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It is not often that the President of the United States is ignored. Stranger still this lack of attention comes at a time when he is delivering a pep talk about how the nation will pull through the financial crisis. No one seems to be listening. Likewise, few of us are paying attention to what the former titans of corporate finance are saying before Congressional committees. Aside from the fact that the president is a lame duck and the corporate chieftains acted in lame-brained fashioned, the reason few people are listening is because neither group, president included, has much credibility. They have frittered it away and so when the nation needs leadership in its moment of crisis, those in charge are deemed irrelevant.
Credibility is a leader's coin of the realm. With it, she can lead people to the Promised Land; without it, she wanders in the desert of lost expectations. Once lost it may be impossible to regain, and so the lesson to any manager who as any aspiration of achieving anything is to guard your credibility and take care you never lose it. Here's how.
Character matters. With apologies to dramatists, character for a leader is action. Leaders are judged by what they do, not what they are. Little good can come from being good; you must do good things. You must be stalwart in the face of crisis. Be the rock for your team to stand upon when times are tough. And be in the shadow when success arrives. Character does matter.
Acknowledge shortcomings. Look for ways to negate your weaknesses. Surround yourself with people who complement you in skills but also in personality. For example, if you are the visionary type, get some practical types to carry forth your ideas. Likewise, if you are someone who is quick on the trigger, temper-wise, make certain you have calm and collected types beside you.
Live your values. Putting values statements on the wall may look good, but take time to read them. Better yet, act on them. Living values is easy when the going is good. The challenge arises when times are tough. As we have seen recently, integrity in some financial institutions was swept away by greed. When tough decisions need to be made, consider your values. Doing what is right may cause hardship; there can be no shame in sacrifice. Better to give up what is expedient in favor of what is sustainable.
Even the best intentioned of us make mistakes. Sometimes we do it purposefully, too. It is part of our humanity. Therefore when we do harm to another, or our organization, we must quickly accept responsibility. This is something that few CEOs seem to understand; whether on the advice of counsel or their own self-righteousness, they seldom own up to the issues. Their example is a poor one to follow. So when you make a mistake, admit it and seek to make amends immediately. Do not wait till things blow over; they will not calm down until you act. Doing so requires guts but, as our mothers warned us, it will do us good. Better yet, it will be good for your team.
"Character," wrote Abraham Lincoln, "is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." Character is the root of credibility. Chop off the roots and your "tree" falls. So mind your step and be ever vigilant. Credibility is essential to your leadership quotient.
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