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

Make Meaning, Daily

Credible leaders are always present in the minds and hearts of their constituents. Jim Shunk, vice president of Human Resources for Maxygen/Perseid, illustrated how profound this presence can be. In handling his own difficult situations, he told us, he still finds himself recalling how one of his most admired leaders behaved:

I remember how he could let people vent their feelings and anger—yell and scream as if he had personally caused their problem—and still listen calmly and with empathy. And when we'd done something that was right (proper or legal) but it still wasn't the right (fair) thing, he'd move mountains to rectify the situation for one and all. Whenever I'm in doubt, I still think about what he would say and do. ...