Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It: Why People Demand it

Doing What We Say: The Critical Difference

The answer to the question of how leaders build and sustain credibility is found in the responses people gave to the following questions asked in our research: How do you define credibility behaviorally? How do you know it when you see it? What is the behavioral evidence you use to judge whether or not a leader is believable?

The most common response to these questions was: “They do what they say they will do.” Similar phrases used to define credibility included

“They practice what they preach.”

“They walk the talk.”

“Their actions are consistent with their words.”

“They follow through on commitments.”

“They keep their promises.”

This straightforward definition leads to a simple prescription for strengthening ...