Instructions:
- Post a new discussion related to the topics covered in this module. Your post needs to provide specific lessons learned with examples from this module helping you enhance your leadership capacity at work.
- After posting your discussion, review posts provided by other students in the class and reply to at least one of them.
Your credibility as an individual goes hand in hand with your credibility as a leader. You must walk the talk in all aspects of your life. The people around you will know if you are genuine or just trying to collect a paycheck.
I enjoyed the comparisons of low vs. high credibility leaders in this module. The qualities of each caused me to reflect on some of my past supervisors’ strengths and weaknesses. My biggest take away from this module was Long’s statement, “Trust is the most important component of establishing your credibility as a leader”.
I have worked for a few leaders that lacked credibility. I typically avoided their guidance as much as possible. Constantly saying the mantra, respect the rank, not the man. It's a miserable work environment. I make an effort to find the correct answer. I am not too proud to open a book or look up a policy when I am not sure. I frequently do that even when I believe, I am sure. Never try to "BS" your troops, they will know or eventually know that you did.
One of the key lessons I have learned from this module is the importance of relational maintenance. As a leader, it is essential to continually nurture positive relationships with your followers to build trust and credibility. This involves investing time in getting to know each individual while also showing respect for their thoughts and opinions. Additionally, relational maintenance can be enhanced by regularly engaging in activities such as team building, recognition, and praise of good work, and providing effective feedback. All of these help to create an environment where followers feel valued and respected, which ultimately increases their loyalty and enthusiasm for the organization.
My favorite takeaway was the simple quote at the end of the opening Ted Talk.
"People will not believe the message if they don't believe the messenger." - Barry Posner
Leaders can spin whatever yarn we want to our people, but if we are not credible it's like trying to give out wooden nickels.
A takeaway that I found helpful will be to utilize the seven leadership traits first to identify an issue and to employ some therapeutic training. As Larry Long listed, those unethical traits are: Failing to prepare, sacrificing good convictions and adapting to an audience, appearing to be what one is not, withholding info, relaying false information, using emotional appeals while avoiding telling the truth, and failing to employ critical evaluative listening. These should be easy to spot and get people on the right path before they can negatively affect those they will be in charge of.
Low and High credible leaders can make of break a department. I do not think that most leaders would see themselves as having lower levels of credibility, and that is the shame I see in this module. As they look to gain compliance thru poor means, it seems that they do not really understand what they are doing and they see this as usually the way they were taught to lead and that the final product is all that counts. The higher level leader usually has a higher sense of inner self, and can see past the basic levels and be successful in the right way.
Jason, you make a very good point. Most unethical leaders don't even realize just how bad they are. This will lead to higher turnover rates with the newer officer. The older generation of officers has to do some self-development and start looking at themselves for answers.
During the TEDx presentation, Barry Posner asked why anyone would follow you. He described the traits people surveyed would look for in a leader and be willing to follow. Those traits were honesty, competency, inspiration, and forward-looking. I would agree with the survey as well. More qualities were mentioned during this block, such as morals, ethics, communication, and trust. Credibility is the foundation of leadership and takes work to earn and develop. Posner said, "people will not believe the message if they don't believe the messenger." What an honest and true statement that I will not forget easily.
Patrick, that is a powerful statement to make as Posner asked why would anyone follow me. There are always the monetary based responses as I need money to pay bills and this job keeps me here, or I have nowhere else to go, or I am too lazy to follow others. But the leaders who can inspire others to follow them when the challenge is arisen or when the need is great, that is when you see the true character of others and of yourself.
Credibility is central to trust, trust is central to building relationships, relationships are central to effective leadership. We are only as good as our word. Once that is compromised, we lose that trust with that person. While we can repair relationships, once trust has been questioned it will never be what it was again. Throughout this section I am reminded of several past leaders that failed in this area. Personally, I have learned more about leadership from my poor supervisors (as in how NOT to do it) than I ever have from the rare, good ones I have been around. I find in my area that many supervisors lack the drive for self-development and self-education that I believe is incumbent of them and their role as supervisors. When we allow unethical and immoral behavior to exist within our organizations or on our teams then we have failed in our duties, our oaths, and our responsibilities to those we serve.
I hope that all upcoming and current supervisors benefit from the guidance and education on leadership we are being given here. I am hopeful this will level the playing field and get us all on the same page with higher expectations from ourselves and our departments. This entire experience has opened my eyes and will make me a better person and leader.
I agree, Patrick. I recommended to my department's staff that all our supervisors have an opportunity to attend the command college. This course is in-depth in itsbreakdownn of leadership qualities and skills.
I agree, Jarrett,
A leader trying to regain trust is on an uphill battle with slim chances that they will ever arrive at a point of complete restoration. As you mentioned, poor leaders often teach us to most. Those situations are tough to go through, and many of us have been in that boat at least once. Nevertheless, we move on from those situations and hope never to place our subordinates in a similar position.
To be seen as an credible leader is one of the most important leadership traits that a leader can possess. A follower will not trust a leader that has no credibility. If you are a credible leader your actions will provide a role model for others to follow. Credibility causes trust and confidence and is produced through our actions as a leader.
Well said Patrick. I agree that credibility breeds trust and trust breeds confidence. As a leader I strive to be a credible role model.
As credible leaders we need to show our employees that we can get down and sweet with them and not just order or tell them to do something. Lead by example is very powerful. Teaching them some tips and tricks and allowing them to have different opinions on how to do the same job. Encouraging new ideas and allowing your employees to act on it will allow them to buy in to the idea of the overall mission. Listen to employees when there is a problem as well as when things are going well will help the credible leader to show empathy and strengthen the relationship.
Credible leadership also falls into place with trustworthiness. An officer’s word is credible as long as they stay truthful. Many agencies have morale problems within the agency due to unethical leadership. Trying to get one over on another officer to make a promotion or a special position causes distrust in the department. Being credible, honest, trusting, and protecting is what the badge represents. Self-Improvement is a continuous effort that someone should never stop striving for. When you stop trying to improve yourself, you will stop trying to help others.
Cory, this is so true. Say what you mean and mean what you say. I was raised by this saying and it still holds true today, that a person is only as good as his or her word.
This module gave me an opportunity to reflect on my career and it resonated some memories of the uncredible leaders that I worked up under. There was a distinct difference between the Low Credibility Leaders vs. the High Credibility Leaders. They had their place, and their place provided an example of what not to do. To lead guide and direct the supervisor has to be a credible supervisor. Credibility is the cornerstone of an effective leader and a leader that lacks in credibility needs to be removed from the agency.
It is undeniable that having a credible leader is essential to guide and direct the team. High Credibility Leaders are invaluable for setting examples of how an organization should run and operate. Their presence in the workplace can be felt, as they ensure that their teams have all the resources necessary to perform their jobs efficiently and effectively.
As this model described a leader can not be a successful leader without credibility. I feel ones moral values is as important to leadership as their ethics. I once had a sergeant tell me "if you will lie to you wife someone you love how can I trust you to be truthful with me". Its sad that we don't see creditable leaders stepping up to run this country. That's all I will say about politics.
That's a great line from your former sergeant. It serves as a good example of the importance of credibility in both our personal and professional lives.
Without integrity, honesty, and credibility a leader is no more than a title. In this module it shows that when you have a leader with these traits, you will have a good leader and agency. If the leader is a low credible leader then the agency will tend to falter. We must always strive to be a credible leader.
Joseph Spadoni Jr.
Session #15
This module taught me how to overcome our limitations by utilizing the four steps while subsequently applying the six disciplines of credibility. This module touched a lot on our inner selves and what we must do as leaders to lead our teams to success and teach them how to instill these qualities in themselves.
Post
Integrity and credibility, in that order. This module helped me see the necessity of positive personal impact on others that leader behavior can have. It is not just for organizational goals, but for the betterment of ourselves and those around us.
Session #015
You're right Cedric. You cannot have credibility without integrity. Both are foundations of leadership.
Credible leaders will win the hearts and minds of the followers. I also see that in the future with technology leadership styles will change. However, a credible leader is the foundation for leadership and will have the greatest value and impact to the followers.
Credible leadership is a true foundation for the future of our organizations. It is also to note the difference of Low and High Credibility and its impacts that it can have on members on our team. Everyone deserves to have a leader that exemplifies the values described by being a credible leader.
I agree Jason. The low vs. high section of this module stood out to me most with how it explained that we should have an open door policy and be personal with our subordinates and not be invisible to them.
I agree Jason, credible leadership is the true foundation for the future.
Credible leaders are leaders who people really want to follow. Credible leaders increase the level of satisfaction that their subordinates have to operate in their everyday roles. People will not believe your message if they do not believe the messenger. I have seen this happen far too often in my career.
I have seen this too. I have seen leaders lose the support of the followers. When that happened that leader had nothing to hide behind and his true colors were shown.
Throughout this lesson, one message was mentioned several time. Listen more and respond/talk less. This is a skill that I am currently working on. I'm usually listening to respond instead of listening to understand. I am a work in progress!!!!!
Sitting back and not prematurely responding is definitely a hard skill to do. It will take practice and patience for me because I usually like people to get to the point. It is impressive the additional information you gather when you don't respond so quickly, which often helps to gain a better understanding of the other persons feelings.
I agree its important for leaders to listen more and this something I also plan to work on.
Kecia, this is an act everyone needs to work on. Too many officers want to talk about their stories or themselves and what they want and can do. Not much goes into what they will do for others. If we change our mindset from listening to understand instead of responding, I believe everyone would be able to work together better.
Two ears, one mouth, use proportionately.
At the beginning of my career in law enforcement, credible leaders were scarce. There were more people in supervisory positions because of nepotism than credibility. Leaders who have no actual knowledge of their job and hold everyone else accountable for their mistakes but take credit for everything employees can create a hostile environment to work in.
I think at some point in everyone's career, we have experienced a low credibility leader and all the negative attributes they bring to the table. However, what is even worse than dealing with this person is the lack of accountability that continues to allow these people to undermine but at the same time flourish within the organization.
Credible leadership ties hand in hand with so much we have learned during this course. I found it interesting to see how authentic leadership and the six power bases connected directly to credible leadership. I also found the seven unethical behaviors to be spot on with individuals in my agency seeking self-advancement instead of seeking to make the organization as a whole better.
Some people seeking only self-advancement will never realize it include advancing those around us and the entities were serve. This is why I believe the lessons here are some of the most important.
The best part of this module for me was going over the behaviors which reduce credibility. As a leader, I have been guilty of some of these behaviors and it is a good reminder to always be cognizant of the eyes on you and the dependency your subordinates have on you to be prepared, to be sincere, to be honest, open and forthcoming, and to listen to feedback without retribution. It’s a tough juggle, but as capable leaders, this is required of us.
I also found the behaviors to reduce credibility to be helpful. It also made me think of sitting in briefings, and the supervisor leading the briefing was unprepared, so he would then read an email we had all received to have something to say. Of course, there were days as a shift supervisor I was also unprepared, but I would always try to have some type of training element ready as a backup for those occasions.
This lesson on credible leadership had many great discussions and points. My takeaway on the lesson will be the six disciplines of Credibility.
Several times in this lesson the concept of listen more and talk less was addressed. I have found that letting people explain their position and have their voice heard goes a long way to get them on board with the mission of the agency. So many people stop listening to people once they have a response. This is something that I continue to work on on a daily basis. Listening to hear and understand is so different than listening to respond. Having a supervisor that has good listening skills can increase overall employee satisfaction and helps to build a more cohesive team.
Great point, Matt! I have found myself listening to a point that I have a response in my mind and then find myself more focused on my response than what is being said to me. This is a skill we can all work on for sure.
Everyone knows of a low cred. leader and seeks to follow a high cred. leader. Unfortunately, low credibility leaders seem to dig in and far outlive their usefulness.
Credible Leadership: I’ve found that I have been impacted by the low credibility leader as much as the highly credible leader during my career. The seven unethical communication behaviors were on full display with the low credibility leaders. There was always much discussion about the low credibility leader with their bosses but rarely was there transformative action taken. It was always framed as a style of leadership, a means to and end. This always seemed like a poor response to the problem by what I perceived as a highly credible leader. In retrospect and after completing this module, the low credibility leader didn’t have a boss who was equipped (trained) to handle this problem.
Credible leaders are enthusiastic and have strong professional relationships with their coworkers. They have a strong base of knowledge which makes them effective. As credible leaders, we must be positive role models and establish an atmosphere where others believe in and follows you.
I agree that having a positive attitude no matter what the situation is critical for a leader, and not always an easy thing.
I agree Devon. It is very important to have strong relations and be credible leaders with our followers. Creating a positive atmosphere leads to more desirable results.
I was having a conversation with my subordinate today about some issues we are having in our division. We came up with the conclusion that Assumptions and lack of communication is the basis for a lot of the issues going on among the subordinates. For instance, one worker, who I will call John, likes to come in at 9am and work until 7pm. I have assigned John to do a lot of tasks that take him out of the office to complete and he is not present in the workplace as much. Another worker, who I will call Henry, does not know this and simply assumed that John is being a load and not getting his share of the work done. Henry has never asked John if this is true, Henry has just assumed it to be true. using this assumption, Henry has expressed their assumptions to other workers. This assumption has then become fact in their minds and they have concluded that this is what is going on. Thus, Henry and some others have bitched about it, complaining. John gets wind of this and wonders why Henry has never come to him to ask him and instead simply assume. I encourage my people to ask questions, instead of assuming. But they do not want to do this for one reason or another. I have had to speak with Henry to let them know that I know what John is doing and I don't have any concerns. That has seemed to quell the complaining.
Learning about the 7 unethical behaviors got me thinking about that. I think an 8th unethical behavior should be added. Assuming something is the case without having all of the information about it. Granted, this can be included in the 5th behavior of Relaying false information, but does the person relaying the information know that it is false??
The seven unethical communication behaviors were of great interest to me. Although we might not intentionally exhibit these behaviors, falling into them for one reason or another in the moment is highly likely. I will give two examples.
One of the big lessons that I have learned throughout this course is how critical communication is and how easy it is to miscommunicate. When you factor in all the variables that must be considered to properly communicate to a given audience in a give situation, failing to prepare adequately to ensure the message is correct, concise, and understood is highly possible.
Leaders must learn is how to be direct, while addressing issues and not withhold information or suppressing the truth out of concern that you will hurt someone’s feelings. The book “Radical Candor” by Kim Scott takes on this subject and it has helped me to realize that I have been guilty of this communication error. In the long run, the attempt to be “nice” will cause more damage than being direct and honest with the person.
One struggle that is common to many leaders but that I am just now experiencing enough to appreciate is that we are sometimes placed in positions where our competence is relatively low. This is because we will eventually be placed in charge of people who do things we never did. This is my experience where I am now. I have experienced a great deal of imposter syndrome here because I wonder whether my people will truly trust my decisions when it would be so easy for them to write me off, saying "what does he know? He's never even been in the trenches here." They are not wrong. My response to this has been to be transparent about that fact, acknowledging my lack of experience and giving my people permission to tell me when they think I'm heading the wrong way. I have also worked to learn their job, taking some assignments and working their cases. Doing this allows me not only to learn in a hand-on way what my people are experiencing day to day, but it also shows them through my actions that I am willing to learn and to work alongside them. Of course, my experience level will likely never catch up with most of theirs because I also have my regular administrative duties to do, but my hope is that doing these things will help me build credibility, despite my lack of experience in my peoples' job.
This week’s module really summed up some of the concerns I have moving forward. Primarily, the amount of time leaders in our organization have available to spend building relationships, seeking feedback, and building teams. I work across the hall from my boss’s boss, and I see or speak to him maybe twice per month. The conversations are generally very short and usually restricted to passing along information. This is not this leader’s fault as he is a good leader and I appreciate his ongoing support. Unfortunately, our agency has placed such a high administrative load on our leaders, they have little to no time to walk around the office, build relationships, and exhibit credible leadership. I understand the situation we are in with hiring in law enforcement in that we cannot fill our vacancies. If we could fill our vacancies, there would be greater opportunity to restructure our department so leaders could have more time available to actually lead. I have been very honest with my leaders about my career goals. I want to be a leader focused on building relationships and I have concern if that is truly possible the further up the chain one goes. I am hopeful our leaders will find more free time as I desire to not only build relationships with my subordinates but with my leaders as well.
I wonder, though, how much of this is part of our organizational culture and could be fixed if we made it more of a priority to get around with our people. I don't know because I don't work in those positions, but I wonder if those commanders feel pressure to hang onto projects that they could delegate, to be seen as busy on projects, and generally feel the need to hustle. I know that when I find myself spending a lot if time wondering around the units, I always start to feel like I should be in the office doing stuff instead of "just walking around." I often have to remind myself that the time I spend wondering around is part of my job. I wonder if they also feel that pressure and haven't considered that there might be another way get done what they need to get done so they can spend more time out among the officers.
I'm sure we have all worked for leaders of high credibility and leaders with low credibility. This module reaffirmed how much more a team and organization can accomplish and benefit from highly credible leaders. I do agree with the fact that we must continually assess ourselves and seek assessment from others to continue to grow as a credible leader.
Dan,
I am definitely a proponent of self-assessment. I want to be a better man every day. I was speaking with my wife today about how I sometimes struggle as a father, and I want to be the best possible father I can be. I try to constantly engage in self-assessment, and I unfortunately don’t really like what I see all of the time. However, through self-assessment, I definitely stay humble which I hope pushes me more towards a credible leader. I believe humility could be the lynchpin to the majority of the course material. When we do not think of ourselves as better than others, it frees us up to build relationships, seek feedback, and work as a team. I hope we can see more humility filter into our agency as we move forward as a team.
I believe being a credible leader is probably the most important traits we need to be a successful leader to build future leaders. We also need to learn from our experiences for low credible leaders and learn from those mistakes to ensure we don't follow suit
In the journey of leadership finding credibility amongst your followers is what most strive to obtain. I found the discussion of low verse high credibility very relevant. My biggest takeaway was at what is my level of credibility with my followers. Then my next thought was how can I overcome my limitations. Taking the first step in the six disciplines of credibility-discovering yourself. It is the foundation of the rest of the disciplines. You will not have anyone follow you if they don’t trust you. Leaders gain their influence based upon the level of credibility they have with their followers. It is important as leaders we seek self-improvement we never stop learning and growing. A credible leader is someone honest, competent, forward-thinking, and inspiring. It is important to remember our own “why” in this journey and be ever resilient.
Becoming a credible leader is important and challenging. I think it is essential to note that leadership is a life long journey and something to be continually improved upon. Displaying knowledge and integrity are important aspects of being a credible leader. As leaders, we must embrace the idea of continually learning and be aware of our weaknesses. It is easy to focus on our strengths but necessary to accept being uncomfortable and challenge ourselves to improve our weaknesses.
What we all look for when looking for a leader is credibility. The simplicity of what credibility is was clearly communicated in this module. We all want someone honest, competent, inspiring and forward thinking. If a person does not live and demonstrate these four qualities you cannot believe the messenger so you cannot believe in their message. There have been times in my career that I was faced with just that dilemma. A leader who I had no respect for, based on their lack of credibility, made it impossible to follow their lead. Many, including myself, questioned what their back motive was and it was detrimental to the agency's ability to grow and be innovative. Thus, the person was not credible and not effective as a leader. There was a sigh of relief when this person left the organization.
This module on credible leaders was very informative. The credibility that we build within our organization will take us a long way. The differences in low and high credibility says a lot about the people that are in leadership positions and how they effect their people. Gaining trust is important and your credibility is the fastest way to do this. Having a high morale code lets others know that your credibility is there and that you will not sacrifice to make others feel good.
I agree with your post. I also view the differences between low and high credibility as benchmarks for departments with low or high morale. If you can't trust your leaders then it becomes pretty difficult to be effective. Leaders who put in the time to know their followers to gain their trust and respect will become credible leaders to their followers.
This module taught me that credible leaders are straight with people, even about hard topics. They walk the talk and practice what they preach. They do what they say they will do and follow through on promises. Your credibility as a leader is gained by remaining loyal to your subordinates and watching out for their best interests.
Credibility is one of the essential needs for a leader that I follow. Knowing that I try to apply the skills learned in this module, I try to be the leader others follow from choice and not position. The guide I use is looking at what I am doing or saying as if it was being told to me by one of my leaders. How would I want to be treated? I want my legacy to my squad members to be an example of how they should want to be.
Credible leadership inspires and motivates those under his/her command. As a credible leader you must be trustworthy. The six disciples you should embrace to build your credible leadership are: discovering yourself, appreciate constituents, affirm shared values, develop capacity, serve a purpose, and sustain hope. Credible leadership involves knowing your purpose and sharing those values. Leader and follower have to have a relationship to build upon. Credible leadership is a continual training and development process. The credible leader has to have open communication between himself/herself and followers.
Credibility as a leader is the foundation that makes that person a leader in the first place. It takes effort and constantly reminding ourselves that our actions and words have an impact, not only in the moment but also forever, in terms of what legacy we leave and our success as a leader.
I agree that being a credible leader takes effort and leadership is a continual evolution. We must be mindful of the things we say and realize the impact even a small action could have. Also, remembering to constantly learn to increase our knowledge and expertise and be willing to learn from everyone on our team.
I agree. Leaders must constantly work to build and/or enhance their leadership skills. Once a solid foundation is built on credibility and authenticity, it is easier to build upon. As a credible leader, I want to inspire and motivate my team to be their best. I want them to model my behavior and mimic my work ethic.
Personal credibility is important for everyone in the workplace, but it is more important for leaders. Lack of leadership credibility creates employee distrust and disengagement thus impacting the reputation of the organization. Leaders must be creditable in order to be effective. Employees must believe in their leaders and know they can trust them. If employees do not feel this way, then they will not put forth their best efforts and will merely comply with rules. This will affect morale and work performance.
I agree with you Stephanie. Morale and work performance will definitely be affected if there is no trust between an officer and his/her leader. I feel trust is an important trait a leader must have.
Spot on!! I have worked for a unit commander who was a very low credible leader. During that time the morale in the unit dropped significantly. Employees hated coming to work and trying to get things accomplished was always a challenge. When the leadership of the unit changed and the new unit commander was an authentic credible leader, the morale went through the roof. The unit became a team and accomplished great things.
Credibility is the foundation that leadership should be based on. This module really did a great job explaining the need of credible leaders and how they affect the organization and the public. Being a credible leader is based off of trust. The trust is earned by being honest, maintaining open communications, having high morals and values. Credible leaders will enhance productivity within the organization and promote good will with the public.
Credible leadership in relation to law enforcement is paramount and not just for the official leaders with rank. As law enforcement officers, every one of us is a leader to the public we serve and must be credible if we are to have the public's trust. One point that struck home with me was mentioned more than once in this module. If people don't believe in the leader, they will not believe in the message.
Trent, you a correct. Credible leadership is paramount in law enforcement from the chief down to the road deputy. The public we serve deserve credible leaders that they can trust and relate to.
I totally agree with your assessment that credible leadership is for every employee at all levels. I believe we need to stress individual credibility and credible leadership from the beginning of employees’ entry into our organizations. If employees were brought into organizations that stress and develop credibility and credible leaders, our organizations will benefit and improve over time. Police agencies need to develop credible employees, which will result in better internal agency dynamics and credibility being reflected outside of the agency to the public.
Dr. Long in the module outlined the importance of credibility within leadership and the impact it has on a leader’s success. High credibility is a tremendous quality for leaders seeking to achieve exceptional performance and a positive environment. From experience, leaders that carry a low credibility value can be very devastating to the entire organization. As leaders in the 21st century we are challenged with pressures from the pandemic, economic crisis, and technological disruptions. Law enforcement agencies in our society need credible leaders worthy of our belief and trust.
Spot on, Joey. All it takes is one leader that has low credibility to ruin an entire agency's morale and initiative. This seems to be especially true if that leader is at an executive rank, because the front line of the organizations tend to paint all of the executives as not being creditable even if it isn't true.
I agree! When you are a credible leader, it shows others the positive way to lead. Credibility has a significant impact on a leader's success and the success of their followers. Credible leaders can keep employees from quitting, and they show that they will hold other leaders accountable.
Joey, I have been in an organization with a low credibility leader that had devasting effects on personnel at the section, unit, and divisional levels. This person progressed through the ranks based on factors such as seniority and by using others for their success. This leadership style led to poor performance and a negative working environment. This low credibility leader caused many of good people to transfer out of sections and units creating a void in experience which translated into poor service to our constituents.
This lecture taught me allot about Credible Leadership and how we can display that to our subordinates. I particularly like the 6 Disciplines of Credibility. It is important to remain self-aware and focus on the long term while also overcoming our limitations. Becoming better at gaining the understanding of our subordinates while having their needs ahead of ours and appreciating their views will certainly bring the best possible outcome and help produce that high credible leader that we all strive for.
Self-awareness is huge. I have learned that really understanding subordinates and putting their needs ahead of mine has helped show the employees I'm here for them.
I think it's safe to say that we've all had high/low credibility leaders. That's essentially how we've molded ourselves. The first thought that came to my mind with this module is something my dad taught me. Just because you have a bad leader doesn't mean you're not learning something from them. What he means is that even when your leader has low credibility you're learning to bot be like that. You're learning what not to do and how to make it better once you're in that leaders role. Listening and strong relationships are two things that have been talked about in just about every module. The other thing is communication. Communication is everything.
Tyler, I agree, good communicators are also good listeners. In my opinion, when you listen and pay close attention to others you gain a clear perspective and knowledge from them.
As a leader, Being able to effectively communicate is one of the foundations of leadership. This is evident in almost every module that speaks on communication in some form or another.
I once had a low credibility supervisor, this guy had to rely on authoritative power and he struggled with interpersonal relationships. His knowledge suffered because he refused to read any updates. He would not listen to any suggestions offered. It got to the point that if anyone knew he was heading towards their call, we would race to beat him to the location and attempt to clear before he arrived, if not you were forced to live with his bad decisions or risk insubordination charges.
The command backed him until he got two of us sued before he was finally transferred where he could do no more harm. He was the perfect example not to follow which taught many lessons in itself. The only good thing to come out of the situation was the squad was united in fighting him over what was right. It is amazing how much you can learn from working through that type of leadership. It absolutely helped me seek credible skills knowing I didn’t want to be “that guy”.
Curtis,
It does often seem we learn as much as, if not more from those low credibility leaders than we do from those that serve us well. Also, it is sad that he was transferred to where he could do no harm. So often in law enforcement that is our answer instead of accountability.
Curtis - I often joke that I have a book of what I want to do as a leader and a bigger book of the things that I do not want to do as a leader. Both of these things come from people that I have witnessed as leaders in my career. I have definitely remembered more of what I do not want to do, these seem burned in to my brain.
Throughout my career in law enforcement, I've worked with both low credible and high credible leaders. The low credible leaders I've worked with tended to be those nearing retirement and checked out from work. They would do as little as possible and focus on their pending retirement, showing a lack of interest in their subordinates. The high credible leaders I've worked for really cared about their subordinates and the organization. They were always engaged and worked with their subordinates to get the job done. The module did a great job explaining the differences between a low credible and a high credible leader.
Credibility is of the utmost importance in any venture in life. We have all been exposed to leaders throughout our lives that lack credibility and those minor interactions usually lead us to realize we never want to be "that guy". I was taught at a very young age by my father the importance of being credible. Without it you lack respect and trust with those around you. Credibility is truly the currency that drives positivity within a command or business.
Andy,
I agree that credibility is the upmost importance. No one wants to be that guy, but everyone knows someone that is a person of bad influence and who is just around the corner. Without being credible, we lose that sense of touch with our people and in turn become the low credible leader whose glass is always half empty and sees things from the wrong perspective.
Credibility is something that is very important to me as a supervisor. I have had supervisor's in the past that I found both credible and not credible. The difference is very big and I could see the impact it made both for good and for bad. The non-credible supervisor I had, I was not motivated to work for them. They did not motivate me to work towards the organizational goals. On the other end, the supervisor I had that I found credible worked hard to make sure I was motivated and inspired me to better myself. This is why I find it so important as a supervisor to be credible. The trust, satisfaction, and relationships being a credible leader builds is what I strive for. I found this module very useful and I think I will be able to use a lot of the material covered in my daily work.
Credible leadership must start at the top of the organization. While line supervisors can certainly inspire team members, they can also end up as a buffer between officers and command members who lack credibility. Credibility must begin at the top and trickle down through the ranks.
Donald,
I like your statement that credible leadership must start at the top. I think that is very true statement and think that the leadership at the top is what sets the example and tone for the entire organization. Line supervisors that are credible will make officers' work easier but it will still be impacted if the top leadership of the agency is not credible.
True enough Donald. Credible leadership should not only trickle down but be adopted by those in the ranks. Positivity can breed innovation and group empowerment. Setting the right example can only expand the commands capabilities.
Credible leadership is extremely important. A credible leader can lose their credibility quickly as well. I can think back to a time when someone who I thought was a leader of high credibility, lost that credibility. I had a former patrol lieutenant at my Sheriff's Office who completed went against his role during an election and divided the department because he sided with one half and not the other. It created a toxic work environment and lots of people lost respect for him due to this behavior. Credibility is a tough thing to gain and even tougher to get back.
Credible leadership is no doubt a must have as part of your leadership toolbox. Ensuring we are constantly working towards AND maintaining high levels of credibility and not slipping into the low category is paramount. A credible leader can have so much impact on personnel in an agency and can help cultivate our future leaders of the organization.
Jeff, this module is exactly what you said and ties into the previous modules. I agree that a credible leader impacts others in the agency and is how we can cultivate future leaders.
Credibility is such a key portion of leadership success, but one’s credibility can be viewed from varying perspectives that may create difficulty in groups agreeing if a leader is truly credible or not. Just turn to politics to see the division of who believes who is or is not credible. It is not a black and white, one-size-fits-all, philosophy. I find certain leaders to be non-credible and others to have great credibility. In speaking with others, I often discover my viewpoints and theirs do not match. Therefore, credible leadership is, to some degree, swayed by the response of the followers, the ability to connect with the leader, and the similarity or differences between the leader and follower.
I have also witnessed the credibility of great people be tarnished (especially in our career), because one FTO or one Sergeant does not like a certain officer. Yet, I’ve seen those same officers switch agencies and become incredible leaders, without making any other changes, simply because their credibility was not tarnished by others. I value the insight and education on credible leaders, but we must also be aware of one’s credibility being diminished unfairly.
I concur Brian. I have also seen many officers leave the organization because of bad relationships with supervisors only to excel in other agencies. I'll admit, that I have also thought about leaving my organization a few times in the past but stuck around when the philosophies of upper management changed.
The importance of Credible leaders is an undeniable importance in law enforcement. It is important for people to enjoy their job in an agency. as we learned earlier in this course most stress comes from within the agency. A credible leader serves as a buffer to minimize the stressors that are unnecessary for the team to endure. Having a team that likes coming to work and feels productive and successful also minimizes turnover. This positive outcome helps create a more cohesive team.
Credible leadership is a must in a law enforcement agency, however often time leaders who posses low credibility are celebrated and advanced for what they do politically. In my opinion, this is short sighted and detrimental to the development of future credible leaders that will carry the agency into the future. It is the leader with high credibility that drives the agency to be successful in a manner that creates change and the next breed of leaders.
Through my personal experiences, low credibility leaders create low morale within the organization. This leader produces low productivity and are close-minded. Typically, I have found these leaders to be the ones we refer to as "retired on duty." They feel they have already done their time and part and are only in the position based on time. They are looking to retirement and not the betterment of the individuals or the organization. Often, these leaders are responsible for high turnover rates and dissatisfaction with the agency.
This is true Peyton. On the other side of the spectrum you have those who try to do too much and with no regard to the individuals their decision are affecting. This can also cause conflict and increase all the negative outcomes. having a balance is essential and having someone in a leadership role to monitor this behavior is critical.
I agree with you Andrew. The low credibility leaders I have come across don't bother to assist those under his command. When the leader is addressed with a concern, nothing is done. The officer will have to figure the issue out on his own or seek guidance from another person.
In my opinion the lessons on Servant Leadership and Credible leadership; both feed off of each other. It explains how a low credibility leader can get a task completed, but will not be able to sustain or thrive. Where as high credibility leadership is genuine and dependable and has the future in mind. This style of credibility puts the individuals, the future, and the agency first. These things are their priority and firmly believe if they're successful; than the agency will be.
In the law enforcement profession, it is imperative to have credible leaders. I have seen and heard about both high and low credible leaders during my short career. If the leader does not have credibility their subordinates will not want to follow them. A high credible leader is a good role model for their subordinates and create a positive environment that they will want to emulate.
Well said, Darryl. Working for highly credible leaders will not only create that positive work environment for everyone around them, but will also be key in cultivating the future leaders of the organization.
I have experienced both high and low credibility leaders throughout my career. I will start with the low credible leader who was a former boss. This commander would always stay in his office and not engage at all unless it was essential. He was a mild and meek individual that seems to care only about incidents that were occurring at that time. He only wanted to know things on a case-by-case basis. I was somewhat confused and began to believe that he was just scared to know any information. This was certainly detrimental to the overall team's success because we lacked confidence in his abilities to lead. On the other hand, I have worked for one of the few high credible leaders in my organization. This commander was very engaging. He showed that he cared about the cases and would from time to time give his advice on furthering an investigation but he knew how to suggest a way to accomplish something rather than giving a directive on how to proceed. He let the team own the decision and empowered all of us to take ownership. As a team, we believed in him and trusted what he said because he was a man of integrity.
I agree Kevin. An I am fortunate to have worked for the same credible leader you just described. He had the right way of suggesting something and giving that sometimes necessary nudge to encourage you to further your investigation.
Upon reflecting on this module the number of low credibility leaders that I could think of was easy to come up with. The high credibility leaders that came to mind was a very shortlist. Many of the supervisors I have had fall somewhere in the middle. However, when I think of specific incidents with these leaders the instances where their credibility was questionable are the ones that come to mind first. It is amazing how the low credibility leaders or the situations where a leader demonstrated low credibility come to mind first. This shows the importance of developing ourselves into highly credible leaders so we can make a positive impact.
Burt I agree, it is unfortunate that it is easier to identify the low credibility leaders as opposed to high credibility leaders. Agencies need to recognize the effects the leaders have on the organization and rectify the issues. Additional training such as these courses could certainly help an organization.
Upon completing this module I couldn't help but remember and reflect upon my past ranking officers I served under. The low credibility vs. the high could always be seen and felt and always affected morale and performance. Of all of the 7 unethical practices Dr. Long spoke of, the last resonated the most with me from my past personal experiences; failure to employ critical evaluative listening, using emotional appeals instead of telling the truth. People will not believe in the message if they don't believe the messenger.
This module was very clear from the beginning on its objectives of defining credibility and how to achieve credibility. From starting with a clear definition and giving the examples of how they developed this definition. I found it interesting that they asked the same question to so many groups and came up with a consensus of four traits of a leader. Those traits are things we have discussed over and over again: honesty, competency, inspiration, and vision (Long, 2017). Then when they discussed the six disciplines of credibility, I thought about how I can work on these as part of my own leadership journey. I definitely need to work on # 4 and #6 the most with my team. Developing capacity and sustaining hope are things my team needs more of from me.
Long, L. (2017). Credible leadership. Module 5, Weeks 5 & 6. National Command and Staff College.
A credible leader is one of the most important leader characteristics in my opinion. When you have a credible leader present, you will work harder, better, be happier at work, and you will really enjoy your job. A credible leader as the lesson explained really well is truthful, competent, smart, experienced, inspirational, compassionate, energetic, and have a vision. Everyone should want to work for a credible leader. A credible leader is the cornerstone of effectiveness and greatness. Some character traits that I look for most in a credible leader is trustworthy and honesty. No one wants to follow a dishonest leader. I really enjoyed this lecture and the information that was presented.
Kaiana, I completely agree with you. When I think of some of my past leaders, it is so eye opening how many of those characteristics the high credible leaders had. I also really enjoyed going to work for them and would even look forward to getting back to work after taking vacations. Unfortunately, I have also worked for the complete opposite too and could not wait for vacations or find ways to be out of the office.
Ethical leaders become credible leaders who become authentic leaders...this progression defines the journey of authentic leaders while identifying some of the pitfalls and challenges along the way. Long (2021) discusses, in detail, seven unethical community behaviors that should resonate with all of us. IN recounting these behaviors, he focuses on personal responsibility of developing leaders. these responsibilities include: adequately preparing, staying true to one's convictions, sincerity, transparency, honesty, sticking with the facts instead of sensationalizing issues and listening- really listening.
By recognizing the importance of dealing with such missteps and preparing to avoid them by becoming their antithesis, we will progress towards the goal of an authentic leader. Coupled with the six disciplines of credibility, which focuses on a service mantra centered on people and needs, being able to address the seven unethical behaviors and avoiding the pitfalls of such, our journey will be rich in personal experience...and we will be better fort it!
References
Long, L. (2021). Leadership in practice: credible leadership. Module # 5, Week # 5. National Command and Staff College.
I appreciated Dr. Long outlining the characteristics of low vs. high credibility leadership. He noted that low credibility leaders focus on themselves, employ coercion techniques, and are closed off to other. In contrast he stated high credibility leaders have open doors, are team oriented, and committed. This really made me reflect on both characteristics of leaders I have served under and characteristics (both good and bad) that I have displayed myself.
Robert,
It is nice to see that I’m not only the only one that noticed the challenges that Dr. Long issued during this lesson. I keep feeling like this program puts a spot light on all of my blind spots and shines a light on every time I made a mistake as a leader. But learning from our mistakes and improving is a big part of growing as leaders so I must have a lot of growing left to do. As for thinking about my previous supervisors, I think it is probably best to let most of their faults go and to concentrate on not repeating their mistakes while forgiving them for their transgressions.
Agreed. I couldn't help but remember and reflect upon the actions and attitudes of my past ranking officers. The selfishness of the low credibility leaders vs. the the high were always noticeable and certainly affected morale and job performance.
Robert - I also enjoyed the high and low credible leadership presentation. As Dr. Long went through the information I immediately identified leaders from both sides throughout my career.
As a leader, you should ensure that your followers believe you are credible. If your followers feel that you are untruthful and have lost all credibility they will not believe and follow the message. Credibility also plays out with the public as well as in the court systems. Once you lose your credibility, your career as a police officer is pretty close to being over.
Derek, I agree. We must make sure we act credibly especially as a leader. If we, as leaders, do not demonstrate credibility then we are cultivating future leaders who also will not have credibility.
I believe what summed up this lecture for me was the comment Larry Long mentioned about credible leadership, credible leadership is someone who can inspire, is honest and is an effective communicator to include listening as an effective form of communication, this behavior manifests itself into leader behavior (Long, 2017).
The (6) disciplines of credibility are a significant undertaking, and a few are much harder than I think most people realize. As leaders, taking an active interest in our constituents, affirming our shared values, and serving a purpose are more common disciplines that many leaders employ. I think the hardest of the (6) is definitely discovering yourself. One part of this is doing a self-assessment of your strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. Even if we don't admit them to anyone, most of us are aware of our weaknesses. The second part of this is seeking an assessment of your skills from others. Specifically, not the people you supervise (as they have an obligation in how they communicate with you), but your peers and supervisors. This can be a very difficult thing to do. We all like to think we can take any feedback in a constructive manner and use it to better ourselves. In practice, this can be much harder than it sounds. However, the only way to be a better leader is to be self aware and to maximize your strengths and improve upon your weaknesses.
Brent- I concur- self assessment, to me, is the most challenging construct within this concept. It is often difficult for us to put aside personal feelings of protection and defensiveness when we are being called out. However, the strength of Credible Leadership is being able to show resiliency in the face of challenges and even our weak areas of ability- that is what makes us better.
Best and stay safe-
Ken
Posner (2015) said, “People will not believe the message, if they don’t believe the messenger.”
This really stood out to me and I can think of countless examples, both good and bad, within a former department of these types of leaders. The ones that you trust and just follow because they're credible. And the ones you always seem to questions or double check their intent because you know they're not credible. The ones lack credibility are the ones that seem to always have an agenda or alternative motives. It's amazing looking back, and around, how even if you are given an opportunity by someone you feel is not credible, it's always suspect. Like they said, it's hard to trust the message when you don't trust the messenger.
“People will not believe the message, if they don’t believe the messenger.”
Posner's quote is also what stood out to me in this module. It's short and simple, but all encapsulating. Attempting to lead without credibility is an impossible task.
If you are not a credible leader then why be a leader? Most do it all for the power and to be recognized. I know we have all seen every type of leader that this module goes over and we can't understand how some of them ever became a leader. We just have to push ourselves to be better that what came before us and learn from their mistakes and be the best leader we can for our agency and our community.
This was another good module to continue to develop our understanding of what it takes to be an authentic, credible, and ethical leader. As I viewed the qualities of both highly credible and low credible leaders, I instantly saw similarities with different supervisors I have had throughout my career. I may not have always know what to call someone who displayed low credibility, but I definitely knew they were very bad leaders.
I agree. With a good description of what a credible leader is and isn't, faces from the past quickly come into play. I can think of very distinct credible leaders, and those who were not. Looking back at their actions and the challenges they had, I can better my path and hopefully meet less resistance.
Leadership credibility is one of the most impactful things on followship. Leaders need to develop their skills continuously to maintain a level of competence. Everything we say and do impacts how people perceive us and their perception of us. To be credible, leaders also need to be the standard, not just set it.
I agree Travis! That's why leaders that are not credible does not have followers. Who wants to follow someone that does not inspire us and better yet, someone that is not honest.
In this module I appreciated the emphasis on communication and honesty. Being able to communicate effectively in any situation is so important. What you communicate as a leader directly effects follower’s perception of you. In so many ways I have seen leaders lose credibility because of the lack of communication or the delivery of the message. Listening is a valuable part of communication and is how we can learn to align our values and mission.
We see this everyday with communication and listening. As I tell people that listening is a skill you have to learn to listen. Any one can hear you but the ones that truly listen to you is the leader you want to stand with.
"People do not believe the message if they don`t believe the messenger.” I find that there is so much truth in that statement. In my department what I see when this happens is it causes subordinates to lose faith in their leader and causes them to go else where to seek answers or advice. That can turn a rocky relationship between leader and subordinate even worse. We as leaders must work every day to maintain our credibility.
I liked how the module emphasized the role communication plays in a leader establishing their credibility among their followers. We can be honest, open, and treat others fairly, but if we don't clearly communicate these things with our staff, they wont perceive us as being credible. As leaders we need to get out from behind our desks and build relationships with our people. We need to work on communicating that we care, and seek input from staff in our decision making. While it may be faster and easier to simply issue directives, involving staff in problem solving can build their self-confidence and empower them to take on new challenges.
I look back through my career and think about all the high and low credible leaders that i have had. It was hard not to have pictures of them pop up in my head when going through this module. This module was nice as it causes you to think about the type of leader that you are and course correct if you see yourself going off course
Steve,
I had the same thought. I thought back to my previous leaders and both of high credibility and low credibility. I specifically thought back to someone I viewed as a credible leader but lost that credibility due to his actions during an election. This module also made me look back on the leader I am and how I am viewed by those I lead.
Leaders that lack credibility are usually quickly identified in Law Enforcement. It typically does not take long for word to spread that the person does not possess the credentials to be in the position they are in. In my experience, these types of leaders rarely receive respect, and their subordinates will only do the "mandatory minimum".
Most of the time the word is out before that person even assumes command. People tend to only "listen" because they have to, not because they believe in that person.
I've seen this happen on several occasions. Law enforcement officers are typically a pretty perceptive bunch, simply due to the nature of the job and they pick up quickly on a lack of credibility. Once this lack of credibility is perceived by subordinates it is not a reputation that is likely to be forgotten.
The amount of trust runs parallel with the level of credibility we have with our staff. If we say we are going to do something for them, we need do it. As leaders, we must follow up our words with actions if we want to be credible. Mr. Posner said you know that you are a leader when you have followers behind you. Leaders must take care of those following them to remain credible and ensure the future of their organization.
Thomas, I agree with you whole heartedly. Those actions are synonymous with being a role-model. Nothing disgusts me more than leaders who bark orders and refuse to do the work. We role model to make them better than us. If they see us committed to them, they will be committed to us. Where our values lie, they will align with them.
The Six Disciplines of Credibility discussed in the module all seem equally important; however, if I had to choose one in particular, Appreciating Constituents seems like it may be a discipline to truly master. Getting to know your team, involving others, and listening are all a part of the discipline. A leader who understands and connects with their team shows they are engaged and interested in their involvement. A credible leader can communicate with their team with ease, and their employees should react to this in a positive way.
Credibility is only as good as the person and only lasts as long as the credible person works to maintain their credibility. A credible leader is a commodity that should be traded in the stock market, they are that valuable to any organization. Any person who creates a leader-follower relationship with people and inspires those people to work towards the mission and carry on the future vision of a department is a valuable asset. Ethical, moral, and competent leaders create credibility and in this era, we need all the credible leaders we can find to restore the police legitimacy being destroyed by a few bad law enforcement decisions.
You made a great point about working to maintain your credibility. Just because you are a credible leader at one point, does not meet to stop working at it – we must strive to make ourselves better and always try to self-improve. If we want to become good role models, we need to show to others we can’t stop at “just good enough.”
A law enforcement leader's credibility is important for many reasons. When a leader can be trusted, is honest, has integrity and possesses strong moral guidance that leader will have credibility. Credibility takes work to maintain and as long as we can stay honest and true our credibility will remain.
I agree Marshall, it takes work to maintain your credibility with your staff. One slip up or act of carelessness can damage relationships with others and your credibility as a leader. We must always be mindful of our behaviors and actions and ensure we are practicing what we preach.
We have to work on that daily. Once we lose the credibility, it would seem next to impossible to get it back.
As a leader, credibility is crucial. I particularly like the quote from Posner; “People will not believe the message if they don’t believe in the messenger.” If our credibility fails, we fail. We must never lose sight of the need for use to be held to the highest standards when it comes to our leadership positions and work every day to gain and maintain true credibility.
Credibility, the foundation for all of the leadership styles, is essential in creating the required trust within an organization or society to achieve success. Leaders often fail to abide by the three items that should serve as a foundation of decision-making. Decisions for a leader must be judged against whether it is legal, moral, and ethical. Doing things without a complete analysis of these three themes leads to poor decisions because without meeting all three, doing something just because one can often is not appropriate. Poor decisions, even trivial, are often the downfall of a leader’s credibility. In this profession, the destruction of one’s credibility is the beginning of the end for the person. This profession demands credible people; this is a reason for the erosion of public trust.
I remember at my dept. it was learned that a supervisor was not telling the truth about an incident. The impact that had on his career was destroyed him for the rest of his years of employment. It is so important to have credibility.
Very true. I remember this being one of the first things I learned at the academy and after being hired - if you lie you die. There is no placed for anything less than the truth in law enforcement; especially now a days.
I really brought away a couple things from this module. First off that this if there is a issue with the messenger, the message will not be take with confidence, and secondly when hiring, hire personal that fit in the culture of you agency.
Two very good points.
Ironically (or not) my inspiration to become a leader was due to the low credibility leaders I observed through the early part of my career. After the last several modules, I now have "titles" and "characteristics" to label these so called leaders. I find that the credible leaders are easy to follow since they exude the confidence and honesty that one looks for in a true, credible leader.
Brad
When I began my journey learning about and becoming a leader I realized I had not emulated any one person, I was able to find something good in each person assigned as a leader but it took a long time for me to meet a person I felt I would follow. That person had credibility about him that made people like and believe in him. I didn't know what it was but he was honest and he tried to lift people up and encourage them to do more and better themselves in order to better the command. Like I said I didn't know what to call it, years later in another course, credible leadership came up and I was able to put my finger on it.
Barry Posner's Ted Talk nailed credible leadership in 12 minutes. We want to follow people who are fundamentally honest, competent, enthusiastic and forward looking. I agree, following leaders with these traits is inspiring and makes going to work feel like riding a bike downhill.
He did pretty much nail this one in a very succinct and meaningful way. It was a realistic approach. I especially appreciated “competency” as a trait of a credible leader. There was a recent sheriff’s election in my state in which a six-year officer, with a very checkered history, was “elected” as sheriff simply because of his particular political affiliation. The far more qualified and COMPETENT sheriff was ousted. I would NOT want to be in his organization because of his incompetence and low credibility.
One powerful takeaway from this lesson was the ability for a credible leader to have a vision for the future of the department. I don't think as leaders we give enough thought to telling our people where it is that we want to go as a department. I also thought lesson from Dominic Barton building a network of leaders was important. I think a lot of people have a vision of a leader who is naturally an extrovert and strong with their opinion, but what we fail to realize at the end of the day it’s the support network that surrounds the leader who truly helps the organization become successful. That network of leaders carries out the leader’s vision. To be a credible leader we cannot just have a vision, we must be passionate and excited about it. That type of passion filters down.
I strive everyday to be a credible leader. I am honest, competent, inspirational, and forward thinking. Being credible can increase the level of satisfaction that subordinates have as they operate in their every day role.
Nicole,
Great comment, I as well try and put my best foot forward everyday. I never really thought about self reflecting frequently until it was brought up in this module. I will do more of that from here on out.
This module covered information about credible leadership. From what we have covered I like to view credible leadership as the cornerstone with integrity being the foundation. I enjoyed the way the module described what credible leadership is; honest, competent, inspirational, and forward thinking with these things equaling credible. Much of the information reinforces many of the characteristics discussed within other modules.
i agree with you. credible and integrity can be interchanged. It solidifies what we have already been taught
People will not willing follow someone who they do not believe or trust. period. Credible leadership happens when your values line up with your leadership goals. When the followers see that you are a person of integrity. "people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it". If you're not credible, people won't buy your "why".
I am of the belief that when failure happens in an organization it is the direct result of failed leadership. We can never eliminate all mistakes that happen in the organization but when we look at the benefits of being a credible leader; Increased level of employee satisfaction, enhanced productivity, less turn over, organizational commitment increases and employees are more stimulated to achieve goals. Is there a reason why we should not strive to be credible leaders? The constant unwavering journey that it takes to become a credible leader involves regular self-reflection and always placing our people first.
You asked "Is there a reason why we should not strive to be credible leaders?" No, there is not an ethical answer to this question but there are several unethical ones. We have all witnessed unethical behaviors by our peers and leadership teams. Sometimes we ignore it or apply excuses but it does exist. In some cases the only way to be promotes is to join the current leadership practices.. Certainly not the right way to go about things but at times unethical behavior in organizations is rewarded or ignored which makes it even more difficult to strive to be a credible leader.
Being a strong leader isn't something that you can turn off and on depending on the situation or circumstances. You don't get to to choose the day that you want to do well at it. Others recognize your level of credibility and don't forget it. I have worked for leaders with low credibility and it is extremely frustrating. I had a leader that would act completely different when someone that was more superior was around and always told them the good things they wanted to hear, versus the real issues that were occurring. This person did this as a Deputy and when it came time for a new Sergeant's position to be open, the acted as if their credibility had increased.
Why would anyone follow me? Am I a credible leader? Some really good questions brought up in this module.
Honesty, competent, inspirational, and forward-looking are the qualities identified in the TED talk and the lecture. Would you respect someone who lies to you? How about someone who is incompetent or inexperienced? Does my leader have a vision and does it inspire me? When I analyze myself as a leader with these qualities I would like to think that I am a credible leader. Not perfect as the module lecture spoke about but credible. I am always interested in learning and asking questions. Get to know the people, what makes them tick, what are their interests on the job and in their personal lives. Too often we're wrapped up in our own selves and forget about the people.
People will not buy into our message, our leadership if they don't believe in us as people first.
Being a credible leader is about earning and maintaining the trust. The trust is earned by being honest, maintaining open communications, keeping a standard and not being scared to get out there and work. You should make an effort to not only let your people know they are valued but to also make them feel valued. Credible leaders are authentic leaders and their actions will mirror their values.
And be interested in them and their feedback. Trust is the word that gets brought up often in these lessons, there must be a reason?
Good point on modeling actions to show your values. Don't speak one thing and do another.
Dr. Long spoke about the six specific disciplines that have been identified for earning and sustaining credibility. For me what stood out in this area was that research has shown admired leaders have integrity. In a profession where integrity is at the forefront of everything we do, it should also be the focus of our leadership values as well and unfortunately it is not.
Credibility and trust between the community and any Law Enforcement agency is essential. This credibility is the responsibility of every leader within the organization. When mistakes happen, and they will, that trust and credibility that has been built will help the organization and community get past them.
Very well put William. In light of everything that's been happening in this country over the past few years, we have to still work hard and defining who we are and building those relationships with the community and our officers. I think there is one Minnesota police agency that could be a case study in what happens when you lose credibility among leadership. Retention goes, moral, ethics, trust, and so on.
Trust within the community is vital for an law enforcement organization. That trust is built over time with open communications and transparency which allows both the community and organizations to constructively work through issues and mistakes that will happen.
Having the backing of the community is important in law enforcement. They can serve as extra eyes and ears. I agree mistakes will happen, But, we also learn from our mistakes too.
Well put William, trust is everything; when it comes to the community. The community has to believe in the agency and its' transparency. This all starts with the supervisors; making sure themselves and their subordinates are credible leaders and individuals.
It has been reiterated throughout this program, but the point couldn’t be more important as it pertains to credible leadership. Leading people is a perishable skill. It is a journey to become a leader, and a credible and authentic one at that. But it takes a lifetime of continuous self-evaluation and improvement to maintain that status as a credible leader. I most appreciated the 6 Disciplines of Credibility in this module. This not only forces the leader to practice self-awareness, but also puts into practice the effort of maintaining awareness of their organizational goals, awareness of each individual on their team and how to align them with one another so the team not only achieves those goals, but develops relationships with them along the way.
Good points. Leadership is relational and interpersonal. Developing relationships based on honest, sincere, trust, and common purpose helps create credible leadership.
I agree with the importance of the 6 Disciplines of Credibility. One of the strongest of the 6 is self-awareness. I have seen some intelligent people take leadership positions but were totally unaware of their own behavior or perception of behavior. That can quickly ruin a leader’s credibility.
Andy, totally agree, I also have witnessed this.
Dr. Larry Long spoke about trust being a critical component of credibility. If there is no trust in a leader then it will be difficult for them to be effective. Credibility is what inspires people who want to be led by you.
I agree with you Chris, with zero trust, we will have zero credibility. We will never be able to get to know our subordinates, if they have no trust in us. Trust is the basic building block of all relationships. They need to trust us, and we need to trust them to be effective leaders, and to survive the profession we chose.
Credibility big part of leadership. It is the cornerstone. If people do not believe you, believe you are competent, are inspirational, have confidence and that you believe in yourself, people are more like to believe you are not credible. My experience with low credibility is they have hidden agendas. They do things for the moment, they come across as caring, they may offer support, praise and mentorship. Once their agenda has been fulfilled they revert back to what they were before. They use a person for their knowledge, skillset and all the credit for that persons work. As a young police officer i saw this and it made me lose respect for leadership in the agency. It wasn't until i had a sergeant who had a lot of credibility change my perspective. It was very obvious they had a genuine concern for people and demonstrated that all the time. No agendas. It definitely opened my eyes to how destructive this leader can be to an organization.
Leadership is one of the most important foundation of an organization either in a private or public sector. This module really made me realize and put a label on low credible and high credible leadership. I'm sure we've all had the experience to work with both. A low credible leader can be devastating to any organization. These leaders can destroy morale within a police department especially with the rank structure and those who fall under their leadership. Low credible leaders are secluded, pay little attention to the performance of their followers and are more self centered with their achievements. However, the high credible leader is a team player whom sees the glass as half full. In my years of service, I look to the highly credible leader and also try to structure my leadership style as a highly credible leader. A part of this leadership in my opinion is being a servant leader.
Credible leadership is a never ending task. Leaders must work hard to obtain the status of being credible but I think they almost need to work harder at keeping the status. On our way up through the ranks, many sets of eyes will be on you but once you are running the organization ALL eyes will be on you from within and outside the walls. Using the overcoming limitations segment would most likely benefit you will trying to maintain that status quo. I think one must continue to increase self knowledge, avoid self deception, ask yourself questions about where you can get more information and develop another level of trust by being transparent.
Credibility is defined by other people’s perception of our trustworthiness, competency, ability to inspire, and ability to lead the way into the future. If any one of these four universal characteristics that Barry Posner talks about are out of balance, then our credibility will suffer for it. There is no question that honesty (or lack thereof) permeates every aspect of our leadership capacity. When trust is gone or damaged, it is very difficult to repair because people question our motives. People measure our credibility by observing if we are authentic to our moral and ethical principles. You see, being dishonest with others is only one of many ways to lose credibility. People also pay attention to whether we are honest with ourselves, namely, do we behave in congruence with our own values and beliefs. If they notice discrepancies in the way we portray ourselves and the reality of how we behave, then they logically conclude that we are untrustworthy. Honesty starts from within and being genuine about who we are and what we stand for will go a long way to earn credibility from others.
Dr. Long really hit it on the head right at the start of this presentation. Now, more than ever, our profession needs competent and credible leadership. Law enforcement leaders across the country are being scrutinized for what they do and don't do. While this seems obvious especially after Ferguson (2014), it is obvious that there are still some traditional leaders out there who cannot or will not change. Dr. Long focused on three other points that stood out to me. The first point is that communication is critical to credibility. How can a leader hope to inspire, motivate, and form bonds with subordinates if they cannot opening and honestly communicate. Also important (as many have already noted) listening is a key component of communication. Second point is how much influence is tied to credibility. I think many good intentioned leaders go about their business oblivious to how their influence (or lack of it) impacts their ability to get things done. This is especially true for the authentic leader who is striving to internalize their relationship with their subordinates to achieve long term change. Additionally, the internalization process requires a leader to be trusted, competent and inspirational. lastly, I appreciated Dr. Long highlighting the low and high ends of credibility. Sometimes when you see it in print or hear it coming from a respected source, this information has more impact on its audience. In this instance, the list (both good and bad) gives the leader a basic litmus test to do a quick self assessment.
Credible leadership increases the overall satisfaction within the organization and staff will work harder and want to be part of the organization. As stated in this lesson, we are living in a time where leaders will be challenged more due to us being in a volatile time. Having credible leadership in your organizations now, and in the future, is needed due to the times that are ahead of us.
Agreed, and it is only going to be more expansive. Our every move will be scrutinized due to audio and video. Credibility in the organization can overcome small mistakes that are inevitable.
I enjoyed the first video when the speaker in the TED talk was discussing how people define a leader. I found it interesting that no matter how diverse of a group they surveyed almost everyone came up with fairly similar answers when they were talking about what makes up a credible leader. That tells me that we as society are all looking for similar things and similar people to follow. Listening to this module I began to think of leaders and authority figures that I have been supervised by and how much of a difference their style of leadership was. Their type of style directly affected not just my professional life, but my personal as well.
I liked the first video as well and agree that we all know what treating people like people should be. And how the module makes it seem fairly simple. Unfortunately I also know there have been times when I was that supervisor that affected someone's professional and personal life. It was out of ignorance for a better way and frustration that someone would put forth the effort I knew they were capable of. So, kudos to you for seeking out better ways to improve others.
Thanks for the honesty, Nathan. We all fail, hopefully, the failures are recoverable over time and we can rebuild trust. By listening (X3) and building trust we will be credible. We also need to continually learn as leadership is a skill that needs continual study. Our followers will reap the reward of our educational successes.
I enjoyed Posner's tedtalk in this module and especially picked up on his statement "If people don't beleive the messenger, they won't believe the message." That is such an impactful statement and should be something that every leader keeps in mind. Building trust in order to enhance credibility should be every leader's goal. One of the first steps to do this is modeling the way. If leaders want to talk the talk they better walk the walk. Leaders must hold themselves accountable to the same standards as everyone in the organization in order to build and maintain credibility.
I found the messenger statement very powerful too. Without trust, everything else we do is fruitless. You can have the best ideas, be an exceptional communicator, and have all the necessary skills to lead others, but without trust, people will not believe your message. They will follow orders but will never really believe in you.
I enjoyed several comments by Dr. Long in this module. "Leadership is a relationship." We all have experienced good and bad relationships and we've all had good and bad leaders. Usually those bad leaders have a bad relationship with their staff. Probably my favorite comment he made was "Talking is overrated. Listen, listen, listen." Some people never close their mouth long enough for their ears to turn on. Then there are those that try to make it appear they are listening but it is obvious they are just waiting for their turn to talk. This comment is so true. I have told my children many times we were given two ears and one mouth because listening is more important that talking.
Very true, listening is a key component of leadership. I've been a part of conversations between leaders where each of them is literally talking over each other and neither is listening to what they have to say. It's frustrating for me to be even part of the conversation because I can't listen intently to what each of them has to say because neither of them shut their mouths to listen. I sit there marveling how neither of them realizes what they are doing.
I agree with "listen, listen, listen". I frequently find myself not following this advise. When this happens, I ask the other party if they can repeat what they said, just to ensure that I listened to what was said again.
A leaders credibility is the most important for a leader to be significant. Without credibility, followers may still comply based solely on the rank the leader holds over them. Although, they may only do the minimum required to comply. A leaders credibility can be damaged in a moment but it can take years to repair if ever in the mind of the followers.
Good point Lt, I think once a leaders credibility has been damaged it can be almost impossible to get it back. I think that directly effects how many people (if any) will follow them and how much productivity they will put out
Ryan, I agree with a point on the rebuilding over years comment. If we motivate our followers to also better themselves by educating themselves, emotional intelligence will kick in with many of them. In other words, if they understand where we're coming from they will forgive us when we make a mistake. Likewise, they will better understand why we had to make a hard decision. We still have to hold people accountable for things (good and bad).
When the credibility of the leader has been damaged, I honestly do not know how someone would recover from that catastrophe. I think we have all worked with and for people that we do not trust because of something that this person has done or said while they are a leader or even prior to their promotion.
I totally agree with you.
Very true. Once credibility is damaged it is going to be very hard to repair it. Credibility can take years to earn but can be damaged within seconds.
I agree Sergeant Blanchette. The quote from Barry Posner summed it up nicely, "People will not believe the message if they don't believe the messenger. "
Credible leadership is one very important aspect for leaders and aspiring leaders. Credibility encompasses expert or referent power but leaders must be mindful on how to practice these. Too much can send a negative message of over confident or coincided. Credible leadership is the driving force of influence for expected professional, moral and ethical behaviors. Without credibility leaders are only obeyed and their ranks and positions are “respected” but no true trust is practiced or developed. I have worked for great people with a high sense of credibility that inspired me to go to work people l believed their vision. They led by example and practiced extreme ownership of every aspect of their leaders. They fostered trust among the team. This module helped me to better understand this great style of leadership.
Eduardo makes a good point when he said "without credibility leaders are only obeyed and their ranks and positions are “respected” but no true trust is practiced or developed". I learned what kind of leader I wanted to be as a newly minted Second Lieutenant in the Army. By virtue of my commission I was entitled to respect. I saw many other fellow officers who used their rank to bully and manipulate others. These same officers were demonized by their subordinates behind their backs and were only in command when they were present. In short, they had no credibility. I realized I did not want to be that kind of leader. I listened to my Platoon Sergeant. I developed expertise (competency), I was fair and honest with my subordinates, and I freely told my platoon what we could accomplish in the short time I was in charge. This took a while, but I knew that when they saluted me, they did it out of respect for me as a leader not just because of the rank I wore.
Eduardo,
Thanks for sharing! I worked for a supervisor in the past that constantly used the phrase "I was an adequate officer at best." He said this numerous times over the years. While his intention in the statement appeared to be an attempt to point out good work, it also got to the point where we grew tired of hearing it. He also used it as a way to try to build relationships with us, however it really didn't foster our belief in his knowledge, competency, or ability to do the job. It didn't cause people to build relationships or garner trust in him as a supervisor.
This model really emphasized the importance of being a credible leader. Trust is the foundation to cultivating a following. A credible leader motivates their followers and increases the level of satisfaction in their followers, which ups the level of engagement and production. Credible leaders leave legacies and are the mark by which all are measured who come after.
Posner's video was a good way to open this module, and I made sure I took notes on his quote People will not believe the message if they don't believe the messenger." I also liked Dr. Long's quote towards the end of the module when he said "Trust is the most important component of establishing yourself as a credible leader." These messages were nice bookends to the information in the module, and the discussion on low credibility vs. high credibility leaders had me looking back on my career and seeing both types of former supervisors. I still maintain that I learned just as much from the bad (low credibility) leaders, in that it made me see the types of behavior I promised I would not do to someone else, many of which were covered in the 'Seven Unethical Behaviors' section in the module.
I agree Jim. I think most of us can say the same about learning from low credibility leaders. They set great examples of what not to be like.
In this module, we studied credible leadership. It talked about credibility being the heart of a leader, that credible leaders guide others to success, and is the cornerstone of ability through trust and expertise. I couldn't agree more. In my organization, we have leaders that have a high sense of credibility and some that have a low sense of credibility. The leaders with a low sense of credibility do not have the trust of their employees because of a lack of expertise, they are not good with other employees and not the best at being team-oriented. The leaders that are credible tell their followers what they are going to do and then carry that through. They are good listeners and are not afraid to get their hands dirty. They are trusted and mostly just care about their people.
I this module, Dr. Larry Long discussed being a credible leader. During the Tedx Talk with Barry Posner, he said, "People will not believe the message if they don't believe the messenger." This quote resonated with me and it was repeated again in the module. It's important that we are high credible leaders rather than low credible leaders. The behaviors that make up both high credible and low credible leaders was outlined in this module. Trust is one of the most critical components of being a credible leader. Without trust, you can't be viewed as credible.
Barry Posner's quote also resignated with me and I immediately thought back over the supervisors I have had over the years. The supervisors that I did not trust were those that had provided messages but never carried through with it. They lost all credibility and when they would bring new ideas up no one ever believed it would be followed through.
Society sets the conditions of what is acceptable and required. Too often, we create a culture or mentality that we know better. This disconnect is essential when one looks at organizations that failed. The seven unethical behaviors are usually at the root of the challenge affecting an organization. Legal, moral, and ethical are and will always be the benchmark to evaluate a situation. Just because one can do something, it may not be the right choice or course of action.
This was a very informative module regarding developing credible leadership. One of the key points that I took from the module was in being a high credible leader. Our office is a strong supporter of an open-door policy and encourages others to provide their input in decision making or to voice concerns with open communication. This module also talked about trust as a critical component of developing credible leadership. You need trust from your subordinates to develop inspiration in you as a supervisor so they will develop the motivation for the team to be successful.
Nice review of the module. I agree that an open door policy is essential to credible leadership. Building trust through open communication and transparency is key.
Just like most others in the discussion group, unfortunately, I have had the displeasure of working under a few "low credibility leaders" over the years. They truly make you appreciate the credible ones. Being an insecure person and only surrounding yourself with those that will boost your ego, dishonesty, taking credit instead of giving it, impersonal communication, practicing favoritism, and self-serving behavior are all hallmarks of leaders who aren't perceived as credible. As quoted in this module, "People will not believe the message if they do not believe in the messenger." People will only follow these types because they have to, not because they want to.
I couldnt agree with you more. I have to work for people you described and it was a hard experience. I couldn't wait for the shift to be over. It made it incredibly hard to come to work and get motivated. I remember thinking how hard it was because i didnt know what to believe. Your peers told you one way and your leaders told you another.
When we talk about low credibility leaders vs. high credibility leaders, it amazes me how often we talk about the low credibility leaders. Most of us have worked for a good leader and a bad leader at some point in our career, and it shows how much you can learn from both.
I agree we do learn from both and all of these modules up to and including this one have typically had examples. But what makes me think a little bit deeper about this is how we, especially in law enforcement, tend to focus on the negative. It’s human nature after all, but we certainly do it in LE. Perhaps the non-credible or poor leader is not self-aware because no one showed them the path? As credible leaders, we are to expect and accept others mistakes and help them through learn and grow through that. That may be just one of the toughest things to do…help someone through when they have lost credibility due to a mistake.
That is so true how we focus on the negative and talk about the poor leader often. It’s rare we focus on the good leaders. I remember knowing a leader who had lost his credibility with his people. One day he asked me for advice and I was honored that he thought enough of me to seek an opinion. It was a tough conversation but I feel we both grew from the honest exchange.
There are two leadership types in credible leadership, they can be identified by the differences in leadership style. Low and high credibility styles of leadership are total opposites. Most people are drawn to highly credible leaders. I have worked with both. It is hard to stay motivated, enjoy your job or look to the future if your leader lacks credibility. I have always had an open door way of inviting my team members to communicate. It has paved a way for me to become successful. I enjoy taking my team on the journey when we all win.
The good thing is that upcoming leaders now have an opportunity to break this cycle. We all know what a low credibility leader looks like, and we didn't enjoy working for them. No one should ever want to imitate any of these qualities, regardless of the "low-credibility leader's ability to get the job done. As stated in the module, "Compliance is a short-term strategy."
Your comment gives me hope along the same lines I have from going through this training- we have the opportunity to break the cycle and use what we are learning to make positive, lasting changes in our agencies. The fact that you specifically mentioned that Compliance is a short-term strategy is a good reminder of fear of punishment not being a desirable reason for staff to complete tasks. We need the buy-in from our staff to fully accomplish our agency goals.
The low ones are troubling. When in their chain of command, it is hard to stay motivated because you are just trying to survive your time with them. You don't grow and the agency lacks innovation because no one will step forward with new ideas in fear of punishment or from fear of belittling. It is a dark and oppressive work environment due to a lack of trust. Overall, very damaging.
In this module, the subject explored was credible leaders. To become a credible leader you should have the leader skills to gain the trust of your peers. Subordinates display favoritism and accompany that individual that has a source of purpose. Furthermore, a willingness to do what it takes to get the job done. Others are able to detect if you are a credible leader. Followers will follow leaders with good work ethics. Poor leaders will always create poor morale. “People will not believe the message if they don’t believe the messenger.”
When an agency has poor morale it is all too often tied to poor leadership. Having great leaders does wonders for an agency. Gaining trust from your peers and subordinates is key but that trust has to be earned through action.
Joseph, you are spot on about trust being earned through action, many times acting alongside of a subordinate at a call or in a brainstorming exercise will increase both the supervisor and subordinates level of trust in one another, leading to both becoming more credible with one another.
It is nice to have verification that my thought process of leadership was on target before all of this. This module really helps one fine tune their approaches while having solid explanations as to why it is so important. Looking back on past leaders it is crazy how vastly different the low credibility and the high credibility supervisors were.
It is fair to say that I have witness supervisors of both good and poor leadership. Observing those supervisors has given me the tools that made me a good leader.
Much agreed Lieutenant, this point has been hit numerous times throughout the modules but it nice to have our thoughts and actions reaffirmed through this module. It shows up we are on the right track and doing the right thing.
As stated in the module, leadership is a relational issue where you have a leader and a follower. A credible leader is one that is inspirational, motivational, and inspiring, where communication is a critical component in an organization.
This particlaur module is very motivating and reminds us that open , honest, and straightforward with our peers is essential. People will gravitate towards us as we show genuine care and interest in leading properly. Equally, if we fail to provide a good example for people, not practice what we preach, it can create a leadership void in our agency.
I agree that people will gravitate towards genuine and motivational leaders. A leader must always set a good example by paying attention to the needs of others first before their own particular needs. Your subordinates will gain trust in you and work hard in order to keep morale high due to your inspiration.
When I look back on my career the term leadership was almost never mentioned. Instinctively there were supervisors and officers that you followed and modeled aspects of your behavior after. But that was about it. When you got promoted there was no supervisory or leadership training. You were congratulated, handed a gold badge and poof you were a supervisor. The best you could hope for was a good Lieutenant and fellow Sergeants willing to guild you in the right direction. If you had bad rank around you, all you could do is take the best aspects of your former supervisors and try to adapt those characteristics into your own style. Thank goodness those days are behind us. Agencies are finally realizing that teaching and developing leadership on all levels is the best practice.
This was a very interesting training module. I was a little confused when the instructor described the difference between a highly credible leader and a low credibility leader. Maybe its just me, but a person is either credible or their not. There shouldn't be "levels" of credibility. I may be wrong, but adding different levels does nothing but take the credibility out of being credible. Or maybe my brain is still in sleep mode after hearing Dr. Long talk for an hour.
Other than that, I thought the information was highly useful and I completely agree with the principles of this training module.
Good one, I thought the same thing. I will only follow a credible leader and I only want to be a credible leader. In my opinion you either are credible or not. It goes hand in hand with being ethical and having morals.
While I have had some training in this area, the disciplines that are presented provide a well defined guide. I have the same question that many others had expressed, why would someone follow me? The question is ever changing, but I need to work on these skills, so that when/if the time comes, I can answer without hesitation.
As to the seven unethical communication methods, we, in law enforcement are accused of most, if not all. We have seen most if not all used by people in and out of work situations. I believe that this is an area of great importance, as we communicate internally and externally.
For leaders to be successful, they must have followers who trust and believe in them. As we continue our journey about leadership, credibility is vital for the success of a leader. Without credibility, how is a leader capable of inspiring his follower to be successful. I have worked for both low and high credible leaders and have learned valuable lessons from both styles of leaders. I learned quickly how a low credible leader could ruin the morale and performance of competent officers and have witnessed how highly credible leaders were able to get the most out of their followers. This module expressed just how important credibility is for a leader.
As stated people will not believe the message if they don't believe the messenger. that is very important. In this module we talk about the credible leader, and to become the credible leader you need to have the trust of your subordinates. If you are not following good ethical and moral guidelines you will not be followed. People can see very clearly who are the leaders that exhibit these and are more inclined to follow them as apposed to some one that is classified as a low credible leader.
"Why would anyone follow me?" That is a great question that as a leader I will strive to ask myself each and everyday. I feel that striving to remain credible by practicing the 6 disciplines listed will be very helpful for me. I truly feel like I am a credible leader and will work hard to continue to grow and develop others to be credible as well.
What left the most indelible mark for me from this module is the statement "People won't believe the message if they don't believe the messenger" as said by Barry Posner. Additionally, I believe that it is incumbent upon each of us as leaders to ask "Why would anyone follow me?" and to fill in the blank for the question "I would know that someone is a leader because...?". These questions and the instruction that followed spoke loudly to me as to the importance of becoming a credible leader that others would naturally gravitate towards and want to follow.
That also drove the point to me, also. How many times could something be missed, if the messenger is not accepted. We know this, but sometimes seeing it presented, drives it home.
I can say that I have learned just as much from a low credible leader as a highly credible leader. I see the actions of the low credible leader and it teaches me what not to do. I will say, the credible leaders that I have worked for in the past, has made great a great impact on my career.
Yes learning from the low credible leader i find is easier. it is very clear as to what we should not imitate.
This module reminded me of the importance of being a credible leader and how it effect employees. I will continue to work on making sure my followers feel valued and motivated. I will continue to develop as a credible leader.
As an organization, we can work towards incorporating the high-credible leader’s qualities into the culture of the organization from the very top to down. In making it a policy to practice having an open door policy, practicing benevolence, encouraging using teamwork toward collaborating towards solutions we can help develop Credible Leaders within our organization.
I agree. Our organization needs to have measures in place to hold leaders accountable. We have been provided with the tools to be successful; the only thing that would be stopping us is ourselves.
I'm very interesting the the ways taught during this module on how to become a better credible leader. It seems as if this module was created just days ago with the recent events going on in the nation today. More than ever, we need to have a network of great leaderships for support and continuity of progress. I witnesses someone today say that we need to have de-escalation training for the supervisors of our agency because of these incidents. I was more leaning to have everyone one take this from the beginning and not have it phased in. This issue is too serious to take chances of it not being prevented.
There are a bunch of Low Credible leaders in law enforcement. These supervisors got promoted into a supervisory role because of time served or because of who they knew. Now they are in a position that they do not belong. I had a couple of these supervisors, but it has taught me what not to do and how their actions affected people in a negative manner.
In a way, I'm glad to have worked for the wrong type as you have to be able to understand what not to be. I think supervisors that don't break us, make us better resilient.
This was an interesting module, because some may just view a credible leader as someone who tells the truth or not. This brings so many things to light when it comes to being a credible leader. I have personally worked for both high-end and low-end credible leaders. I have had two direct supervisors that wouldn't speak to each other for days or weeks at a time. Every time we walked into the office it was like walking on eggshells. I have also worked for some high-end credible leaders, who made it where I didn't feel like I'm going to work. I'm going have fun and as a bonus, they will pay me to be there. You have to decide what end you want of the spectrum you want to be on and it starts with self-reflection today.
Derek, I agree that when you have a highly credible leaders they made our office an environment where I would want to come to work, it didn't feel like a job. I wanted to be there, I wanted to work towards our shared mission and vision.
I have also worked in a division with a high-end and a low-end supervisors and it does make for a miserable work environment. This was a great example for me as to what kind of leader I wanted to be and provided valuable learning lessons for me.
All of the modules inspiring leadership, go hand in hand. Trust, ethics, morals, etc, establish credible, authentic, servant leadership.
This lecture has thought me that being credible as a leader can help develop and keep good work relationships, and all leaders should strive toward being credible, and many leaders don't display the traits of being credible and can cause work environment.
I have had the opportunity of working under some really great and high-end credible leaders and it was an amazing experience , i learned a alot from those people. Luckily and unfortunately, I've had to spend some time working with a lower-end credible leader. While being an all time miserable experience also my training, growing and learning suffered and ended abruptly. I'm sure we've all had that experience and which makes us self aware of what we don't want to become once we reach the opportunity to Lead.
I agree, I think anyone who has been in law enforcement for more than a couple of weeks has experienced both types of leaders. I don't think the best leadership training in the world can help some people.
This module brought up some interesting points on credible leaderships and the need for all to strive to increase credibility. I have been on both ends of the spectrum and have worked for and under some high end credible leaders, and have also been subjected to the very low-end credible leader. I have overcome the low-end leader and have based my leadership style off of my experiences learned while emulating the skills learned from the high end leaders I have served. The culture and atmosphere that is manifested when you have a credible leader is much more desirable and can make or break an agency.
I'm sure we've all had these experience and its important that the lower end credibility style ends with us, and we try our best to weed it out of the Departments we work for.
Like you Lt., I have shared in similar leadership style experiences. And also like you say at the end of your post, I have worked for one of these "broken" agencies where the "leaders" were hand chosen by childhood friends or friends of the Sheriff and testing became a near laughable exercise. Credible leaders are in high demand...by everyone. This is why I feel strongly, especially after this excellent module to become what I would want in a leader. I want to become a credible leader and influence others for good. Thank you for your post.
I agree I can honestly state I have encountered both low and high creditable leaders. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know which kind made the job more meaningful and allowed me to grow and appreciated me as an employee.
Agreed. What I find frustrating is that we can all name the low credibility leaders. The issue becomes is what do we do with them to prevent them from destroying the credibility of the organization?
In the past several lessons, we have talked about leadership. As we sit here and write about the credible leader and the high and low points, we look at the people we have served. As I was writing this essay, I think to myself the various bosses that I have had, and how many times we have worked for poor leadership. I hope as we look back on this journey in our perspective agencies that we remember where we came from, and to be a "high end, credible leader" in our organization.
I agree that we all inevitably have been exposed to both high and low end credible leaders. I also believe that we must strive to be the high end of the spectrum for the betterment of our respective agencies.
Toxic leadership can be compared to low credibility leaders. Unfortunately, those with low self-esteem will follow these types of people blindly, and due to their inabilities, they latch onto these toxic people to sustain their inability because they know a low credible leader will carry them. Those who do not jump on board are labeled and mocked. Fortunately, in today’s capacity, there is more accountability by command level officers who do not approve of or retain toxic leaders.
I fully agree, Its been my experience that a low credible and toxic leader can either destroy a shift or cause a split down the center. The lower self esteemed following along while a schism forms between the group that refuses to subscribe to that type of leadership style.
As the module stated there are low credible and high credible leaders. I am sure we have all worked for both types. Obviously working for a high credible leader is much better that working for a low one. The work place is better all around. We should all work towards being a high credible leader for our followers to better serve them and set them up to succeed.
I have to say, as I have said before, if you are not genuine and credible, you have no business in a leadership position. I have worked for all types and by far a credible, authentic and ethical leader will always make it a pleasure to go to work.
I agree, it's always more pleasurable when you have a credible leader. The sad part is that there are people in those positions, and some administrations do not see the damage they are causing to the work culture.
I'm pretty sure we have all worked with what is described in this module as a high creditable leader and low credible leader at some time in our careers. I know I have and definitely have seen the advantages of working for a high creditable leader. The work environment is 100% better as it the quality of work. I believe I am more on the higher end of credible leadership although I definitely can improve in some areas.
I agree that I feel I more like a high credible leader but there is always something for us to work at to make ourselves better.
Captain, I know some of your officers and they all speak highly of you. I met you a few months ago when we had our academy outside your district doing EVOC. You were extremely accommodating and our people enjoyed meeting you. You are doing it right.
I thought that both the modules on Servant Leadership and Credible Leadership really feed off each other. It explains how low credibility leadership can get a job done but cannot sustain and will eventually collapse, where as high credibility leadership is being genuine in which you are building a legacy of teamwork that can move mountains and can last for the long haul with greater success.
The more credibility you have as a leader the better it will be to accomplish goals because you will be leading a team rather than a group. Low credibility leaders will still be able to make things happen but at a price. Instead of inspiring other to “want” to do a job, they will use their positional, legitimate and coercive power; people will follow only because they are afraid of being punished. On the other hand, the highly credible leader will get the same mission accomplished because they are sharing their vision with their followers. They make them feel appreciated and will even set the example of what needs to be done. An example of this was in a previous model when General Harold “Hal” Moore inspired his men by delivering an inspirational message. Most importantly this message was not lip service; what he said he would do, he did. He was an authentic, credible leader.
In the learning area 3, module #5 learning how the low credible leaders versus high credible leaders shows a lot to why people may lose morale and confidence because it shows that the leader in charge is displaying low credibility. I was happy to learn that when your leader is displaying high credibility everything tends to move like it should and you can work your way up easily and just as a whole enjoy your everyday job.
I have worked for both types of credible leaders and can definitely say that working for a high creditable leader definitely makes for a much better work environment which leads to better work quality and involvement. When working for a low creditable leader you tend to just want to do the bare minimum as opposed to working for a high creditable leader who you want to go that extra mile for.
As we have learned in earlier modules, credibility or integrity is the most important foundation of a successful leader. Like a building constructed on sand, without credibility nothing else you add to yourself will stand.
I totally agree, because if you don't carry those key morals you will fall for anything and not have the trust or credibility of your organization. You want to make things accessible to your organization.
I agree as leaders we must help develop our teams to help stand strong as an organization.
We all equally must contribute the mentality of "it takes a village" to raise someone when it comes to LEO agencies. When the personnel who lead, follow, or peers partake in the learning process, it makes us all stronger. Not keeping up with learning ad improvement will keep us all from being better life long learners.
I have worked for several credible leaders throughout my career. All of them have been trustworthy people who I felt had our best interest in mind. It does not take long to figure out which leaders are credible and which ones who are not credible. I have had very few leaders who took advantage of our units good work. Leaders like this never talk to or listen to what you have to say. I learned from these people how not to lead my subordinates.
I have learned just as much if not more from low-end credible leaders on what not to do, as I have from high-end credible leaders teaching me what to do.
Credible leadership is essential for a leader to sustain his role. I am fortunate to work for a very credible leader now. I can recall when I first started at my agency there was very little trust in that agency's leadership. When I first moved to the area I started dating a young lady who lived "down the bayou." On the way to visit her parents we passed a deputy parked along side of the highway. I instinctively raised my foot off the gas pedal to slow down. She asked me what I was doing and I told her there was a cop up ahead so I was slowing to make sure I was under the speed limit. She giggled and told me that was a parish cop and they were just "dead heads" and not even allowed to run radar. I was astonished at her ambivalence towards his authority. She went on to explain that it was all good old boy politics and not to even worry about them. I asked around later and found that the community basically did think about the agency in those terms at that time. There was an election later that year and a new sheriff was elected. He turned the agency around and now it is respected nationally. This was done through Credible Leadership.
Most of this module concerned the effects of a high or low credible leader within the organization. Of near importance is the credibility of the leader, especially if the head of the agency, outside the organization. A leader who is not credible with the public will do more harm than good. Its all about trust and trust must be earned prior to any conflict. Every organization will face a public image challenge. If your organization has credibility they will survive. Think of the 2010 study that stated 66% of the public had no trust in their leaders.
I couldn't agree with you more especially in the light of working for an elected official. If the public cannot trust the agency head, the distrust trickles down to those who work under their command. Even if the employees are well-intentioned, moral people, the perception will be they are not.
Good post.
Being a credible leader is of the utmost importance. The followers of a credible leader understand why they follow and respect the decisions made by that leader. I enjoyed the six disciplines of credibility and will spend time to make sure I focus more on them.
For me it was I believe that this module and the servant leadership module could almost be joined into one module of instructions. The two tend to mirror one another. I will pay more attention to asking myself how I can be a more credible leader and hopefully learn from the process. There seems to always be a common theme of trust, trust and more trust. Trust is obviously the most important component of establishing my credibility.
I did find a significant portion of this module was a refresher of Authentic Leadership and Ethical Leadership. I believe the review of the sources of Power reinforces the concept that many of the leadership skills are interdependent.
I agree, many of these concepts are very similar. They seem to use different names (Authentic leadership, effective leadership, ethical leadership, credible leadership), but they all share common traits and values.
I agree, the two modules share many themes.
Credibility can not be overstated in this module. I have learned so much over the years from both low and high credible supervisors. The low ones I learned what I did not want to emulate. The high credible leaders are who inspired me to be better.
I agree Burke, we can all learn from both of these types of leadership, and like you said learn what to do and what not to do from each.
Burke,
I agree and share the same experience as you. This module gave me an opportunity to reflect on my career and it resonated some memories of the uncredible leaders that I worked up under. There was a distinct difference between the Low Credibility Leaders vs. the High Credibility Leaders. They had their place, and their place provided an example of what not to do. To lead guide and direct the supervisor has to be a credible supervisor. Credibility is the cornerstone of an effective leader and a leader that lacks in credibility needs to be removed from the agency.
In order to be credible, a leader must always speak the truth and live a trustworthy lifestyle and work ethic. A credible leader must be positive and have their subordinates and peers interests and ideas incorporated to the group mission. I have personal known leaders that take advantage of subordinates hard work and ideas. The threat of punishment was a common tool used by this leader. Fortunately, that leader gained feedback that wasn’t ignored. They were able to humble themselves and become a decent leader in the end.
Donnie,
I agree, Its all about being honest and having integrity. If you don't live by those principles then your subordinates will see right through you. I found it interesting how this module explained the effectiveness of paralleling the goals of the individual with the goals of the group or organization. You cant accomplish this with coercive leadership.
Credibility is the key. Without trust, it is virtually impossible to be a credible leader. “People will not believe the message if they do not believe the messenger.” We must exude competence, inspire, and be energetic in order to create followers.
This is a true statement. Without trust, how can you inspire your men and women to follow you into battle? You can not expect the best out of your people if they don't believe in what you say or do.
I agree that trust is the key in being a credible leader. Without trust you have nothing. Your subordinates will work scared and never follow you.
There was a message that resonated with me relating to a highly credible leader’s value, character, and traits. The credible and authentic leader can look around for his or herself and determine if the members our following them for the right reasons. Members know when you are invested in them for the right reasons, and once that is established, the “buy-in” is beyond reward for all.
in this module I found it very interesting that Authentic Leadership and Ethical Leadership both are similar to Credible Leadership. Credibility just as with ethical and authentic leadership when possessed by a leader he will have willing followers.
I'm sure it comes as no surprise to any of us that honest, credible and ethical behavior keeps appearing repeatedly throughout the different leadership styles.
Without them, who would truly follow you? Absolutely no one.
I have seen highly credible leaders and low credible leaders both advance up the ranks. Only one set of them has the respect of their peers and subordinates though.
Agreed that the same principles are recurring for a reason. All of my mentors and leaders I have looked up to have had a strong moral compass.
Credibility is the heart of leadership. Without it you lose the trust of your followers. As credible leaders we must be positive role models and establish an atmosphere where others believe in and follows you. The module also discussed low and high credible leaders. I have worked with both types of leaders. There is a noticeable difference in the environment when interacting with the different types.
I agree, Rocco.
There is absolutely a stark difference in the culture and morale underneath a high vs low credibility leader.
I have worked with leaders and for leaders that I would “charge hell with a bucket of water” if they asked me. At the same time I have worked with leaders that bent the truth and pushed their own agenda to look good. I would have a hard time being able to “go to bat” for someone like that. Trust always bears evidence that can be followed.
I agree about credibility being at the heart of leadership. Lack of credibility results in followers listening to that leader only due to rank.
I really like how they said you can be your subordinates greatest coach, and you can be your followers biggest cheerleader. I think both of these are important to be a credible leader.
Credible leaders are ethical leaders. They possess honesty, trust, integrity, passion, purpose, vision, inspire, are ethical. and have good judgement. The importance consist of the increase level of satisfaction for subordinate, enhances productivity of followers, moves their team forward, I liked Dominic Barton's idea of "having a long term lens." Credible leaders have vision, network and is resilient. Dr. Long explained this lesson very well especially the high versus low credible leaders.
I like your interpretation and agree with you. As Dr. Long mentioned they are independent as well as interdependent on the other.
This module put a lot of things I have witnessed in my career into perspective. While listening to this module, I began to categorize different supervisors I have worked for and have seen. For me, two things stood out. First, although someone can have extensive expertise and knowledge, it does not make them a credible leader alone. Secondly, someone may possess the values of a credible leader such as enthusiasm, trust, and commitment; however, if they have little to no expertise or knowledge, their message can be lost. A person cannot believe the message if they don’t believe in the messenger.
David, I understand your points view. Leaders have to work on credible leadership continuously.
Very well said and I agree completely!
I absolutely agree. There is no replacement for credibility.
Correct. I completely agree. It is a balance. That balance must tip towards the integrity, honesty, and credibility of the leader more so than knowledge and experience alone.
David, I agree with your points. Looking at leaders I have had, it is rare to have a real credible leader with all of the traits.
We learned back in area two, module 3: leadership connection, that sometimes people are placed into leadership roles, but are not leaders. They are likely moved into a position based on time with the department and simply liked by the right people. This directly connects with this module about credible leadership. Leaders are expected to be credible and seen as the cornerstone of leadership. However, everyone has worked with that particular person, who has had issues of trustworthiness, then how do they remain in their position and get promoted even higher? This can be a snowball effect of losing credibility from the top.
I agree Credibility can easily be lost when those at the top don't practice it. I'm sure we have all worked with someone who got their position because of who they know now what they know.
Listening to this module was really eye opening and made re reflect on all of my leaders over the years. Many of them did not possess all the traits needed to be credible leaders. That is pretty sad when I think about it. They were ok bosses, but none I would want to be like. The other thing I thought was interesting was asking people outside your department “how” you were doing to get a different perspective. This would be a good idea if you can get honest feedback that would not be based on personal judgment.
I agree that I, too, have worked for bosses that I would never utilize any skill they possessed in my role as a leader. I think that a self-evaluation and an evaluation done by your subordinates would provide the feedback needed to improve credibility and leadership skills.
I agree, it would be nice to have staff give honest feedback to see what you can work on.
Laurie,
I feel the same way. This module was truly and eye opener. It defined the many different leaders I've come across in my career. It also explained the action of the low credible leader. I think what stood out to me was the open door policy. As a leader I strongly believe in having an open door policy and not asking my subordinates to do anything I wouldn't do.
What got me thinking when viewing the lecture in this module was the lack on truly "high" credible leaders you encounter in your career. For the most part, we deal with credible leadership. But this module made me think of rare, highly credible leaders I have encountered, and how I learned from them.
I agree Brian, it was really sad how many were not highly credible leaders, and yet some people don't see it. They were kept in those positions.
This module was very good and i agree that credibility is the foundation of leadership. I enjoyed learning about the 6 disciplines
of credibility leadership.
A credible leader is a must in law enforcement. I have experienced both high and low credible leaders during my career. Leaders with high credibility will have much more success during their career and will leave behind a positive legacy for others to follow.
I agree with you Chasity, I have had both types of leaders and the leader with high credibility was easier to follow and trust.
What I have noticed is that people tend to talk about the low credibility leader more than the high credibility leader. That amazes me and shows how detrimental a low credibility leader can be for an organization.
David,
In my opinion, I think we notice and talk about the low credibility leader because there behavior is so affective to an organization because it can cause a domino affect. I feel a highly credible leader goes above and beyond his or her role as a leader. They often are running the organizations but are also less appreciated so they get less attention. Overall this needs to change.
This module was a bit long with an extensive amount of notes. What I found beneficial were the 4 traits of credible leaders who have followers. These traits give me something to work toward. The 1st two: honest and good judgment are in my wheel house. The other 2: inspirational and forward looking are to be attained. It is my belief a person should do their job because its their job. It shouldn't take me inspiring them to do it.
I too found the 4 traits beneficial Judith. Inspiration is a tricky topic. You're right, I shouldn't have to inspire them to do their job, but I want to inspire them to go above and beyond their regular duties.
Unfortunately, my agency is civil service regulated and promotes on seniority. This allows for low credibility employees to be promoted to positions of power. Credibility is the foundation that leadership should be built on. I've had the experience to work for both credible and not so credible supervisors. The advantage of that is I learned what to do and what not to do as a supervisor.
I believe we have all had supervisors who failed as credible leaders. My hope is not to be one of them and to aspire to credibility for the remainder of my career. The low vs. high credibility leadership provided traits to be mindful of in the future.
I, too, am striving to be a credible leader.
Lance, I don't work for a civil service organization but I can sympathize with you. It's amazing how we can learn what to do, and just as importantly, what not to do when it comes to leadership. A lot of times, the not so credible leader can have the biggest influence on how we lead just by avoiding the examples they set.
Credibility is the foundation for effective leadership. People will not willingly and sustainable follow leaders who are not fundamentally honest, competent and inspirational to others. These are some of the necessary characteristics and behaviors to credible and authentic leaders. Being a credible leader has many benefits to both the organization and followers, some of which include: increased levels of job satisfaction and hence, reduced employee turnover; enhanced levels of productivity and employee commitment; a willingness for employees to take on extra roles when needed to complete the mission; and opportunities to develop future leaders in the organization. Societal changes now demand increasing levels of credible leadership - especially in the law enforcement profession.
Credibility is the cornerstone of progress and the foundation of leadership. When considering a Credible Leader’s ability to influence others, trust and expertise are very significant. People desire to follow leaders that are honest, competent, inspirational, and forward-looking. You will not find many people willing to follow a leader that is untrustworthy, unauthentic, and lacks competency. I would not support such a leader, and those that are not creditable have no place in law enforcement.
Drauzin, you are right. All leaders in law enforcement should be credible, but unfortunately that not always the case. If we as law enforcement officers are supposed, to be honest, I surely don't want to be led by an untrustworthy supervisor.
I agree, leaders should be credible and trustworthy. Some leaders, however are only looking out for their interest.
I agree I have worked of several supervisors who did have any traits related to being a credible leader and everyone in the squad did not follow his leadership.
A credible leader is one of the most important leadership traits that can be displayed by a person in power. No one wants to follow or even be around someone that has no credibility and does not care about anyone except himself..We as supervisors need to take the time to develop those who follow us and break the cycle of those who came before us who did not have the knowledge of what a high credible is.
Being a credible leader in your professional life and personal life I feel is one of the most important traits someone can have. No one wants to follow or even be around someone that has no credibility. I feel the person with no credibility would be considered as fake. Not trustworthy, not believable, not someone that I would want to interact with.
During my time as a subordinate while in the military I have seen some of the seven items to avoid many times in a supervisor I worked for. They were trying to be something they were not (imitated) or like they were lost in what they were doing. I even seen them try to suppress the truth to protect themselves because they weren’t competent. Most of the time these supervisors (not leaders) were put into a position because of their time not because of their abilities I think they were never provided the basis of leadership or the foundation…credibility. If they were never given the tools of competency, honesty, forward looking and inspiring but were still respected because of their position they were the ones that became our low credibility leaders.
I liked the idea of the 6 Disciplines of Credibility. I imagine Discover Self is listed first for a reason as I feel it is of utmost importance. I wasn't surprised that the lecture puts Authentic Leadership as going hand in hand with Ethical Leadership. I have known both high credibility leaders and low credibility leaders. I learned different things from both of them.
In our profession, we often see people selected for leadership positions that have absolutely no business being there. They've spent no time growing themselves to become a leader and possibly believe people will follow because of their rank. As we know, they may get the bare minimum accomplished but in the interim, there is no loyalty from subordinates, likely more conflict and very short-term gains. This is defined via this module as the low credibility leader. I have truly made an effort to put others first, be that ethical and authentic leader who can help move our department forward.
Jarod Primicerio,
I agree and have seen this all to often myself. They are promoted to a position based on time and have never been developed by their immediate supervisor. They get along with everybody but have no idea about being a leader. We need to take the time to develop those below us and teach them about credibility and authentic leadership. Live by moral standards and practice ethics to lead by example. Help them below us for their next step up. If I see someone below get promoted and they fail…it’s because I failed them.
Dan
Jarod, I would agree with your statement, for the most part. I do not know all the information concerning how those leaders were chosen for the positions they hold. I know that until our agency implemented the leadership program, my view of what a leader was supposed to be was fogged up by the way I was supervised previously. Most people cannot provide you with the true meaning to the degree of our knowledge of what a Creditable Leader is supposed to represent. I feel for some of those who were promoted for the wrong reasons because someone else's vision was fogged that made the decision if they are not competent to lead.
Drauzin is correct. He and I come from the same agency and things were a mess for quite a while. The ICLD program we all do has really made a difference. The hardest thing was enduring the low credible leadership and waiting for them to retire out. Our definition of supervisors has changed for the better and I am happy to be included in that change.
As with other leadership styles, credible leadership relies heavily on our relationships with others. Each of the traits (e.g. collaborative; available; team-oriented; visible; consultative; personal in communication; having a positive mental attitude) of a credible leader outlined in this module is dependent on our ability to build strong, professional relationships with those that we work with and for (our citizens). Additionally, the importance of good communication also continues to be foundational across all of our lessons. Regardless of the focus of any given leadership style (e.g. authentic, credible, legacy, servant, etc.), each requires us to possess and practice strong communication skills to build the strong, professional relationships required to be a successful leader.
There is no leadership without credibility- trust and honesty are the foundation of leadership, period. The low credibility leader is a supervisor or superior that simply gives orders based on their position power, i.e., rank or title. Subordinates will follow the order to stay out of trouble, but the will not follow. The true servant leader has all the qualities of a credible and ethical leader, they support the team, show emotion, inspire people, motivate others, lead by example, and instill the mission vision, and values with a positive mental attitude (PMA). All credible leaders focus daily on becoming a better leader; they (we) are students of leadership.
Brian, you are correct. No one can really be a true leader without credibility. I also liked the quote from Sam Walton - "Come to work everyday with PMA - Positive Mental Attitude".
Credibility enhances your abilities as a leader within an organization. Low credibility leaders will have a more difficult time persuading their subordinates to complete tasks, they will have a less functional team and struggle with relationships. Credible leaders are enthusiastic, have strong professional relationships, mentor and have a strong base of knowledge which makes them effective. They garner the trust of their employees and position themselves as advocates for their employees. They lean less on their legitimate power and more on their expert and referent bases of power.
Frank
I agree with your description of the "low credible" leader having struggling" relationship with the team members. No one whats to follow someone that is not credible.
Agree Frank. There are many low credibility leaders within my department as well. I am always hoping the door opens after this type of leader vacates a position. We often see the wave of people promoted every couple of years who struggle in this area. Hoping our training unit can integrate more courses to assist the next generation of leaders.
It has been my observation that the only tool for motivation that a low credibility has in their toolbox is the threat of punitive action. They are only obeyed because of a negative looming consequence.
I agree with your comment Frank, The low credible leaders will always struggle with their subordinates. The subordinates are usually the ones who suffer due to the leader's inability to be a credible leader.
Hey Frank l agree with you that credible leaders lean more on expert and referent power to influence others. I totally agree that credibility fosters trust among leaders and the people their subordinates.
I agreed with the concept that "low credibility" leaders tend to be exploitative of their subordinates. I personally see this every time there is a promotional process coming up. People brace for these low credibility leaders to begin driving them hard to rack up accomplishments on the leader's behalf. You don't see these "leaders" all year until they decide they want to promote. What always surprises me is the lack of self-awareness these leaders have. They don't realize, or maybe don't care, that others see right through their efforts. We must all remember that leadership isn't a short term endeavor, but rather something that we build over our entire careers and even beyond into our legacy. Legacy shouldn't be the goal, but rather is the result of credible leadership.
Kyle, I too agree with low credibility leaders exploiting heir subordinates. I have worked with and for this type of leader who used the ideas and hard work of the team to prop themselves up for promotion. They did very little, preached vocally about strong leadership, but had little personal investment or follow-through.
Frank
Frank, I too agree with your comment about low credibility leaders exploiting their subordinates. I also have worked for such a leader who used my hard work and ideas and took credit for them as they were his own. It was extremely defeating for me to have any level of trust in him has a leader.
Kyle, all "low credibility" leaders have the same motive for promotion that you have described. We were discussing this issue yesterday with our own MMG that is working on our internal employee develop and succession plan. As leaders, we need to develop, mentor, and guide those within our organizations that truly believe in the mission and demonstrate their character, commitment, and sacrifice to make a positive impact on our community, department, and employees. Brian
Kyle, your post brings flashbacks for me to occasions where I have seen "low credibility" leaders promoted, in some cases, to the very top of an organization, the city manager position. In those cases, the decision-makers did not seek input from the organization where the negative impacts of this person's decade-long tenure had long been evident. Had those decision-makers taken a look, and had they looked beyond the timeframe immediately surrounding the promotional process, it would have been evident that the particular candidate was a poor choice for the position. And, as you alluded to in your post, while everyone did see through their efforts, it didn't make a difference in this case as that knowledge was untapped.
Kyle, I agree with your assessment of the characteristics of low credibility leaders. They definitely make a sudden emergence when it comes time for promotional opportunities. Many times these low credibility leaders are oblivious of their actions and the impression they make on others because of their self-centeredness and willingness to step on others to achieve things for themselves.
Spot on Kyle. There is nothing worse than a pseudo leader with no credibility. These individuals sacrifice their teams to gain brownie points when promotional opportunities became available. Needless to say they lack knowledge and skills and make up for their shortcomings getting close to the command staff. The shocking part is the lack of self-awareness of those in position tot make the selections to see right through their efforts.
Kyle,
Well said! I can relate to what you're saying and I've seen it happened over and over again.
In your career, you never forget those who took advantage of you, just as well you have a life long friendship from those credible leaders, because you knew they genuinely cared about you.
So, true. We all have those leaders we love enough to give a kidney and those we would give a kidney punch.
To me being a credible leader is one of the most important leadership traits that a leader has. Most employees will not "truly" follow a leader that has no credibility. Of course they may have to listen due to rank, however without the trust that is development they will only do the minimum required not to be punished.
Nail on the head. Without the credibility as a leader, your team will do only the basics to get by. They will not want to follow you because of your leadership style, they will only do what is told of them, not driven by your leadership.
I agree. Credibility is very important. Its hard to imagine someone in a leadership role that lacked any degree of credibility. It is probably the one leadership component that should be considered a requirement.
When I first started as a Deputy, I had a Sergeant that was not credible at all. This person was always saying things to make them look better and to sort of brush any issues that existed under the rug. That was really challenging to work for someone that you knew didn't care about you or the rest of the team and was only looking out for them. No one on my team respected that individual and eventually ended up switching teams the first change that they got.
I agree trusting a leader goes a long way and it's a plus when the employee buys into the system.
You are exactly right. When a leader has little or no credibility, the people they lead will only do what is required, and nothing more. A credible leader causes individuals to want to do more than is required or expected. Credible leadership creates motivation among groups.
I'm sure we've all know a low credible leader, and my hope is that the past has taught us to seek more in leaders.
Miranda great minds think alike. We definitely need to learn from them to ensure we don't follow the same path and prevent us from being a high credible leader.
I have worked for my fair share of leaders with low credibility. This is a choice that they make, and I wish management would see how these poor leaders effect the morale of an organization.
I believe that being a credible leader is one of the most important leadership traits also. You will get minimum work required from subordinates but you will also be holding them back from potentially becoming leaders themselves. They will do just enough to get by and will give no more, and you will not help them grow as employees. This could cause them to seek employment elsewhere and the agency could lose a valuable employee due to bad leadership.