Credibility - what is that?

"Credibility is the foundation of leadership.” - General David Petraeus.

You may ask what credibility is.

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Think about ideal leader or manager. Then, ask yourself questions. Do I trust this person? Do I believe in what he says? Does he keep his promises? Does he inspire others? Does he have competence to be a leader or manager? Does he try to improve himself? Can I count on him when I need him? If you answered “Yes” for those questions, then your ideal leader probably built credibility.

You cannot get credibility like promotion or authority. If you are a leader or manager by position, you probably have some level of authority. Having authority does not mean that you have credibility. It is something that is earned over time. It does not come automatically with the job or the title. It begins early in your life and career, and it is something that you develop day by day, year by year.

Leaders cannot build good teams without credibility. Managers cannot build good customer relationships without credibility. "Without credibility, nothing can be built—at least nothing that can survive the test of time." – Jossey Bass.

Credible managers make employees feel that they can make a difference to teammates or the project itself. They find time for their people to have one on one meetings, provide feedback, praise them and recognize their work. Those leaders or managers are vulnerable. They are not people who do not make mistakes. They are people who can admit that they made them and learn from them.

People who work with those managers or leaders feel strong sense of team spirit and are more loyal to the organization where they work. They feel attached and committed.

“Bad managers” are usually those who cannot build high level of credibility. People do not like to work with them. Not because of their “low conversational capacity” but because they cannot trust them. Very often, to recompense low credibility, those managers motivate employees mainly by money. They control people much more as there is no two-way trust.

I believe on nowadays market, credibility is much more important than years ago. Motivation mechanisms have changed a lot. Leaders around the world have pushed product quality and service quality improvement efforts to the top of their agendas. "Only credibility earns commitment. And only commitment will get people to work beyond their job descriptions and to their fullest capacity so that businesses, communities, and economies can be greatly regenerated." – Jossey Bass.