Doing what you do with a high degree of quantity and quality is an important part of a good reputation. Quantity and quality are similar to what you say and do in that quantity and quality need to be in balance. When quantity and quality are not in balance, the impact to your reputation is not positive, as described below:

• Low Quantity + Low Quality. Face it! If you produce a low quantity of work and the work you do produce is low quality, your days are numbered. Even the best attitude and behavior will not offset low quantity and poor quality. Your hopes of being chosen as Employee of the Quarter are slim.
• Low Quantity + High Quality. Good news! The work you are producing is of high quality. The bad news is that there is too little of it. It helps that you have a good attitude and that you demonstrate good behavior, yet this will only take you so far. If you could just grow your volume of work without diminishing quality, your dream of being chosen as Employee of the Quarter could become a reality.
• High Quantity + Low Quality. Congratulations! You have a great reputation as a work horse. You produce more work than all of your colleagues combined. Unfortunately, the quality of your work is so low it seems more like you are horsing around. Your hopes of being chosen as Employer of the Quarter will be met – just at another company.
• High Quantity + High Quality. Eureka! You are meeting or exceeding the expectations of those for whom you are producing work. Your quantity is where it should be and your work is of high quality. Your reputation in respect to the work that you produce is also high. The Employee of the Quarter plaque has already been engraved!

One thing about quality – it is in the eye of the beholder. In order to influence the “beholder,” there are some key behaviors that help ensure you distinguish yourself among your colleagues. Most of your colleagues would consider that quality exists when work is done with the highest degree of excellence. Consider the following behaviors to help you achieve a high degree of excellence:

• Set expectations. Be clear about the work that will be completed, how the work will be completed, and when the work will be completed.
• Be timely. Complete your work consistent with the expectations that have been set as to when the work would be complete.
• Communicate changes proactively. Update stakeholders as quickly as possible, when you identify a change in the expectations you have previously communicated.
• Reset expectations. If changes arise that impact your ability to meet the expectations you have previously communicated, reset the expectations.

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Ed’s new book, Raise Your Visibility & Value: Uncover the Lost Art of Connecting on the Job is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Please check it out and share the word!