We need to stop making excuses for ourselves and for leaders who fail to follow through on their promises. To start, let's define personal credibility because that's the rock-bottom foundation of leadership credibility.
The problem is that we don't consistently hold leaders, including ourselves, up to this bare minimum standard. Follow through, we reason, isn't consistent because the leader is so busy... or has so many important things to attend to... Really?
What could be more important in leadership than delivering on your promises? As a leader, how does "busy" exonerate you from this most basic of obligations? I'm not buying it.
The impact of not following through on your promises is that you will, in due time, lose credibility. Being credible means: being believable, worthy of confidence and trustworthy.
That's why Doing What You Say You Will Do is the foundation for leading. People will not follow someone who isn't believable. You can't lead without the confidence of others. And if you can't be trusted, you can't be effective in leading.
Here are some best practices for defining personal & leadership credibility.
The Latin root word for credibility is credere which means "to believe in."
It's the same as the root for credit, so you can think of it in this way: before a bank extends credit, they check the creditworthiness of a borrower. Has the borrower been reliable enough to inspire confidence and trust in paying back the loan?
Leaders are evaluated by followers in the same way. Have you inspired confidence and trust in doing your part? Can people rely on you to Do What You Say You Will Do (DWYSYWD)?
When you DWYSYWD, people know they can count on you.
Following through on the little things earns you the trust and confidence to do bigger things. People will follow you and put their faith in you when you have earned their trust and confidence. If you breach their trust by breaking promises (even small ones), you will be less effective as a leader.
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As you define and demonstrate your leadership cred, start here. Nothing else matters more and nothing else you do will overcome a lack of DWYSYWD.
When leaders define their leadership philosophy or talk about what they stand for, they can misrepresent their ideals and intentions as absolutes.
If their actions don't back up their professed beliefs, this impairs leadership credibility. Saying it simply isn't enough. That's why it's a good idea to check yourself. Consider:
Before you hold others to these kinds of standards, be sure you are modeling them in your own behaviors.
Of course, you do have another choice. You could duck and cover. Some do. Instead of setting expectations you can't or won't live up to, you could opt to remain non-commital.
By not committing to anything, you give yourself more latitude. Instead of making promises, you can make vague statements. Some classics are:
The downside of these strategies is that others find you ineffective. Decisions and action items stall out. People grow impatient and frustrated with you. Ultimately, others won't see you as much of a leader.
Which brings us back full circle to: YOU as a leader.
To be a leader, you have to lead. To lead, you have to build leadership credibility. To build leadership credibility, you have to DWYSYWD. It's not as discretionary as it may seem at first.
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Deb Calvert is a certified Executive Coach, Certified Master with The Leadership Challenge® and architect of leadership development programs for nearly 100 organizations. She helps leaders at every level discover and achieve their leadership goals. Deb is the founder of People First Productivity Solutions, building organizational strength by putting people first since 2006.