Credibility
Credibility vs. Profitability! As Shakespeare
might say, that is the question.
Most would agree that it is better to suffer a
loss of profitability instead of credibility, but in today's Wall
Street driven, daily profit focused world, that is really much easier
to say than do. Last time I looked, there was no income statement
line entitled Credibility, like there is Net Income. But as a leader,
you must always be prepared to deal with this issue, and to be clear
on the values that would guide your decision.
The word credibility comes from the root word
credo that means I believe. Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner (authors
of The Leadership Challenge), state
that credibility is the foundation of leadership. People must believe
in the leader before they will follow. Quite simply, leaders "who
do what they say they will do" build credibility and make it
easier for people to trust and believe in them. There is nothing
more essential than trust for long term profitability.
By the way, if you wonder how important credibility
is, think about what is happening right now with Ford/Firestone
issue.
Click here for last month's lesson: Reflections
about Change
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