These Traits are the Foundation of Leadership

After a massive layoff and reorganization at a marketing firm, Tom came aboard as a Sales manager. He realized that a plethora of the employees lost the trust and motivation to work, because of the mass layoffs. Tom knew that he had to recreate that relationship, and he did so by talking it over a cup of coffee. He held informal meetings with his constituents and never acted as though he knew anything. He listened to the values of his employees, and realized that there was one trait in common that they wanted from management: Credibility.

Credibility is the foundation of leadership. In management meetings when a question was asked, Tom referred to one of his team members, even though he could have answered it himself. Similarly, he would let the junior team member deliver a group presentation.

Credibility at the workplace is simply allowing your team members to do the tasks that you as a manager would typically do. At the same time, it is having an end vision of the place you want the team to be at. The leader is like the captain of the ship. In order for the crew members to understand their tasks, they need to know where they are going. The leader must also be credible behaviourally, as in, practicing what they preach. If leaders say something, they must do it. Exemplary leaders aren’t commanders, they are doers.

Wong was a Senior Sales Manager at a startup in Hong Kong, where most of their clients were U.S. based. To call them over the phone and find new prospects, the team had to work night shifts, as well. The sales team was slacking as there was a lack of motivation and commitment. Wong started realizing this, and the only solution he had was to do it himself. However, he ensured that his team members would also understand that he as the leader was committed to the job, and that he would sacrifice personal hours to do it. This in turn, motivated a few to do the same.

Credibility consists of four main characteristics:

1. Honesty - Being thorough and upright about who you are and what you expect from yourself.

2. Forward-looking - Beginning with the end in mind; where you create a blueprint and vision of the entire project/career.

3. Competent - Having the necessary ability, knowledge, or skill to do something successfully.

4. Inspiring - Having the ability to motivate and enrich the workplace with excitement and productivity.

Over the next few blog posts, you’ll see more thorough explanations of each of these characteristics and how you can equip them for a more powerful workplace. But the key to credibility is really understanding the needs of your team members and being transparent about them.

Note: All knowledge and ideas are attained from the book "The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations 5th Edition". This blog summarizes the content from the book, but may unintentionally contain the same wording.