Being a Credible Leader

In their classic book, The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner assert, “Credibility is the foundation of leadership.” This raises an obvious question: Are you a credible leader? Your immediate reaction is probably “Of course I am.” Credible is defined as “worthy of belief or confidence; trustworthy.” No one wants to think of themselves as lacking credibility. You know that you don’t tell lies or mislead people, so you must be credible, right? But consider this explanation from Kouzes and Posner:

Before you can become a credible leader – one who connects “say” and “do” – first you have to find your voice. If you can’t find your voice, you’ll end up with a vocabulary that belongs to someone else, mouthing words that were written by some speechwriter or mimicking the language of some other leader who’s nothing like you at all.

This explanation raises the bar on credibility. It’s not enough to be honest and dependable. Every leader intends to “connect say and do,” but they may struggle at two critical points. The first relates to setting organizational direction and priorities. It’s tempting to look at the success stories of other churches or ministries, and try to imitate them. After all, they have a proven model. The only problem is that their model is based on their unique context. A vision based on imitation will ultimately lead to a credibility gap. The second disconnect occurs in times of crisis. A serious challenge tests the earnestness of a leader’s inspiring words. It’s easy to chart a bold course in good times. But if that course is abandoned in the midst of a storm, credibility goes out the window. If you want to grow to be an incredible leader, start by being credible. Otherwise, you may find that you’re only un-credible. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>