The Credible Leader
Research exploring the fundamental strategies, tactics, skills, and practices required to help employee relationships flourish has concluded that credibility is the foundation on which business visions are realised.
However, credibility can take a lifetime to build and a moment to destroy. To paraphrase Aristotle: people won’t believe in the message if they don’t believe in the messenger. Consequently, to be a credible leader, one must appreciate that their success is largely dependent on the willingness of others to commit to their vision.
In times of uncertainty, credibility is key to generating confidence among employees. Regardless of whether you are leading a work-related project or leading a team into battle, there are certain qualities that would appear to be universal among those we would regard as credible leaders.
The credible leader is: honourable, able to lead in turbulent times, committed to continual development, future-orientated, creative, innovative, and willing to draw upon the ideas of others.
The Perfect Storm
It’s no secret that the modern workplace is often fast-paced and unpredictable. As such, leaders must demonstrate an ability to navigate a multitude of diverse challenges effectively. In times of uncertainty, a leader’s credibility is key to ensuring their team can weather these storms of uncertainty, while continuing to ensure their team’s vision is realised. To draw upon the analogy of a tornado, leadership is a cycle that begins with the intrapersonal and interpersonal qualities of the leader. This is the driving force that keeps the tornado in rotation. In addition, there are factors that can often dictate and drive a leader’s behaviour. These factors relate primarily to the employees, who act as the ‘temperature gauge’ and ultimately determine the trajectory of the tornado. Finally, the context or ‘atmospheric conditions’ of the situation must also be considered, as these can impact how the overall process unfolds.
Sources: Chandler, D. J. (2009). The perfect storm of leaders’ unethical behavior: A conceptual framework. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 5(1), 69-93.; Farquhar, K. (1994). Book Review: Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993, 332 pp. $24.95. cloth. Journal of Leadership Studies, 1(3), 153-155.; Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2011). Leadership is a relationship. Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It Why People Demand It, 1-21.; Quist, A. (2009). A credible Leader for Turbulent Times: Examining the Qualities necessary for Leading into the Future. Journal of strategic leadership, 2(1), 1-12.
Action Point
Consider the qualities you possess as a leader which keeps the tornado rotating and consider what impact it has on others and your surroundings. Also consider how you may be influenced by others.