Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It, Revised Edition

by James M. Kouzes; Barry Z. Posner (Santa Clara Univ., Santa Clara, California)

• ISBN13: 9780787964641
• ISBN10: 0787964646
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-02-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

"Leadership is personal. It's not about the corporation, the community, or the country. It's about you. If people don't believe in the messenger, they won't believe the message. If people don't believe in you, they won't believe in what you say. And if it's about you, then it's about your beliefs, your values, your principles."-- from Credibility In this best-selling book, Kouzes and Posner (authors of The Leadership Challenge), explain why leadership is above all a relationship, with credibility as the cornerstone. They provide rich examples of real managers in action and reveal the six key disciplines and related practices that strengthen a leader's capacity for developing and sustaining credibility. Kouzes and Posner show how leaders can encourage greater initiative, risk-taking, and productivity by demonstrating trust in employees and resolving conflicts on the basis of principles, not positions.

Author Biography

James M. Kouzes is chairman emeritus of the Tom Peters Company and an executive fellow at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University.

Table of Contents

Introduction: On Credibility and Character	p. xiii
Leadership Is a Relationship	p. 1
Being Part Of, Not Apart From
Linking Leadership, Service, and Quality to Relationships
Learning What Constituents Expect
Identifying Key Characteristics of Admired Leaders
Discovering Credibility as the Foundation
Earning Credibility
Credibility Makes a Difference	p. 27
The Spirited Individual
Gains for the Cynics
The Reasons for Cynicism
The Visible Leader
Doing What We Say: The Critical Difference
The Six Disciplines
Discovering Your Self	p. 58
Clarifying Your Credo: "This I Believe"
Evaluating Values
Acquiring Competence
Self-Confidence: Believing You Can Do It
Character: Summing It All Up
Discovering Your Self: First Steps/Next Steps
Appreciating Constituents and Their Diversity	p. 88
A New Ethic: Shifting the Focus from Self to Other
Enriching Performance Through Diversity
Showing Appreciation by Listening
Soliciting Feedback
Promoting Constructive Controversy
Engendering Trust
Taking Risks and Gaining Innovation
Appreciating Constituents: First Steps/Next Steps
Affirming Shared Values	p. 119
Using Shared Values to Make a Difference
Finding Common Ground
Creating a Cooperative, Proud Community
Using Organizational Systems to Reinforce Shared Values
Reconciling Values Dilemmas
Affirming Shared Values: First Steps/Next Steps
Developing Capacity	p. 153
Liberating the Leader in Everyone
Building Competence: Educate, Educate, Educate
Offering Choices, Encouraging Ownership
Inspiring Confidence
Creating a Climate for Learning
Promoting Communication and Feedback
Fostering Mutual Responsibility
Developing Capacity: First Steps/Next Steps
Serving a Purpose	p. 183
Going First
Staying in Touch
Making Meaning, Daily
Becoming a Storyteller
Teaching with Moments of Learning
Losing and Regaining Credibility
Establishing Systems and Structures
Serving a Purpose: First Steps/Next Steps
Sustaining Hope	p. 218
Taking Charge: Demonstrating Courage of Conviction
Arousing Positive Thoughts and Images
Giving Love and Encouragement
For Healthy Lives and Superior Performance: Making Hope a Priority
Sustaining Hope: First Steps/Next Steps
The Struggle to Be Human	p. 247
The Tension Between Freedom and Constraint
The Tension Between Leading and Following
Perception of Success
From Excellence to Excess
Renewal: New Beginnings from the Old Ending
Studies on the Impact of Credibility and What Constitutes Credible Behavior	p. 275
Notes	p. 289
Acknowledgments	p. 317
The Authors	p. 321
Name Index	p. 327
Subject Index	p. 333
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.