In a world where immediate gratification drives many people’s decisions, it is easy to lose focus on the long-term ramifications of short-term thinking.  In this environment, you should be particularly careful about not being tempted to make decisions that may give you a false sense of achievement, when in reality you may be destroying you reputation and the sustainability of your success.  In this article we will explore a few areas where you need to be watchful for.

Stretching the Truth

Every time you stretch the truth to get credit, recognition, or any other type of reward you are running the risk of ruining your reputation and credibility.  It is very easy to fall into the trap of justifying in your own mind making certain assertions that may not be complete lies, but that are not the whole truth.  Don’t go there.  If you make any sort of public assertions or provide a professional opinion on a particular matter, make sure you put it through the litmus test of being able to state it without a shadow of a doubt. Otherwise, you may be challenged by others, putting you in a defensive position that is extremely difficult to get out of and that can have very negative consequences.

Not Keeping Commitments

Commitments should be sacred.  Once you make a commitment to someone, no matter how small or trivial it might seem, follow through.  If it is not possible to follow through on your commitment, offer you apologies and make up for lost ground.  If you make lots of promises but never deliver on them, pretty soon you will get a reputation of being flaky.

Conflicts of Interest

One area that you should be extremely careful about is conflicts of interest.  Never put yourself in a situation where your true motives may be questioned.  Your actions or decisions should never have even the appearance of being influenced by personal interests that are in conflict with that of your employer, client or other parties that you have a relationship with.  If there is ever a question about a potential conflict of interest, full disclosure is the best policy.

Betrayal of Allegiances

When you are in an alliance with another party it is very important that you don’t betray that allegiance.  Your actions should never put in doubt who you are truly allied with, otherwise you may develop a reputation of being a traitor.

Compromising Your Values

Any time you compromise your values you betray your allegiance to yourself.  Stay true to your values and principles even if it hurts someone else’s feelings.  Sometimes you have to take a hard stance against a position that a friend, a co-worker, a boss or a subordinate has taken, and this can be hard, especially if you tend to avoid conflict.  But the short-term pain will be a lot less harmful than the long-term consequences of taking a position that conflicts with your values.

Mishandling Confidentiality

When something is shared with you confidentially you have an obligation to keep the information confidential.  If you have a lose tongue, very soon people will realize that you are not someone they can confide in, and you will quickly develop a negative reputation.  Be careful with confidential information, especially around a circle of “friends” that are sharing confidential information with you and expect the same in return.

These are just a few of the many potential traps that can damage your integrity.  There may be shortcuts to achieving success, but they tend to be short-lived.  Keeping a watchful eye on maintaining an undisputable reputation will help you sustain you success for a long time to come.