I see reputation as public reflection of who I am. So long as that image seems accurate with the people whose opinions concern me, I’ve got no problems. Because, within that small group, I encourage their questioning me if my actions seem “out of character” I’ve never really found my reputation – whether good or bad – to be in question. Additionally, I generally know what to expect when being introduced to someone for the first time who only knows me through reputation and if significantly different than expectation I’m not afraid to ask why.
In business it was a little different. I didn’t always have “control” over what was said to whom, by whom and the motivations of what was said were not always positive. There were times when I’d find I had an unearned reputation with someone I’d never directly met and, worse, expectations built atop it. In those cases I just try to reset the expectations and from that allow my reputation to be built from first hand experience rather than second hand commentary.
As an extra thought, if your reputation and self image are significantly different, particularly among people who know you well you might do a bit of introspective digging and try to get an idea of from where the disconnect is arising. Understanding that can often help you correct unearned reputations as it allows your actions to be in greater step with your thoughts and beliefs. Beyond that, allow your actions and words work for you, you can’t control what people think and direct confrontation often just makes others defensive, but you can present yourself such that, over time, their conclusions are likely to be more in line with who you really are.