Lets start with the word “brand”, which seems to be in greater use than ever before, with much energy expended around “personal branding”, etc. A quick search yields radically varied definitions of the term, from a declaration that your brand is simply what you say about yourself on as many social networks as possible, repeatedly, until it somehow “sticks”, to the Wikipedia definition that:
A brand is a collection of experiences and associations connected with a service, a person or any other entity.
…which to my mind is much more substantial, lasting, and very close to “reputation.”
What are the experiences and associations that others have of your IT shop? What are the few choice terms that would be repeated by your customers to describe your department? Following are three examples you might be shooting for:
Precision: If your team is known by its precision, it means that you are data-driven in everything that you do, take getting the numbers right very seriously, and show pride in that behavior. In practice it might mean that when you have low confidence in a number, you state as much, rather than blowing smoke through a presentation, regardless of the pressure to do otherwise. It requires double-checking, on your part and all the way down the line. It requires identifying the individuals on your team who exhibit this trait, and figuring out how they can help you set the bar high for others. It requires getting it right a high percentage of the time, but also coming clean when you discover that a prior representation your team made was incorrect.