenge ideas respectfully.

Or perhaps your team wants to be known for taking ownership.

That might mean:

• Following through on commitments.
• Raising issues early.
• Bringing possible solutions, not just problems.
• Being clear about who is responsible for the next step.

This is what turns aspirations into team culture.

Find out how others experience you

It is also worth understanding your team’s current reputation. Ask colleagues, customers or stakeholders:

“When you think about working with our team, what comes to mind?”

Then compare the answer with what you want to be known for. There may already be plenty to build on. There may also be gaps. The aim is not to create a perfect image. It is to understand whether the behaviours inside the team are creating the experience you want outside it.

Reinforce what matters

Leaders have an important role in making the reputation they want for their team stick. That means noticing and recognising the behaviours you want to see more often. If collaboration matters, highlight when people work well across teams. If reliability matters, recognise those who follow through on commitments. And if you want openness, create an environment where people feel able to challenge ideas and raise concerns. Teams notice what leaders reward, encourage and accept, and over time those signals help shape the culture.

At your next team meeting, ask:

What do we want to be known for?

Then follow it with the question that really matters:

What do we need to do consistently for people to describe us that way?

Team Reputation: What Matters Most

What is team reputation?
Team reputation is the perception others develop from their experiences of working with your team.

Why is team reputation important?
It can strengthen trust, collaboration, accountability and a shared sense of identity.

How can leaders improve team culture?
Agree the reputation you want to build, translate it into clear behaviours and consistently reinforce those behaviours.

What is a good question to ask your team?
Ask: “What do we want people to say about our team when we’re not in the room?”

Key takeaway:
Strong team culture is built through consistent behaviour. Decide what you want to be known for, then make it visible in the way your team works every day.

Ready to develop your leadership and strengthen your team?
Explore our leadership and management courses designed to build your skills, confidence and your team’s potential.