Leadership Credit

I used a phrase in a recent Leading Thoughts that a few of you asked me to expand upon. Happy to. Here goes.

The phrase was “leadership credit.” It refers to the confidence in and sense of devotion a people have for their leader. How much do they believe in that leader? How does the leader’s record inspire them? Do they have enough confidence in the leader to take costly next steps? In short, how much can a leader ask from his or her people and they respond by rising to the moment? This is leadership credit.

All leaders should consider this matter of leadership credit as they lead. If they have little credit, big sacrifices should not be expected. If they have high credit, they can usually rally their people to great heights.

This credit is not always a matter of the leader’s record or gifts. Sometimes circumstances beyond their control limit their credit. The new boss can simply be too new for those he leads to know if they want to follow. Or, the boss may have proven herself repeatedly, but the state of the economy or the company’s industry or the competition makes folks in the firm hesitant—no matter who the leader is.

Of course, usually leadership credit is kept low by a questionable record. I’ve seen a boss who kept hiring people who weren’t competent and didn’t stay long. It raised questions. I’ve seen a boss who was so volatile that people were uncertain about following him, even though there was a pretty good record of success beneath the emotional blowups. I’ve also seen a boss who changed her mind so often that it caused everyone in her firm to hunker down and resist any call to greater effort.

Leadership credit comes from stable, productive, proven leadership. It comes from a good record, yes, but a good record that is married to personal competence, emotional maturity, a clear and doable vision, strong team building, and certainly a sense that the leader cares.

This last one is vital. In all my years of working with leaders and of talking to those they led about what they valued in a leader, the word “care” was used more than any other term. The simple statement that Miss Jenkins “cares” tells me that the person speaking is halfway to agreeing to whatever Miss Jenkins asks in pursuit of the company’s vision. Sometimes people will even tell me, “Miss Jenkins may not be the most experienced of our bosses, but she cares the most. It means a lot.” I almost get the impression that caring is more important than competence.

Now, we can’t take this to an extreme. You can have folks in charge who care about people but don’t achieve any objectives. Yet the wise leader will hear me when I say that caring increases leadership credit. Ignore it at your peril.

So let’s get practical. Pastor, before you launch that new building campaign, ponder the leadership credit you have with your people. Captain, what is the leadership credit you’ve built with your Marines? Lives may depend upon it. University president, what can you ask of your faculty and staff in cutting costs and what can you ask of your donors in new ventures? Your leadership credit is much of the key.

In fact, let’s take this further—Mom and Dad, what’s your leadership credit with the kids when you ask them to move to a new city in the middle of their teen years?

I know you get the point. Now, examine your own leadership credit and make this evaluation part of your decision making. Also, learn how to build leadership credit with wise leadership. Good things will come of it.