As a professional, you are in a “competitive market,” competing with others who may have qualifications similar to yours – all vying for the recognition and rewards that come with outstanding performance. If you interact with your company’s customers, you are also part of the team that is competing to deliver customer experiences that can strengthen – or weaken your company’s brand – and your own.

So what’s your brand today? A brand is formed on the basis of impressions over time—shaped by observations of what you do—your role, and even more importantly by how you do it – your standards. Because standards are so visible to others through actions and behaviors, they represent the best opportunity to consciously shape the perceptions and strengthen your professional brand.

Standards. . .The How of the What

To better understand standards, think about the people you know in your work environment, and even whole teams of people. What are they known for? Maybe you know someone who consistently offers unusually creative answers to problems, while someone else has a reputation for being exceptionally customer-focused and persistent in meeting customer needs.

Terms such as “accurate,” “responsive,” “focused on the customer,” “prompt,” “reliable” describe the standards that play a critical role in defining the quality of experiences people expect from their interactions with others. Standards represent the means of making a unique impression that is exclusive to you. They are an important key to the “competitive advantage” of your brand.

What are your Standards?

To discover the standards you are known for – what you want to be known for – involves holding up a very useful, but not always flattering, mirror. The trick is to see yourself as others see you, and to ask yourself some critical questions about your current and ideal standards:

1) What am I best known for right now by my peers, my manager, my internal and external customers? What are your current standards? Are you known for doing what you say you will do? Is your work known for high quality? Do you show up to help when others need you?

2) Do the current standards I’m known for represent the best quality of performance I am capable of delivering? Are there gaps between your “ideal” standards and the ones you demonstrate now? Where are those gaps? Think about specific tasks and responsibilities you have and consider how you go about performing those tasks. Does the image that comes to mind represent your own highest standards? How do those standards stack up with what you observer in others?

3) What could I do differently to better demonstrate my ideal standards—and strengthen my brand?

Think about specific actions and behaviors that would influence others’ perceptions of your standards, or actions that would help you reach the standard of performance you want. For example, if you want to be seen as a person who listens to customers’ perspectives and understands their needs, you might hone your ability to ask good questions and be an outstanding listener.

Even though you can’t control what others think, you can guide people to perceive you as you want to be seen, based on your day-to-day actions and willingness to continually “raise the bar” on how you do what you do— your standards.