Agency principal Todd Harrington’s reputation among his mid-sized commercial accounts was stellar. He was the agency’s lead rainmaker when it came to attracting new business. Clients saw him as knowledgeable, affable, trustworthy, customer-oriented and dependable. Among the agency’s 32 employees, though, Todd’s reputation was a very different one. As comfortable as clients were with Todd, his employees saw him as impatient, inconsistent, inaccessible and unrealistic about what is possible.

Like many of the insurance professionals I coach, Todd knew the importance of effective leadership—especially in these challenging business conditions. He recognized the value of engaging, motivating and developing his people. What he couldn’t see was the degree to which his internal reputation was hampering his ability to lead.

Unlike a politician, an actor or some other public figure, you probably don’t have a clear picture of what your reputation is or how your staff perceives you. In my experience, most business leaders have little feel for how their mood and actions appear to their people. It’s not that they don’t care how they are perceived; most do. But they incorrectly assume that they can decipher this information themselves. Worse, they think that if they are having a negative effect, someone will tell them. They’re wrong.

The reality is people don’t tell leaders the whole truth. Sometimes they fear being the bearer of bad news—and getting shot, figuratively speaking. Others don’t think it’s their place to comment on such a personal issue. Still others don’t realize that what they really want to talk about is the effect the leader’s emotional style has on people—it seems too vague. Whatever the reason, leaders can’t rely on their followers to automatically offer up the full picture.

Two separate research studies from reputable organizations confirm that the average American spends 15 hours per month criticizing or complaining about the boss—more time than is spent watching baseball, the so-called “national pastime.” Leaders who have no clue what others are saying about them behind their backs have no opportunity to correct the falsehoods (if incorrect) or change their negative behavior (if correct).

When it comes to leading others, reputation is critical. When is the last time you thought about your reputation?

Your reputation is the filter through which people hear your words, interpret your actions, and respond to your requests. Depending on your reputation, accomplishing things may be easier or more difficult.

Todd is a case in point. He was working on a new initiative that stood to improve the agency’s bottom line while making employees’ lives a lot easier. He was extremely frustrated because, despite his repeated efforts to promote the benefits, there was little buy-in or enthusiasm among the staff.

A closer look at Todd’s reputation with employees revealed that he was well known for his “flavor of the month” initiatives. His constant flow of new business-building ideas and lack of follow-through were a source of amusement rather than inspiration for agency staff. Unaware of his reputation, Todd chalked the lack of response up to his people’s resistance to change.

Todd wanted more creativity from his staff. In his mind, he gave them ample opportunity to participate in brainstorming and performance improvement meetings. According to him, employees offered few suggestions; and what suggestions were made showed little thought. What Todd didn’t realize was that employees viewed him as highly opinionated and dismissive of others’ ideas.

On the flipside there were ways in which Todd’s reputation worked for him. His employees viewed him as hardworking, smart and delivering great service to his clients. This sent a clear signal to employees about the standards they were expected to maintain.

Keep in mind that your actions will always be distorted by the conventional wisdom about you. If you are perceived as a difficult boss, that is the prism through which your actions will be seen. After awhile, people are locked into one way of interpreting your actions and your reputation falls neatly into place. If people have a good impression of you, they are looking for the good. If you have a reputation that your people find bothersome, trying to engage and motivate them will feel like you are pushing a boulder up a steep hill.

Often there is a disconnect between how leaders see themselves versus how they are viewed by the people around them. A person’s reputation may vary based on the audience. Todd is a good example. He was viewed as highly accessible by his clients but inaccessible and preoccupied by his employees.

That’s why I urge leaders to complete a “360 assessment.” This evaluation gives you an objective and valid research tool to understand how your fellow managers, direct reports and employees view you as a leader and what you can do to be more effective.

No matter how strong, successful and experienced a leader is, 95% of the time there is “breaking news” in the assessment. Most leaders are shocked at how their actions are viewed and misunderstood by their people.

Unlike executives in large corporations, most agency principals receive no performance reviews, or have no sophisticated HR department or other mechanism to get structured, credible feedback on how they are performing. The only tool they have is bottom-line results. While financial results may be the final report card, they provide no guidance on what leaders need to do to inspire improved performance from their people.

Once you have a clear picture of how you are viewed, you can begin managing your reputation.

Clients often ask me if it is possible to change a reputation. The answer is yes. Your reputation isn’t something you are stuck with like your eye color, age or height. Reputations are formed by a sequence of actions that reflect one another over a period of time. Our actions are something we have control over if we so choose. If you want to strengthen an existing reputation or begin building a new one, here are five points to consider:

1. Be clear about the reputation you want. Let that reputation govern your priorities, actions and decisions. Let’s say that you want a reputation with your staff for being fair and reasonable, but like many successful entrepreneurs you are also a competitive person with a strong need to win. You find yourself in a spirited debate with your commercial lines manager, and she has valid point of view. You will do more to build your reputation for being fair by acknowledging the validity of her point than by striving to win the argument.

2. Be consistent in how you present yourself. People value consistency and dependability in their leaders. When you are inconsistent in how you present yourself, people get confused. The reputation you are trying to build gets muddled by conflicting evidence. Like a skilled politician, stay on message.

3. Be repetitive. Our brains are trained to notice repeat behaviors. Do something once that builds the reputation you want to create, and you plant a seed. Keep repeating the behavior, and the seed begins to take hold.

4. Be proactive in drawing attention to changes you’re making. People filter everything about you through their precon­ceptions, and they constantly look for evidence that confirms them. Let’s say your reputation is that you are always late for staff meetings. You can be on time for nine out of 10 meetings but what people will notice is the one meeting you are late for—even if it is only seconds. They quietly file it away as exhibit B that you’re always late to staff meetings. You can significantly change their perceptions by drawing attention to the fact that you are seriously making an effort to be on time.

5. Be patient. Despite what we might feel at the time, reputations aren’t made or lost in a single event. A reputation is formed over months or years, and it takes equally long to change it. If you have a reputation for losing your temper when someone makes a mistake, it will take months of holding your tongue before people notice it.

Think of changing your reputation as a 12- to 18-month process. You lay down one brick in the building and then another. Understand that it will take people a while before they see a change in you. The first time it happens, they wonder “huh”; the second time it is a signal to pay attention. The third time a pattern begins to form. It is only when the behavior is repeated dozens of times or more in a row without exception that people begin to accept the change.

Take the time to learn what your reputation is and how it aligns with what you want it to be. Investing in your reputation is well worth the effort. When your reputation works against you, it’s like riding a bike into a 25 mile-per-hour headwind. When your reputation works for you, it’s like riding with the wind at your back. It takes half the effort to get where you want to go and the ride is a whole lot more comfortable.