At times, leaders forget that credibility is an important factor to influence one's followers. When one loses credibility, he becomes ineffective as his commands are not responded by his followers. That is why both in international and domestic politics credibility play an important role for being recognised and accepted as a leader. History is full of events where the credibility gap led to the downfall of emperors, kings and heads of state. The community of nations respects credible leaders.
The domestic voters promote that leader who is more credible. In this background, this paper seeks to analyse the importance of credibility both for leaders and leadership. By credible we mean capable of being believed or reliable or trustworthy etc. The discrepancy between what is claimed and what actually is or likely to be the case leads to a credibility gap.
Credibility matters and provides the foundation of personal leadership. So one can ask are you a credible leader? In fact, by credible, I mean the quality of being believable, dependable, and worthy of people's trust and confidence. When we lead, we attempt to have an effect on another person's attitudes, beliefs, values or behaviours. This process of influence can't occur without relationships between people that make that influence possible.
Without willing followers, there are no leaders and there exists no potential for leadership. So what makes people choose to follow another person? Honest, forward-looking, inspiring and competent-personally credible people. Competence that leads one to believe that credibility provides a cornerstone of leadership. Who can get the job done and who demonstrates the ability to lead. Knowledge, skills and abilities are required to perform their jobs and to live up to their responsibilities. Hence credibility is the hallmark upon which the followers perceive effectiveness of leadership. It amounts to questioning of the leader's credibility, and the leader's ability to lead.
Leaders enhance their credibility when they demonstrate leadership throughout their area of influence, empower people to act and invest in building the competence of others. Credible leaders create conditions that build and reinforce people's confidence, create a sense of effectiveness and encourage other's abilities to come out.
Credibility, it is submitted means of being believable, dependable, and worthy of people's trust and confidence - it in fact provides the foundation of leadership. Why would any one follow a person who is not credible or one who has low credibility? Can a person with low credibility ever become a leader? The hard reality is that everybody is not a leader. It is an art itself.
Credibility is about honesty; it is about living up to your word; it is about being capable of delivering what you promise; it is finally about delivering what you had promised; it is about being enthusiastic, passionate about the goal or vision, and it is finally about firing up the followers with the same passion and enthusiasm. In case the leader is not passionate about his vision then his exhortations to his followers would not be credible.
What we have stated above requires the leaders to practice transparency, that is, a sort of "what you see is what you get" code of conduct or ways that show respect and concern both for the individual and for the common good. Once a leader exhibits these qualities amazing things occur. And everyone benefits from a more efficient process of decision-making and tactical execution, as players are more informed, operations speed up, and problems are identified more readily along the way. Leaders build trust and develop bondages with their peers and followers.
It may be added that as regards transparency as an element of credibility, it is figuring out just how open to be, and just how much to hang on the line for all to see-for while there can be too little transparency. Leaders have to have a firm finger on the pulse of their followers and their culture, knowing individual's capacity to absorb information and anticipating how it might be interpreted and used.
It is imperative that overwhelming honesty should be delivered with respect and concern for others. It is important for leader that their followers should not be left to wonder about hidden agendas. When leaders drive these core values down through their team, it builds trust, and followers stand eased out.
Just to ask others for their opinions on a controversial issue conveys respect and shows that as a follower one is being valued. When leaders ask for feedback about their own performance and discover how others perceive them, they are better able to align their intentions with reality and develop a plan for more effective actions.
The game of leadership is full of challenges, stresses, and obstacles; the ability to confront these challenges during the good times and the bad indicates the character, competence, and the credibility of the leader. Hence the element of transparency builds credibility and urges leaders to reveal their true opinions and emotions regarding confronting issues. An irresponsible behaviour in these situations is going to doom one's credibility.
Leaders who keep in mind the spirit of authenticity while working hard to create meaningful connections with their followers, and demonstrating sincerity of being, and revealing personal knowledge that adds value to the context of work, will amount to practising of leadership transparency and that builds credibility. It however, requires a level of maturity, self-awareness and a heightened sense of understanding people's perception in order to, dissect, and disseminate the knowledge that is revealed.
When leaders match their words and actions and do what they say these steps, create a high value on their commitments. Promise-keeping in leadership is not always clear-cut. Sometimes leaders are forced to reconsider promises and disappoint followers. Those are the times when transparency is particularly important, because followers who understand the reasoning behind broken promises may be more accepting of the consequences.
How leaders handle mistakes actually may be more important than getting things right the first time. Even with its inherent risks - such as appearing weak, incompetent, or otherwise less than perfect - confessing mistakes signals courage, accountability, and humility. Indeed, mistakes are an opportunity to visibly demonstrate a commitment to honesty.
Delivering bad news can be tricky business, yet doing it well is essential. When sensitive, controversial, or potentially hurtful information is not delivered well, people can feel betrayed, angry, and indignant. And in the process trust is destroyed and relationships suffer.
Language that divides or is otherwise destructive can undermine the whole reasoning behind leadership transparency-to improve relationships, increase trust, and build a credible reputation. In order for leaders to be successful at influencing and motivating people, their followers must have a solid answer to the question: Do you care about me? Leaders are supposed to show their followers that, yes, they do care, and this is done by developing the followers, recognising them, and seeking to know and understand them.
What people expect from leaders is usually rooted in the basic interpersonal operation of the leader-follower relationship, where personal connections are made through trust, reliability, care, and appreciation. When leaders do not succeed in building this platform, the connection with followers is weak, and there is little chance to move to a higher level of effectiveness and success. (The writer is an advocate and is currently working as an associate with Azim-ud-Din Law Associates)
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