Chapter 10: Leaders and Credibility: Leadership happens When Character and Competence Are Combined.
Do those you lead trust you? This is not just a moral question; it is also a question of competence. Therefore, a leader “must be competent in the skills and abilities of the leadership role to which [he has] been called” (85). A credible leader is trusted, but this trust is built over time. Consistently good decisions that bear good fruit over an extended period build credibility. However, that credibility can be lost much more quickly. Credibility is probably the biggest area of disaster for a new leader. He walks into a role and assumes that because someone appointed him, everyone views him as credible. For a period of time, people may follow a leader out of respect. However, if the new leader does not gain credibility in the eyes and minds of the people he leads, his days of leading are numbered.
This post is part of a larger series of posts. Each post is a short reflection on a chapter of The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership that Matters by Albert Mohler (ISBN 978-0-7642-1004-4).
