Customer Reviews

Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It (J-B Leadership Challenge: Kouzes/Posner)

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This book was an optional reading in a course I recently took as part of my PhD studies in organisational leadership. The text flows logically, with highly readable prose; it excels at providing a great depth of insight on a) discovering one self; b) appreciating constituents and their diversity; c) affirming shared values; d) developing capacity; d) serving a purpose; and d) sustaining hope. Even though the research upon which the text is based was done mostly in the first world, I found it quite useful and applicable to my own context in Guatemala. I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to understand how crecibility affects leadership success.

Deals with what credibility is, how you gain it, lose it. More importantly, the authors discuss why this issue is one of the keys to a successful personal and business life. If you are a parent, spouse, manager, or deal with people in any way, this book will help you analyze how you deal with people, what they expect, and how you can fullfil their expectations and yours and have them think you are wonderful. Experience how much better your life is when your relationships are on a sound footing. Warning - if you like playing games with people or messing with their minds, this book will be a disappointment to you.

Credibility is a leadership book based on the thought that through honesty, competence, and valuing people, leaders can be most effective. When credible leadership exists, people have a strong desire to follow their leaders, not just because they have to, but because they want to. When employees are committed to their leader, they are committed to the success of their company as well.

The book is easy to read and presents many interesting case studies and profiles of companies and leaders who apply this philosophy. Divided into sections, the book explains the six disciplines of credibility: discovering yourself, appreciating constituents, affirming shared values, developing capacity, serving a purpose, and sustaining hope. Useful applications of the theory and "next step" action plans are provided to help readers gain credibility in their own leadership roles. Unfortunately the book is a bit dated, as it was published in 1993.

Starting with the headline, 'Leadership is a Relationship'; Authors Kouzes & Posner demonstrate that Credibility is the foundation of any sound relationship, but particularly between leaders and their constituents. Using credibility to represent a combination of admired leadership characteristics - honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent, etc. - the authors of "The Leadership Challenge" declare the six disciplines of credibility to be:
1. Discovering your self
2. Appreciating constituents
3. Affirming shared values
4. Developing capacity
5. Serving a purpose
6. Sustaining hope
The authors then devote a chapter to each of these disciplines, first providing definitional understanding, before outlining steps for developing the discipline.

Although the original writing of this book is about 15 years old, the message is more important today than ever. As defined in this book, leadership credibility is much the same as `trust' in the recently published book, The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything by Stephen M. R. Covey. Both of the books should leave you with a clear understanding that; leadership is relational, this trust/credibility component is crucial, it all starts with knowing and being responsible for who you are, and purpose is its heart. Not a bad success formula for any relationship, business or otherwise. This book is recommended for anyone wanting to learn the underpinnings of relationships.

This book was a part of my reading for my Phd in Organizational Management. Here's my review.
In reading, "Credibility" by Kouzes and Posner (2003), the two leadership experts in the field of organizational development and management, particularly workplace outcomes, addressed some important managerial issues that relate to values, leadership roles and performance outcome. Their main argument discussed how shared values can help an organizations improve productivity and organizational effectiveness. The authors suggest that "shared values are the foundation of building productive -relationships" within organizations (p.121) in which there are various ways for organizations to build long lasting partnerships between leaders and its constituents. In general, when organizations develop a shared value relationship with its constituents, they can begin to work together on the organization's goals and objectives.
I agree with the author's philosophy that organizations must first communicate clearly to their constituents about who they are and what they represent. Open and honest communication is vital within any organization. It creates a sense of purpose and inspiration to others to support the organization's mission. In doing so, there must be an internal paradigm shift that must take place within the organization so that leaders begin to attract and maintain constituents who are connected to the organization's vision.
I would recommend this book to leaders within small and large organization to develop a strong foundation for growth and expansion.

Lisa Willis
Coach and Organizational Consultant

This book is excellent. That is not only my opinion, but the opinion of numerous colleagues who have read the book based on my recommendation. Trust (credibility) is an absolutely critical attribute for an effective leader. This book covers all the bases with regard to gaining, maintaining, and restoring credibility. I highly recommend this book to everyone who is in any position of leadership.

Credibility is a terrific follow-up to Kouzes and Posners previous book. It was offered as optional reading in my MA in Organizational Leadership program and I'm glad I read it.

Though somewhat Kouze and Posner tend to repeat themselves throughout the book, they have many practical ideas that anyone can put to use today.

James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner use detailed research to show how leaders can achieve credibility. This book tells what caring leaders should do. If you are a leader, heed it. If you are managed - and not managing - don't assume that your leaders care as much as those shown here. You will be ill-prepared for harsh reality. As a leader, you should know that the global marketplace has changed greatly. Now, shareholders jettison stocks if earnings fall below expectations. Executives slash U.S. jobs and export the remaining jobs to India and China. This is an age of multi-billion-dollar paychecks for chief executive officers, but psychological insecurity for workers. In this turmoil, it's great to read what good leaders should do. The book is practical with a solid psychological grounding. Bottom line from us: these researchers are nice guys, writing for similarly nice guys. But not every leader is a nice guy. So trust, but verify. Or lead, and be nice.

This book has an interesting topic that is needed in todays fields. Citing great examples of people who do more than just talk the talk. The beginning and end are most useful, the middle gets a little boring but is still useful. They back up what they say with studies (from which I also did a study and came up with surprisely similar results!). Overall a very good book for any manager in any business. It should be noted that this book is a bit more geared for a production manager such as in plant or factory. HOwever examples are universal and can be used in any "bag of tricks".

Books like Kouzes & Posner's "Credibility" are a mixed blessing in the 2009 workforce. On one hand, they purport to represent the qualities employees want to see from leaders and describe to you how to get there. On the other hand, the book was written sufficiently long ago -- and not updated -- to not reflect the realities of the workplace in the post-9/11, post-stock market and mortgage meltdowns that have substantially changed people's ideas about work, leadership and, yes, even credibility.

The book is aptly misnamed becuase it is really about leadership, not credibility. It details the tasks, training and understanding people need to know and acquire to become leaders. Credibility is an important aspect of leadership, I know. But it is also an important aspect for anyone, regardless of their role in the office, business, organization or family.

Yet the book constantly mixes metaphors by citing surveys of workforces, individual exercises, and quotes from captains of industry to make its points. Its original surveys cite what it calls the four characterisitics people want to see in leaders -- honesty, forward-looking or visionary, inspiring and competent. The book sums this up saying, "Being seen as somoene who can be trusted, who has high integrity, and who is honest and truthful is essential."

Anyone that's played the devil's advocate at work knows this formula works to some extent. People always say they admire honesty -- until they are told something they don't want to hear. Then what happens to your sterling qualities of trust, high integrity and truthfulness? Ask Jimmy Carter, the former president that once tried to tell Americans our heyday was over. He was shown the door by an electorate that only four years earlier found him the credible alternative to the Vietnam-Watergate generation of politicians.

Do people really admire these qualities, then? The book says so and goes on to discuss organizational traits, personal tasks and organizational audits you can undertake to create the kind of work force -- and be the kind of individual -- this book says you should be. The book is more about building organizational leaders and redefining the beliefs of organizations than it is about credibility, in my view.

I work in an industry where people talk about all this stuff ad nauseum -- government. I recall the first time a leader where I worked passed out his list of 10 values in the workplace about 1991, which is the decade described by this book. I was frankly astounded; his list included all the traditionally noble ideas as well as some I'd never heard, like joy and humor. Humor in the workplace? Everyone knows that breaks the stress. But as an organizational value?

This is the cross to bear with books like "Credibility", in my mind. In the end, the book promotes leadership through shared belief. It goes to some effort to separate individual from what it calls "shared" values. That phrase is what my boss passed out in 1991 -- a set of shared values. These were the values that were dictated, not benignly suggested, in the workplace. If you didn't like them, or chose not to adapt to them, you probably weren't a very good fit in that workplace.

While its manifest content promotes leadership, "Credibility" portrays to working stiffs in companies with vertical organizations that the era of being an individualist in the workplace is over with. It goes beyond its name to train people how to think, believe and act in a certain way that, first, is a common demoninator and, second, can help you achieve a leadership role. Once achieved, everyone else is required to conform to the same standards -- the standards under which credibility is defined.

There are still stars and overachievers everywhere, but conformity is what this book presents. It is a return to the values of the 1950s, "Ozzie and Harriet" and "Man In the Gray Flannel Suit" eras -- conform or perish. This may be overstating the case but not by much, for "Credibility" teaches that it is just as important for an automoton as it is for Shakespeare or Fidel Castro.