The Top Signs You’re Viewed as Unreliable at Work (And How to Fix Them)

I have a fear of being perceived as flaky. You know what I'm talking about - the people who cancel at the last minute, who don't seem to follow through on things, or generally just start chasing something shiny when it comes along.

My fear of flakiness stems from the fact that I'm a weird kind of mix of introvert and extrovert: I am able to appear extroverted in social settings, but most of the time I'm more comfortable at home with a book or working alone in my office. And when I do spend the energy attending lunches or parties, I need to schedule downtime after to recover. I know now that if I have to give an in-person presentation, I shouldn't schedule any meetings the following day. I need the recovery time.

And I know that flakiness has no place in the professional world - especially when you're running your own business. I never want a client to wait on me to complete something or be unsure if they can count on me to complete a task. That's mainly because it drives me crazy when I have to micromanage other people.

Whether you're aware of it or not, being flaky does influence who you work with. I think I'm more attuned to it because it's my own personal fear of being perceived that way. I often go to professional events or meetings feeling like I'd rather be home in my quiet office working...but I fight against that and never cancel because I want to be respectful of other people's time and don't want to come across as unreliable. And - generally speaking - when I get to where I'm going, I almost always have a good time. (That's something I remind myself when I'm thinking about canceling.)

I started thinking about how important this was when I was invited to attend an event hosted by a colleague who doesn't have the best track record with reliability and follow-through. I personally love hanging out with this person, but I'm hesitant to make time for something that I think might have an 80% chance of fizzling out.

As I reflected on this, I also realized that I tend not to refer business to people who lean toward the flaky side, I don't make plans with them as often, and generally they tend to fall out of my business sphere.

Again - something that none of us want to happen as business owners.

I work with a lot of creative people. Being on the creative side myself, I know that buckling down to the business at hand does not always come naturally to us. So, when I find creative colleagues who also take their business seriously...I hold on to them for dear life.

So, how can you fight against that flaky tendency when it rears its ugly head? Here are some things I've learned along the way.

Set Realistic Expectations—And Meet or Exceed Them

Reliability starts with being honest about what you can deliver and when. That means:

• Not promising a 24-hour turnaround when it’s going to take three days.

• Clarifying the scope of work so there are no surprises later.

• Underpromising slightly, then pleasantly surprising them by going above and beyond. (I learned this as a hostess at a restaurant in my teens. Tell them the wait is 30 minutes, and when you seat them in 20, they'll be ecstatic.)

Communicate Proactively - Even When Things Go Wrong

No one loves sharing bad news, but silence is worse. If you're going to miss a deadline or run into a roadblock:

• Speak up early and clearly.

• Offer a new solution or adjusted timeline.

• Let people know you're on top of it before they even have to ask.

Own Your Mistakes and Fix Them Quickly

We all mess up. The key difference is what you do next:

• Admit it without excuses.

• Communicate what happened and what you're doing to fix it.

• Learn from it and move on.

We all have times in our lives when life happens - no one is immune to an occasional reschedule or mistake at work. But it's important to acknowledge how consistently being unreliable can affect not only our social calendars, but our businesses as well.

Show up. Communicate clearly. Be the person YOU want to work with.