Building Credibility

Credibility means believability. Leaders become credible when followers believe in the leader and the leader's course of action. Credibility creates commitment to the leader and the leader's direction. Some people develop instant credibility.

Consider a meeting in which a new team member offers an insight or idea that rings true to all members of the group. Credibility comes immediately because the group instantly believes the idea makes sense. Imagine a group discussion about how to approach a new client. One participant suggests calling a particular person to join the meeting because that individual used to work for the client, knows all the client's top managers, and has years of successful experience attracting new clients. The person called in has immediate credibility based on his or her background and experience.

Typically credibility comes more slowly. People build their base of believability over time. They repeatedly demonstrate they can be counted on to follow through. They provide leadership direction that supports important concerns such that others say, "She's a person we can depend on."

Credibility can also erode slowly or be lost quickly. Consider the gradual undoing of Lyndon Johnson over the Vietnam War. Recall Richard Nixon's decline from his impressive victory in the 1972 presidential election to his resignation over Watergate. Recall the almost instant fall from grace of Gary Hart over his marital infidelities in the 1988 presidential campaign. Think about Jeff Bezos, who catapulted to Time magazine's "1999 Man of the Year" because he took Amazon.com to amazing heights. By October 2000, the stock value of Amazon.com had tumbled 75 percent, raising questions about Bezos's effectiveness.

To build credibility requires knowing its secret. Credibility is subjective. Credibility comes from how others perceive you. To illustrate, think of the following people: Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, Jim Jones (the preacher and cult leader in Guyana), Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, David Koresh, Michael Milken, Alan Greenspan, Donna Karan, and Carl Icahn. Which of these individuals would you willingly follow? Your answer indicates your subjective perception of each person's credibility. Think about the list again. Every one of these people had a core of completely committed followers. In other words, each of them was perceived as credible by their followers.

You turn the key to build your credibility by first identifying the credibility markers that others use. That means you have to determine what followers believe makes a person or a course of action believable. Make a list of those you need to willingly follow your lead. Your list probably includes your boss, some key coworkers, a few important subordinates, a couple of essential customers, and other critical stakeholders. Find out what each person thinks are key credibility indicators.