Feature Article - December 2008

From Blogs to Blogojevich and Twitters to Tweat Caroline:

The credibility of leaders has been a three-ring media circus this quarter

                                                                                                                                                  by Tom Davidson

What do Blago, Madoff, Kennedy, Clinton, and the "Big Three" have in common?  They all want something and seem willing to sacrifice their dearest commodity to get it--their credibility. 

Rod Blagojevich was arrested and laid bare by federal wiretaps as a sleazy salesman of the public trust, a foul-mouthed mobster, and an arrogant man-child.  Mere millions weren’t enough.   A smirking Bernard Madoff allegedly bilked high rollers, friends, and charities out of billions for personal profit.  CEOs from the “Big Three” automakers were easily outed for their personal extravagance while representing their nearly bankrupt organizations to citizens who would mortgage their futures to save them.   Bill Clinton protected donor information until it was absolutely necessary for Hillary’s ascension to Secretary of State, and now Caroline Kennedy is refusing to reveal what would become public anyway if appointed to the U. S. Senate.  According to The New York Times, “Ms. Kennedy declined on Monday to reply to those and other questions posed by The New York Times about any potential ethical, legal and financial entanglements. Through a spokesman, she said she would not disclose that kind of information unless and until she becomes a senator.”

All of these high-profile leaders and executives seem willing to impeach or otherwise risk the most precious commodity they have for a leadership position, the trust of followers.  Once trust is lost, so is our effectiveness as a leader.   Such bereft managers can only rely on authority, power, and control to get things done, a recipe for low performance, high turnover, and ultimate failure. 

Trust is earned.  It cannot be purchased, demanded, or manipulated.  It grows within people who witness a series of consistent behaviors.  Once lost, it is difficult, sometimes impossible, to regain.   As a leader, this is your most precious commodity; the true tender for your transactions with stakeholders; the currency that is traded for the discretionary effort of others.  Credibility doesn’t care who you are.  The same rules apply to all of us.

Values and Behaviors

Behaviors are based on the values we hold, which can be defined as what is important to us.  The list of possible values is seemingly endless, but they may involve fun, fame, family, or financial success.  They are established early in our lives and change very little over time.   People can’t see our values, but they can get a very good idea of what they are by how we behave.  As this happens, people are subsequently attracted to those with similar values and repelled by those with competing ones.  You won’t be able to “fake” your values for long, so for best results and to build your credibility, find the best fit you can with your work, boss, and organization.  If one or more of these are out of alignment, you will be a less-than-effective leader.  Governor Blagojevich’s values were clearly out of alignment with most of his constituency for some time, and whether he committed an actual crime or not, the federal wiretaps reveal that his value system was untrustworthy.

Honesty and Transparency

Blatant dishonesty, such as Bernie Madoff’s, may be the most obvious way to lose trust, but there are similar ways to build and lose one’s credibility.  Dishonesty can be found in what is not done or said as well as what is acted out.   Bill Clinton’s famous mincing of words about his sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky is an unfortunate example of someone walking the line between honesty and dishonesty.  Not being forthcoming about one’s “potential ethical, legal and financial entanglements,” especially when they must be publicly revealed eventually, is to not be transparent and thus casts doubt on one’s credibility.  The admission of mistakes is another form of honesty that builds trust while the lack of doing so erodes it, perhaps faster than any other factor.

Congruence and Consistency

People have a sixth sense for this one.  They can tell when a leader is not “walking the talk,” even when it is less of a public spectacle than when the “Big Three” CEOs flew to Washington, each in a private jet, while publicly accounting for their virtues as cost-sensitive stewards of their organizations.  In reverse, Congress is collectively guilty of this as well, giving themselves raises, extending unique perquisites, and exempting themselves from burdens and liabilities they impose on everyday Americans.  On the other hand, leaders who put their employees first walk the farthest across the parking lot, take rewards when they are earned, and cut their benefits first in hard times.  These are the leaders people are willing to follow, in good times and in bad.

The first two rules of good public relations are (1) do good work and (2) expect everything you do to be on the front page of the newspaper.  Maybe these should be the first two rules of leadership as well, because without credibility, you are bankrupt as a leader, but with it, you have already succeeded.  Nobody said it would be easy, but it’s your job.

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