In the world of leadership, credibility is your currency. Credibility is the basis of all leadership. Without it, influence wanes, trust crumbles, and motivation in your team falters. There is a difference between being a leader and just someone in charge. The difference between the two is credibility.

What does it take to be deemed a credible leader? Let’s explore what makes a leader credible and how you can evaluate your leadership through a simple self-test. Research has shown that credible leaders are more likely to foster high-performing teams, drive innovation, and achieve goals that other teams can only aspire to. But credibility is not static. It can be built or lost depending on how a leader leads.

Credible leaders have a certain set of qualities. These fuel trust, respect and integrity in the eyes of others. These qualities include doing what you say, being consistent in how you treat people, having a clear vision, an ability to actively listen, treating people with empathy and integrity, thanking and recognising people for their contributions, creating a safe and welcoming team environment, being appreciative of any feedback, and demonstrating care and compassion. Above all, credible leaders are self-aware of how they think, act and behave in the presence of others, and the subsequent impact they have on others.

A key leadership quality is alignment. That is what is said or promised aligns with what is done. During election cycles, all politicians make grand promises of what they will do if elected. All too frequently, these stories and promises do not align with their actions. Aligning promises and commitments with actions is an important credibility builder for any leader.

Credible Leaders are consistent, not perfect. Consistency builds trust. Team members know what to expect from them, even under pressure. This does not mean they never fail or make mistakes. It means they don’t change with the wind or play favourites. It means they maintain their principles and don’t shift their stance to appease others or protect their ego.

Leaders need to be competent and curious. Credibility comes from knowing your stuff. Having a certain amount of acumen in your field of expertise is important to fuel deep and meaningful conversations. Being curious fuels a continuous improvement line of thought, where questioning the status quo is expected, sharing ideas and exploring potential innovations are encouraged, and being interested in the back story of others helps foster a learning environment where everyone’s thoughts are encouraged.

They own mistakes and share credit. When things go wrong, they step up and take responsibility. When things go right, they don’t hoard the spotlight, instead they recognise and shout out the people who helped enable the achievement. Humility not only builds credibility, but it also helps foster loyalty and trust.

A clear and grounded vision. Credible leaders do not just have a vision, but they can explain it clearly, help others see how they can contribute to it, and highlight why this is a compelling vision to pursue – paint a clear future state. They are not driven by vague ambition, greed, or personal ego. They are grounded in a purpose, mission and vision in a manner that inspires trust and commitment. 

Take the self-test

Use the questions below to evaluate your credibility as a leader. Rate yourself as 1 (rarely) – 3 (mostly) – 5 (always). Once you have rated yourself, ask others to rate you and discuss where there is agreement and a divergence of views. Any feedback should be treated as a gift and appreciated.

Q1. Are you forward looking?

• You have a clear and compelling vision for the future, with a clear “from” and “to” story
• You set clear unambiguous goals for teams
• You encourage ongoing development in others

Q2. Are you disciplined?

• You are punctual and on time
• You practice good time management
• You are a great role model for, and adhere to agreed standards and disciplines

Q3. Do you manage professional boundaries?

• You focus on the issues not the person
• You always maintain clear leadership relationship boundaries 
• You act professionally in all settings

Q4. Do you inspire and influence others?

• You act and behave to stated values (role model)
• You have an ability to motivate and empathise
• You help refocus and rebound the team quickly after setbacks

Q5. Are you self-aware?

• You often stop and reflect on your own performance as a leader
• You are aware of your prejudices and weaknesses
• You able to monitor and control your emotions in all settings?

Q6. Are you self-driven?

• You have strong ambitions, standards and energy levels
• You are optimistic, and able to imagine new ideas and approaches
• You are resilient, and able to bounce back quickly from setbacks

Q7. Are you able to diagnose issues and solve problems?

• You have a genuine sense of enquiry and curiosity
• You have a good intuition and sense early when things are wrong
• You able to quickly predict and solve problems

Q8. Do you actively listen?

• You listen to understand, rather than listen to reply
• You ask questions of others rather than issue instructions
• You encourage and empower people to solve problems, and explore solutions

Q9. Do you communicate well?

• You issue clear and regular communications to others
• You ensure you always close off feedback loops
• You regularly check in with team members to see how they are travelling

Q10. Do you promote psychological safety?

• People can give you their gift of feedback without fear of retribution
• You encourage and welcome feedback and provide mechanisms for this to occur
• You act on feedback you receive in a timely manner

These questions were developed by Zeus & Skiffington in their research for “The complete guide to credible Leadership & Coaching.” The importance is not your score, but rather how you and others rate each statement. The purpose is to generate feedback and discussion to improve the effectiveness and credibility of your leadership. Colleagues should be able to discuss these with you face to face. If they feel the need to complete the feedback via an anonymous survey – this speaks volumes for your leadership! You should be open, encouraging and welcoming of their feedback. It should be treated as a gift.

Leadership Lesson

Leadership credibility is like putting money in a piggy bank.
The little things done each day and week contribute to your credibility.
But a major crack can spoil everything.
It takes a lifetime to build a reputation, and one moment to destroy it

Facta Non-Verba – Deeds Not Words