Credibility E-Book

James M. Kouzes

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Serie: J-B Leadership Challenge: Kouzes/Posner
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 362

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

The first true revision of the classic book from the bestselling author of The Leadership Challenge

As the world falls deeper into economic downturns and warfare, the question of credibility (how leaders gain and lose it) is more important than ever. Building on their research from The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner explore in Credibility why leadership is above all a relationship, with credibility as the cornerstone, and why leaders must "Say what you mean and mean what you say." This first full revision of the book since its initial publication in 1993 features new case studies from around the world, fully updated data and research, and a streamlined format.

Written by the premier leadership experts working today, Credibility:

• Reveals the six key disciplines that strengthen a leader's capacity for developing and sustaining credibility.
• Provides rich examples of real managers in action
• Includes updates to the applications and research

This personal, inspiring, and genuine guide helps you understand the fundamental importance of credibility for building personal and organizational success.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Praise Page

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction: On Credibility and the Restoration of Trust and Confidence

Our Research into Credibility

Who Should Read This Book?

What's New and What's Not

Overview of the Contents

You Make a Difference

Chapter One: Leadership Is a Relationship

The Characteristics of Admired Leaders

Global Leadership and Local Variations

Credibility Is the Foundation of Leadership

Earning Credibility

Chapter Two: Credibility Makes a Difference

Credible Leaders Inspire Loyalty and Commitment

Sustaining Credibility Is a Person-to-Person Activity

Doing What We Say: The Critical Difference

The Six Disciplines for Earning and Sustaining Credibility

Chapter Three: Discover Your Self

Clarify Your Personal Credo

Let Your Values Be Your Guide

Evaluate Your Values

Acquire Competence

Believe You Can Do It

Sum It Up as Character

Chapter Four: Appreciate Constituents

Shift Focus from Self to Others Through Values

Learn About Others and How Diversity Enriches Performance

Begin Appreciation with Listening

Promote Constructive Controversy

Engender Trust

Chapter Five: Affirm Shared Values

Use Shared Values to Make a Difference

Find Common Ground

Create a Trusting Community

Advocate Cooperation and Reciprocation

Reinforce Shared Values Through Organizational Systems

Reconcile Values Dilemmas

Chapter Six: Develop Capacity

Build Competence: Educate, Educate, Educate

Offer Choices, Foster Ownership

Foster Confidence

Create a Climate for Learning

Share Information, Give Feedback

Ensure That Everyone Becomes Responsible

Chapter Seven: Serve a Purpose

Go First

Stay in Touch

Make Meaning, Daily

Become a Storyteller

Regain Credibility Lost

Chapter Eight: Sustain Hope

Take Charge

Balance Hope and Work

Arouse Positive Thoughts and Images

Unleash Your Passion

Give Love and Support

Chapter Nine: The Struggle to Be Human

Tension Between Freedom and Constraint

Tension Between Leading and Following

Tension Between Definitions of Success

From Excellence to Excess

From Self-Discovery to Arrogance

From Appreciation to Fragmentation

From Affirmation to Rigidity

From Development to Vanity

From Serving to Subservience

From Sustaining to Dependence

Initiate Renewal: New Beginnings from the Old Ending

Epilogue: Character Counts

Notes

Introduction: On Credibility and the Restoration of Trust and Confidence

Chapter One: Leadership Is a Relationship

Chapter Two: Credibility Makes a Difference

Chapter Three: Discover Your Self

Chapter Four: Appreciate Constituents

Chapter Five: Affirm Shared Values

Chapter Six: Develop Capacity

Chapter Seven: Serve a Purpose

Chapter Eight: Sustain Hope

Chapter Nine: The Struggle to Be Human

Epilogue: Character Counts

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Index

More Praise for Kouzes and Posner's Credibility

“If you have been searching for the one book this year that will help you become a more effective leader, you have found it. Kouzes and Posner have done it again: gone straight to the heart of the matter. Developing and sustaining credibility is the core task of effective leaders in today's organizations, and this revised edition of Credibility provides fresh insight, practical wisdom, and relevant examples for managers everywhere on how to become such a leader. Like your own leadership GPS, Credibility provides the essential roadmap for managers everywhere on how to establish, enhance, and maintain the trust and followership of your constituents.”

— Michael Burchell, corporate vice president, Great Place to Work®

Institute; coauthor,The Great Workplace: How to Build It,

How to Keep It, and Why It Matters

“We are living in a time of extraordinary challenges—economic, political, environmental, and even familial. But we'll never resolve these looming challenges if we can't trust our leaders. We don't know of a better book than this one for those leaders who really want to gain and hold the credibility to lead people forward.”

— Jennifer Granholm, former Governor of the State of Michigan,

and Dan Mulhern, Haas School of Business,

University of California, Berkeley

“In Credibility, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner have done something unique and important. They have uncovered the very essence of why we follow some leaders enthusiastically and yet reject others of apparently equal or even greater ability. But this is just the beginning. Through worldwide research, they have answered the critically important question of whether the same characteristics, among different cultures, are equally important for leading. You cannot read this book and apply its lessons without acquiring a much deeper understanding and greater capacity to lead. I highly recommend it.”

— William A. Cohen, PhD, Major General, USAFR, Retired;

author,Drucker on Leadership and Heroic Leadership

Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass

A Wiley Imprint

989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741—www.josseybass.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax [phone], or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Jossey-Bass books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact Jossey-Bass directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3986, or fax [phone].

Jossey-Bass also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kouzes, James M., 1945-

Credibility : how leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it / James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner. – 2nd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-65171-1 (hardback), 978-1-118-09837-0 (ebk),

978-1-118-09838-7 (ebk), 978-1-118-09839-4 (ebk)

1. Leadership. 2. Executive ability. 3. Interpersonal relations. I. Posner, Barry Z. II. Title.

HD57.7.K678 2011

658.4′092–dc22

2011011132

We're pleased to dedicate this volume to some exceptionally credible colleagues—Warren Bennis, Ken Blanchard, Irwin Federman, John Gardner, Frances Hesselbein, and Warren Schmidt. In working with them over the years we've benefited greatly from their wise counsel and keen insights, and it is with deep gratitude that we recognize them publicly.

Introduction

On Credibility and the Restoration of Trust and Confidence

Credibility is the foundation of leadership. This is the inescapable conclusion we have come to after more than thirty years of research into the dynamics of the relationship between leaders and constituents. People have to believe in their leaders before they will willingly follow them. That's why we first wrote Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It twenty years ago, and it's why we have taken the time to thoroughly update and revise it.

Credibility is about how leaders earn the trust and confidence of their constituents. It's about what people demand of their leaders as a prerequisite to willingly contributing their hearts and minds to a common cause, and it's about the actions leaders must take in order to intensify their constituents' commitment.

Timing is everything. When the first edition of Credibility was published in 1993 we noted that nearly half of America's workforce was cynical. Worldwide, 60 percent or more of workers believed that their management wasn't honest with them, more than half had lost confidence in the abilities of their top management, and overall confidence in major business was at a historic low of only 26 percent.1 We wanted to remind leaders how important it was to attend to the fundamentals. We thought they should take the importance of earning and sustaining credibility more seriously. We wanted to offer a useful framework and practical suggestions on what leaders could do to increase the trust and confidence others had in them. We hoped we could play some small part in restoring people's faith in their leaders.

For several years, it seemed that leaders were listening. Things got better—perhaps because leaders took notice, or perhaps because things couldn't get much worse. The public's mood changed. The decade of the nineties and the turn of the century saw increases in trust, confidence, and credibility among leaders of major institutions. But these shifts turned out to be short-lived.

In 2010, during a cab ride to the airport in Flint, Michigan, we were chatting with the driver, a laid-off automotive worker. He was telling us that he once had a great job on the assembly line at a nearby General Motors plant, but that now he and his buddies were convinced that they wouldn't find another manufacturing job. He told us how he was worried that they'd never be able to return to the lifestyle they once enjoyed. Then he said, “How can it be that GM lost $38 billion in 2007 and then in the first quarter of 2010 they made $1 billion in profits? They must have been hiding the money!”

We could hear the anger and cynicism in his voice. He was clearly suspicious of the company, and it was evident that he spoke for more than himself. He was expressing something, he said, that his friends, family, and former coworkers had discussed quite often. While his numbers may not be entirely accurate, his mood was unmistakable.

After rising for a decade, in the early 2000s confidence in institutions and leaders began to slide, and by 2007 trust (the key ingredient of credibility) took a nosedive. Whatever gains had been achieved had been lost.2 Organized religion, Wall Street, Congress, business executives, the presidency, public schools, newspapers, banks, insurance companies, car salespeople, HMOs, and more have taken hits. No single incident accounts for the whole decline, but many point to Enron as the beginning of the fall. WorldCom, Tyco, Fannie Mae, other corporate accounting scandals, and illegal trading in mutual funds confirmed the suspicions of many about corporate greed, with folks like Bernard Madoff and Calisto Tanzi of Italy's Parmalat only reinforcing these fears. Sex scandals surfaced in churches, as well as in the halls of Congress and statehouses. A housing and mortgage crisis in the United States, with a corresponding collapse in the financial markets, set in motion a prolonged economic recession that had the potential for bankrupting countries around the globe. Millions lost their jobs; millions lost the roof over their heads; millions watched helplessly as the value of their retirement savings dwindled or disappeared. Adding to the anger of ordinary people was the fact that once-powerful organizations were given government bailouts while at the same time paying massive bonuses to their top executives. To exacerbate the misery, in recent years environmental disasters have ruined communities and cost jobs in already fragile economic regions. And to top it all off, the politicians on the campaign trail proclaimed in their political ads that their opponents were liars, instead of offering solutions that might help. The net result was that public trust in all politicians declined.

It's no shock, then, that institutional trust, confidence, and credibility once again all hit new lows. And along with it interpersonal trust has also declined, even more than trust in institutions.3 People are growing more reluctant to believe in their coworkers and their neighbors, especially in highly diverse organizations and communities where people are unfamiliar with the norms and expectations of their colleagues.

Many wonder if there are any leaders left who have the strength of character to sustain their trust. Substantial numbers of people believe that leaders lack the capability to guide business and governmental institutions to greatness in this intensely turbulent and competitive global marketplace. There is the gnawing sense in many corridors that leaders are not competent to handle the tough challenges; that they are not telling the truth; and that they are motivated more by greed and self-interest than by concerns for the customer, the employees, or the country.

Admittedly, opinions about the people who occupy leadership positions tend to rise and fall with current events.4 When times are good, people exhibit more confidence in their leaders, and when times are bad they exhibit less. The more severe the events and the more compressed the time frame, the more cynical people are likely to become. It is natural to expect, then, in a prolonged recession—with attendant layoffs and shrinking family incomes—that the credibility of business, labor, and government leaders would decline. A natural suspicion of power, a host of unrealistically positive expectations, and the confluence of events setting off the worldwide economic crisis beginning in late 2007 can explain a great deal about why leaders have lost credibility. Bad timing can often ruin credibility as much as bad actions.

But dismissing credibility problems as simply a function of the times permits leaders to escape responsibility for their own actions. The entire economic system is based on trust. It's not based on a particular investment model, price-earnings ratio, income statement, or balance sheet. It's not based on any of these rational concepts. It's based on whether people believe in the numbers and in the people who are supplying them. If people don't trust those who handle their money, their livelihoods, and their lives, they'll just refuse to participate. Leaders must accept that it is their responsibility to take the first step in earning back what has been lost and then further steps to sustain it.

So what can leaders do now to restore trust and confidence? What positive actions can leaders take to strengthen credibility over time? What can you do? What can anyone do? These are the questions we answer in this book.

Our Research into Credibility

Much has been written about what leaders do to get extraordinary things done, but little has been written about leadership from the constituent's point of view. There are a few books and articles about being a good follower, but we have not been satisfied with the perspective they present. These turbulent times require energized constituents who enthusiastically participate in the process and take up the call for more leadership at all levels. So we thought it was essential to look into the specific behaviors constituents need from a leader if they are to become fully engaged in and committed to a leader's call to action.

Credibility is the result of an intensive, ongoing investigation. In writing this book, we have relied upon our own surveys, which over the years have been administered to well over 100,000 people from around the world. The data reported in Credibility is from our continuing study, and, as we note later, the results have not varied since we began our research in the early 1980s.

In addition, we have accumulated more than double the number of written case studies since the first edition of this book, and they now total well over a thousand. Along with our students, we have also conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews with individuals “admired as leaders” in order to deepen our understanding of and gather personal stories about the key actions and behaviors of credible leaders.

From the surveys, we identified the qualities people most looked for in those individuals they would be willing to follow; from the case studies and interviews we identified specific actions that give leaders credibility. Focus groups and subject-matter experts helped us define and refine the most significant behaviors. Further survey research projects, both within and across organizations, enabled us to validate the importance of these leadership actions and to determine empirically that credibility makes a difference in work attitudes and performance.5

Who Should Read This Book?

With Credibility we continue our commitment to assist people in all parts of the globe, at all levels, and in all types of organizations—public, private, educational, religious, voluntary, governmental, military, and not-for-profit settings—in furthering their abilities to lead others to get extraordinary things done. Therefore, in the course of writing this book we collected data from aspiring and experienced organizational managers (from all functions and sectors), as well as community leaders, volunteer leaders, religious leaders, political leaders, labor leaders, and student leaders. After more than thirty years of research, we are more convinced than ever that leadership is everyone's business. Consequently, we believe Credibility will be of interest to anyone—whether at work, at home, or in social and volunteer activities—who wishes to step forward and guide people to places they have never been before, to new personal, organizational, and social futures.

As a result of reading this book, you will learn

The qualities that constituents look for and admire in leaders, the people whose direction they would willingly followThe foundation of leadership and of all working relationshipsThe principles and disciplines that strengthen leadership credibilityActions you can take immediately to apply the practices to your own leadership initiativesThe struggles leaders face in living up to their constituents' expectations

In short, you will learn how credibility is the foundation of leadership and, in fact, of all relationships that work. And you will also learn that credibility is measured not by you but by those you lead.

What's New and What's Not

This second edition of Credibility is a completely revised and slimmed-down version of the original. In addition to the worthy goal of saving the planet some paper, we trimmed the length for several reasons. First, we sharpened the focus on our central theme: how leaders earn and sustain credibility. In the first edition, we took detours into issues of service quality, for example, which, while important, weren't directly on message. Second, technology now allows us to move some of what we had written to the cloud. You will find material on our research, for example, at www.leadershipchallenge.com/go/credibility. Third, we developed an entirely new companion volume to accompany this book. Strengthening Credibility: A Leader's Workbook provides many developmental and application exercises for building and sustaining credibility.

This new edition of Credibility has a longer and broader reach than the earlier book. Our research is global, and the cases in this edition reflect that. From Asia and Australia to Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America, we show how people around the world affirm that credibility is the foundation of leadership.

All the cases in this book have been updated, and 90 percent of them are new to this volume. They are fresh illustrations of the changing nature of the context in which people now work. Part of that new context is a more open organizational environment—due in part to the globalization of the economy, the increased use of social media, and the rise of a whole new generation of younger leaders. This edition reflects this changing landscape.

What's not new is our intense interest in how values clarification and culture creation are at the top of a leader's agenda. Some of our earliest research clearly showed that commitment, satisfaction, productivity, and other positive outcomes were significantly higher when people shared the values of their organizations. This finding is reaffirmed in our most current studies.6

As our research evolved we discovered that unless personal values were clear it really didn't matter how clear the organization's values were. People don't get more committed to a company or to a cause because the organization nails its credo to the door. They get more committed because it matters to them.

During the past three decades, we've continued to ask another fundamental question, “What do you look for and admire in a leader, someone whose direction you would willingly follow?” You might expect we'd get a different set of responses over this period of time. After all, people keep telling us that the world is radically different today from what it was in the eighties.

But we haven't heard a different answer. No matter whom we've asked and no matter where we've asked it, credibility is still the foundation of leadership. In fact, given what the world has been going through these past few years, this lesson is even more relevant today.

Overview of the Contents

In Chapter One, “Leadership Is a Relationship,” we present our view that leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow. We also describe the results of our long-term research projects to identify the qualities people most look for and admire in their leaders, and we explain how the data clearly indicate that credibility is the foundation of leadership.

In Chapter Two, “Credibility Makes a Difference,” we discuss the positive influence credible leaders have on people and organizations and the negative impact that low-credibility leaders have on morale and performance. Through anecdotes and examples from the leaders and constituents in our studies, we bring the research findings to life. Then we introduce the idea that earning and sustaining credibility requires six disciplines, which we explain in the next six chapters.

In Chapter Three, “Discover Your Self,” we talk about how the credibility journey begins with the process of self-discovery—with an inner exploration of credos, competence, confidence, and character. Credos are your guides, competence provides the skills to enact your credos, and self-confidence gives you the will to behave in a way that is consistent with your beliefs. The sum of it all is character.

In Chapter Four, “Appreciate Constituents,” we show that leaders are seen as trustworthy when they have their constituents' best interests at heart. To strengthen credibility, leaders explore others' aims and aspirations. Credible leaders learn to listen and to listen well. They appreciate the hopes and dreams of their diverse constituencies.

In Chapter Five, “Affirm Shared Values,” we discuss why it is so important for credible leaders to integrate diverse viewpoints into unifying themes. We present our findings that shared values make a significant difference in the health of individuals, organizations, and communities. We talk about how leaders can find common ground, build community, and resolve conflicts on the basis of principles, not position.

In Chapter Six, “Develop Capacity,” we observe that people cannot act on the values they espouse unless they have the knowledge, skills, and resources to do so. Credible organizational leaders continuously develop the capacity of their organizations to put values into practice. They educate, offer choices, inform, foster self-confidence, and create a climate for lifelong learning. In short, they liberate the leader in everyone.

Constituents do not serve leaders; leaders serve constituents. Both serve a common purpose. In Chapter Seven, “Serve a Purpose,” we examine ways that credible leaders demonstrate their personal commitment to the shared values and visions of the organization. They stay in touch with constituents, are the first to accept responsibility, spend time on the important values, teach others, and hold themselves accountable.

In Chapter Eight, “Sustain Hope,” we examine how credible leaders attract constituents by lifting people's spirits and restoring belief in the future. They sustain hope by taking charge and demonstrating the courage of their convictions, by arousing positive thoughts and images, and by seeking and giving support. Credible leaders keep hope alive—which is a critical task since, in the end, only people with hope achieve greatness.

In Chapter Nine, “The Struggle to Be Human,” we discuss the tensions leaders grapple with as they try to respond to constituents while remaining true to their own beliefs. We also identify some excesses of leadership and of expectation and offer antidotes for dealing with these tensions. Building and strengthening credibility is an ongoing struggle, and we remind you in this final chapter and in the brief Epilogue following that the life you live is the legacy you leave behind.

You Make a Difference

Leadership matters. And it matters even more in uncertain times than it does in stable times. Organizations and communities certainly have their share of turbulence right now. You can expect many more massive and wrenching changes in the years to come. Adversity and hardships test leaders, and they test followers, too. These times call for bold actions and risky moves, often without predictable outcomes. You will have to ask your constituents to change, to transform, to do things differently. And the only thing they will have is your word that this is the right thing to do.

Success in initiating or responding to change is inextricably linked to the credibility of those leading the efforts. Constituents will commit to the extent that they believe in those guiding the change. It is wise, therefore, for leaders to begin every significant change with a “credit check.” It's not just “Do my constituents believe that the new system will improve our performance?” Or even “Do they believe that this risky policy is for the greater good?” It's also “Do they believe in me and my ability to lead this effort?”

But you can't do it alone. Neither can your organization, your community, or your country. Everyone—leaders and constituents alike—shares responsibility for getting extraordinary things done. You need every constituent's energetic involvement as much as constituents need your courage of conviction. You need to make leadership everyone's business, not just your business.

We all contribute to the renewal of mutual trust and understanding. By making leadership about us and not about them, we all take responsibility for doing what we say we will do. And, in the end, everyone becomes more credible.

James M. Kouzes

Barry Z. Posner

May 2011

Chapter One

Leadership Is a Relationship

“Although it was probably subconscious, I did not readily admit to my friends where I worked,” Beth Bremner told us. “I just used to say, ‘A big bank.’ ” The reason, she said, “predominantly had to do with the fact that I did not believe that our leaders were acting with the integrity and honesty that I hold so dear to my heart. I did not feel management set the kind of example that I wanted to abide by.”

Beth, South African by birth, was educated in the U.K. She holds an MBA from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and has worked throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.1 But Beth's sentiment is one that we hear time and time again all over the globe. Beth wants what the vast majority of people want from their leaders and their organizations:

I want to work for a company where I believe in the message being passed down from my top management team. I want to feel as though I am part of the team and that I have the same beliefs as the company does. I have learned that one needs to love what one does and believe that one is doing a good job for a great company. My best performance will never be ensured by feeling like a cog in the wheel of a company for a salary. I want to work in a company where I can share the direction and vision of my leaders. I have learned that most individuals are driven by the same thing as I…the possibilities that surround us and being excited about the future and what it holds.

Beth is right. The same things drive most people. They are energized by values and visions that give their lives meaning and purpose. They want to be surrounded by something that uplifts and excites them. And it is also clear that the thousands of professionals like Beth have certain expectations of their leaders. They won't commit themselves to work harder and more effectively for just anyone.

Leadership may once have been conferred by rank and privilege. It may once have been something that was characterized by a command-and-control, top-down, do-as-I-say style. But no more. Those days are long gone. Today, leadership is only an aspiration. It is something you have to earn every day, because on a daily basis, people choose whether or not they're going to follow you. It's something you keep striving to achieve and never assume you've fully attained.

The old organizational hierarchy just can't generate the kind of commitment that's required in our global society. This isn't a call for open elections inside organizations. But managers should not kid themselves. People do vote—with their energy, with their dedication, with their loyalty, with their talent, with their actions. Don't you put forth higher-quality effort when you believe that the people leading you are there to serve your needs and not just their own interests?

Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow. Any discussion of leadership must attend to the dynamics of this relationship. Strategies, tactics, skills, and practices are hollow and fruitless unless the fundamental human aspirations that connect leaders and their constituents are understood and appreciated.

So, what do constituents expect from leaders? What do leaders expect from constituents? What purpose do leaders serve? Why do people believe in some leaders but not in others? Why do some people choose to follow one leader while others reject that leader? What actions sustain the relationship? What actions destroy it? What is the state of the current relationship between leaders and constituents? These are the questions that intrigued us and that drove the research behind this book. We wanted to understand more deeply what formed the foundation of a constructive and positive relationship between constituents and their leaders, and what leaders needed to do to build and sustain that kind of relationship. Organizations and communities cannot be renewed and revitalized, nor can towering institutions even be dreamed about, until these and related questions are answered.

Consider what the late John Gardner—former cabinet secretary, founder of Common Cause, adviser to six U.S. presidents, and respected author and scholar—had to say about all this:

A loyal constituency is won when the people, consciously or unconsciously, judge the leader to be capable of solving their problems and meeting their needs, when the leader is seen as symbolizing their norms, and when their image of the leader (whether or not it corresponds to reality) is congruent with their inner environment of myth and legend.2

From his decades of experience in working with some of the most powerful people in the world, John learned that people willingly follow the direction of someone who is attuned to their aims and aspirations, worries and fears, ideals and images. He also found that ultimately the constituents are the arbiters of the quality of leadership they receive. In the end, leaders don't decide who leads. Followers do.

Loyalty is not something a boss (or anyone for that matter) can demand or even command. It is something the people—the constituency—choose to grant to a leader who has earned it. The people's choice is based not upon authority but upon the degree to which the leader lives up to the expectations constituents hold.

Leadership is something one experiences in an interaction with another human being. That experience varies from leader to leader, from constituent to constituent, and from day to day. No two leaders are exactly alike, no two constituent groups are exactly alike, and no two days in the life of leaders and constituents are exactly alike. And even in this digital age, when face-to-face contact seems to be diminishing—and this change is the source of many of the leadership problems being experienced these days—it is the interaction between leaders and constituents that turns opportunities into successes.

The key to unlocking greater leadership potential can be found when you seek to understand the desires and expectations of your constituents and when you act on them in ways that correspond to their image of what an exemplary leader is and does.

The Characteristics of Admired Leaders

We began our investigation into what people expected from their leaders more than three decades ago, in a study sponsored by the American Management Association. We asked the open-ended question, “What values (personal traits or characteristics) do you look for in your superiors?”3 (As you can see, we were stuck in the old hierarchical metaphors back then.)

More than 1,500 managers nationwide provided 225 values, characteristics, and traits that they believed to be crucial in the people leading them. A panel of researchers and managers subsequently analyzed the 225 factors and reduced them to 15 categories. Of those, the most frequent categories, in order of mention, were

1.Integrity (is truthful, is trustworthy, has character, has convictions)

2.Competence (is capable, is productive, is efficient)

3.Leadership (is inspiring, is decisive, provides direction)

A follow-up study involving more than 800 senior public sector administrators replicated these findings.4

In subsequent studies, we broadened the categories, elaborated on the earlier findings, and improved the research methodology. We eventually produced a twenty-item survey checklist, which became part of the research protocol for this book. Over the years, more than 75,000 people around the globe have completed the “Characteristics of Admired Leaders” checklist. People select from the twenty characteristics (or qualities) listed after this paragraph the seven that they most “look for and admire in a leader, someone whose direction you would willingly follow.” Pause for a moment and make a mental note of the seven that would be on your own list.

Characteristics of Admired Leaders

Ambitious (aspiring, hardworking, striving)Broad-minded (open-minded, flexible, receptive, tolerant)Caring (appreciative, compassionate, concerned, loving, nurturing)Competent (capable, proficient, effective, gets the job done, professional)Cooperative (collaborative, team player, responsive)Courageous (bold, daring, gutsy)Dependable (reliable, conscientious, responsible)Determined (dedicated, resolute, persistent, purposeful)Fair-minded (just, unprejudiced, objective, forgiving, willing to pardon others)Forward-looking (visionary, foresighted, concerned about the future, sense of direction)Honest (truthful, has integrity, trustworthy, has character)Imaginative (creative, innovative, curious)Independent (self-reliant, self-sufficient, self-confident)Inspiring (uplifting, enthusiastic, energetic, humorous, cheerful, positive about the future)Intelligent (bright, smart, thoughtful, intellectual, reflective, logical)Loyal (faithful, dutiful, unswerving in allegiance, devoted)Mature (experienced, wise, has depth)Self-Controlled (restrained, self-disciplined)Straightforward (direct, candid, forthright)Supportive (helpful, offers assistance, comforting)

Our research also includes more than 1,000 written case studies of “My Most Admired Leader,” in which people responded to questions about leaders with whom they had personal experience and for whom they had great admiration and respect. From these case studies we collected specific examples of actions of respected leaders, information on the affective nature of admired leader–constituent relationships, and profiles on the types of projects or programs involved. This information came from sources in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Focus groups further enabled us to determine the behaviors of admired leaders. Finally, a series of empirical studies provided further insights into the leadership actions that specifically influence people's assessments of credibility.5

Additionally, in-depth interviews with more than 150 managers revealed the qualities they looked for and admired in their leaders and why. These richly detailed, colorful anecdotes and specific examples brought the survey data to life. From all of this data we developed a framework for describing the actions that admired leaders take to build a special kind of leader-constituent relationship, one that not only leaves a lifelong impression but builds community and makes a significant performance difference.

The results of our studies over the last three decades have been strikingly consistent. They have remained consistent not only over time but also around the world and across categories of age, gender, ethnicity, functional discipline, organizational level, and the like. People are remarkably clear about the qualities leaders must demonstrate if they want others to voluntarily enlist in a common cause and to freely commit to action.

What are these crucial attributes? According to our empirical data, the majority of people look for and admire leaders who are honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent. Take a moment to examine the data from these surveys. The results from the most current sample are displayed in the left-hand column of Table 1.1. Also shown are the accumulated results from two prior reports in 2002 and 1987.

Table 1.1 Characteristics of Admired Leaders (Percentage of People Selecting Characteristic Over the Years)

As you can see, these four characteristics—honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent—rank well above the rest. And this is true not just today but has been over several decades as well. The same is true around the globe, as Table 1.2 shows. While the exact rank order (first through fourth) might vary from country to country, these same four qualities remain at the top of the list of what people everywhere want from their leaders.

Table 1.2 Characteristics of Admired Leaders Around the World (Rank Order by Country)

Honest

In virtually every survey, honesty is selected more often than any other leadership characteristic. No matter where the studies have been conducted—regardless of country, geographical region, or type of organization—the most important leadership attribute since we began our research in 1980 has always been honesty.

Honesty is absolutely essential to leadership. If people are going to follow someone willingly, whether into battle or into the boardroom, they first want to assure themselves that the person is worthy of their trust. They want to know that the would-be leader is truthful, ethical, and principled. This is exactly the point that Ken Chang, branch manager for Schenker China-BAX Global, made about his general manager: “Whether it is good news or bad news, we'll get it. He keeps us posted on what we are doing and the progress we are making.” And the payoff, as Ken pointed out, is that “when the leader is honest with his followers then we will be honest in return. This helps to form an honest atmosphere in the organization.”

The benefits of honesty cannot be overstated. Employees must know they can trust their leader—as they can only do when someone is honest with them. As Anand Reddy, project manager at Intel, explained: “A failure of honesty poisons the team, damages the trust between people, and breaks down team cohesion. Besides, nobody wants to follow a leader who is not honest.” For Ian Foo, working as a consultant with Accenture in Australia, the importance of honesty and trust was demonstrated in the way his most admired leader kept his word: “Being honest means that if you make promises to people you never break them. You are only as good as your word: If you cannot deliver, do not offer your word.” Honesty earns the respect of others and fosters their confidence that leaders can be trusted to follow through on their commitments.

Forward-Looking

Vani Bhargava, manager of financial accounting and analysis at YouWeb Incubator, learned about the importance of being forward-looking from her most admired leader, who told her that it is “critical to have a vision about how things could be and to be clear enough about it that others will be able to see it themselves.” Gloria Leung told us that because her most admired leader at Hang Seng Bank (Hong Kong) is forward-looking, “this provides us the capacity to walk a path towards the future with great confidence, and fosters shared values because we all know where we are heading.” “Where people fail as leaders,” explained Alex Popovic, director of strategic sales accounts at National Semiconductor, is where they are “myopic in their approach and are unable to communicate the long-term future of the group.” “You can't be buried in the details,” said Marie Ross, senior manager of EMC's customer reference program. “You have to be looking at the bigger picture.” Leaders are expected to have a sense of direction and a concern for the future of the organization. Leaders must know where they are going. They must have a destination in mind when asking others to join them on a journey into the unknown.

It isn't all that surprising that being forward-looking would be so important for senior executives. But the data also indicate that it is very important for frontline supervisors and middle managers as well. If leaders are to be admired and respected, they must have the ability to see across the horizon of time and imagine what might be. People are unwilling to follow those who are directionless. Leaders can be unquestionably honest, but if they don't know where they are going, no one is likely to go any further ahead with them than they themselves can see.

Constituents ask that a leader have a well-defined orientation toward the future. They want to know what the organization will look like, feel like, and be like when it arrives at its goal in six months or six years. They want to have it described to them in rich detail so that they will know when they have arrived and so that they can select the proper route for getting there.

Inspiring

People admire and respect leaders who are dynamic, uplifting, enthusiastic, positive, and optimistic. Claudio Lucero, who led the first South American team's climb to the top of the world's highest mountain, explained: “Dreaming about something is not enough; you have to be able to share that dream and get others to work with you to achieve it.” Leaders can't just have dreams of the future; they must be able to communicate those dreams in ways that encourage people to sign on for the duration and to work hard for the goal. In this way they are expected to be inspiring.6

Ziya Boyacigiller, serial entrepreneur in the United States and Turkey, testified to the importance of being inspiring. He spoke about the need to “get others to believe so strongly in the vision that they are transformed into followers who are not afraid to fail.” The enthusiasm of leaders is contagious and gets everyone to feel that they can make the impossible possible.

Competent

If people are to enlist in another's cause, they must see that individual as capable and effective. Emily Li, APAC finance director at Mindspeed Technologies, described her most admired leader at Efinity in these terms: “He knows what he's doing—he sets goals that are realistic and knows the steps necessary to achieve them—and that creates confidence and motivation in his followers.” And, she pointed out, “he knows about how to build upon the expertise of others.” The universal expectation is that the leader will be able to get things done for the organizational unit. In this sense, having a winning track record is the surest way to be considered competent.

The type of competence that constituents look for does vary somewhat with the leader's role. For example, leaders who hold officer positions are expected to demonstrate abilities in strategic planning and policymaking. If a new technology challenges the organization, a person more knowledgeable about that technology may be perceived to be a more appropriate leader. A leader on the line or at the point of customer interaction will typically have to be more technically competent than someone removed from day-to-day contact. Yet it is not necessary that the leader have the same level of technical competence as constituents. Much more significant, explained Victor Wang, marketing technical services manager for the Swedish steel company ASSAB Tooling in Dongguan, China, “is that the leader takes the time to learn the business, to know the current operation and everyone in the company, before making changes and decisions.”