O' credible leader: where art thou?

Abstract

The significance of leadership in any organized endeavor cannot be over emphasized. Though individual efforts are crucial to execute different tasks, most of the undertakings require collective efforts and collaboration/synergy. Collective collaboration/synergy requires capable leaders who can facilitate a group’s success and lead people in the desired direction. Leadership is a special bond between the leader and the group members. Time and again, people have presented a clear message about the qualities leaders must demonstrate if they want others to enlist and work voluntarily in a common cause. So, what are these crucial attributes? According to the results of a research survey conducted a decade ago (Table 1), most of us look for and admire leaders who are honest, forward-looking, inspiring and competent. As you can see, these four characteristics—honesty, forward-looking, inspiring and competency—rank well above the rest. If the qualities alone were running for office, these four are the ones that would achieve consensus and victory. Considering these characteristics, most of us do tend to follow the footsteps of the people whom we consider trustworthy. Conversely, we also tend to feel trepidation when we listen to people whom we regard as untruthful and unreliable. In this regard, several questions spring up naturally in our minds. For instance, why do we look upon some people as being more credible than others? What “defines” credibility? Does it contribute to the effectiveness of leadership? How can we ensure to equip our societies and organizations with credible leaders? So, what actually is credibility? Credibility, simply, is the consistency between words and the deeds. Alternatively, it means capable of being believed, to command belief or truthfulness in what one says. In other words, credibility means that whatever a person says, he/she believes in it. And others accept as true this belief. Thus, for a person to be taken as credible, he or she should act on what he or she says. This is only possible when one speaks truth and only truth. But how can one speak truth and only truth on all occasions? That remains a major question in this day and age.