Credibility
How Leaders Gain and Lose It,
Why People Demand It
By
James M. Kouzes &
Barry Z. Posner
Book review by Connie Dyer
June 20, 2011
This book is a tool that teaches people what to look for in a leader and how to become a credible leader. It answers the question of why we follow and support some leaders and not others and how some leaders lose credibility. Basically, people want leaders who have strong ethics, who respect others, and put others interests before their own.
Chapter 1
The ten most important characteristics people want in a leader are as follows in order of importance:
1. Honest
2. Forward looking
3. Inspiring
4. Competent
5. Fair-minded
6. Supportive
7. Broad-minded
8. Intelligent
9. Straightforward
10. Courageous
The top 4 traits are the most useful in picking a leader.
Ø The number ONE trait picked most in the surveys???? HONESTY
What do these four traits entail?
ü Honesty – Be truthful. Be ethical
ü Forward looking – A sense of direction for the future of the organization
ü Inspiring – Convey your enthusiasm onto others—be upbeat—be hopeful
ü Competent – Be capable. Be effective.
Chapter 2
If managers are perceived as credible, employees will be likely to be:
v Proud of the company
v Have a sense of team spirit
v Share the same personal values as those of the firm
v Attached, committed, and have a sense of ownership of the company
Three phases to maintaining leadership.
Visions, interests, needs, values, aims, and aspirations must be clarified in order to understand what is valued. Unity exists when there is a shared common vision within the community. Values should be felt with intensity and should be taken seriously.
There are six disciplines of credibility: DISCIPLINE = LEARN
1. Discovering your SELF
2. Appreciating CONSTITUENTS
3. Affirming SHARED VALUES
4. Developing CAPACITY
5. Serving a PURPOSE
6. Sustain HOPE
A leader must discover what their beliefs and values are and have the confidence, experience, and training to carry them out. RELATIONSHIPS must exist between the leader and constituents to develop an understanding of their values, their desires, and these should be affirmed. Good leaders unite their followers and get them to agree on a common set of values. EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE your followers. Leadership is SERVICE for the people.
Chapter 9
As globalization increases so do the new processes being developed and questions about a company’s vision and direction are asked continuously. It is during these times that leaders need to maximize their credibility. The ongoing restructuring of society and the global economy will lead to tensions that will be felt intensely by leaders because they are the ones who set examples, inspire, and lead others towards a common vision for the future. Credible leaders will allow their constituents freedom in some areas and constraint in others. This process will strengthen and maintain a leader’s credibility.
An effective leader needs to be able to see and recognize the situation from several different viewpoints. CAUTION should be used when mastering the skills of leadership so that it does not reach excess but excellence. Excess leads to arrogance and overconfidence and this leads to loss of creditability.
This book relates to the Pope’s Caritas In Veritate in that it talks about increasing globalization and the stress that a leader is under to do the right thing. A credible leader works for the “common good” of his followers and the company. Many of the characteristics that a credible leader has are the qualities found in an ethical person.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Do you think it is possible to become a credible leader and not become overconfident and arrogant?
2. Are people born leaders or can it be a learned skill?
3. Would this approach to learning how to be a credible leader work in all situations? This post looks good in my compose screen but the preview shows a few things out of alignment. I hope it posts with everything in line. Please excuse it if it is out of line because I cannot figure out how to fix the alingment in the preview screen. Thank you. I hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to your comments.
