Got Credibility?

The foundation of your professional relationships is your credibility. 

What is credibility? According to the dictionary, it’s the quality of being believed or trusted. 

When you are credible, people want to work with you. They believe what you say, they find you competent, and they take you seriously. People want credible leaders and credible colleagues. 

Personally I find someone credible when their actions match their words, and when they consistently demonstrate reliability and skill in what they commit to do.

If trust is based on belief, credibility is based on evidence. When we are credible, it’s not about blind belief, benefit of the doubt, or hoping for the best. It’s based on facts, on results, and on consistency.

Consciously or not, people will find you more or less credible based on how you behave over time. Some people ask to be trusted, yet they consistently demonstrate a lack of reliability or a lack of skill in what they do. They might be trustworthy in some aspects, and not credible in others. Unfortunately it does not take many lapses to look less credible - just a couple mishaps that haven’t been acknowledged and corrected will suffice to make you less credible.

How to build your credibility?

1. Integrity

In order to be reliable, commit to projects that you have capacity for, in terms of time, energy, interest, and skill. For that, you need great self-awareness, and acceptance of yourself and your limitations. It’s not uncommon to believe that we have more time and energy than we actually do. 

2. Competence

Because results matter more than effort - we’re beyond participation awards here! - make sure that you commit to action items that you’re competent to achieve to completion and with excellence. It’s not uncommon to believe that we’re better at something than we actually are. 

If you’re a beginner, it’s ok but communicate that caveat clearly, and ensure that you have some outline about how you’re going to do what you want to progress in. Ask for support early - do not stay stuck for days as this will affect your credibility in several aspects. Being humble enough to ask for help builds credibility.

3. Attunement to others

Seek to benefit others, not just yourself. If you fail to deliver what you have promised, recognize the problem, apologize by acknowledging the impact that your failure has had on the other person or people, and refrain from making excuses even if you have valid ones. Communicate clearly what you wish you had done differently, what you have learned, and how it will look like next time. And then do it.

4. Communication

As stated above, communicate your time and skill limitations promptly and clearly, especially if you’re going to be delayed, if you run into problems and need help, etc. Being honest, forthcoming, and vulnerable when it matters are keys to your credibility.

Conclusion

Everything in this list is about knowing yourself well and taking others into account. Focus on communicating clearly and in advance if you see problems or limitations looming, and mak sincere apologies when needed. Mistakes are ok, but they need to be acknowledged, and remedies need to be put in place immediately, even if the remedy is to stop committing to the same type of projects for a while until you have more time or more skill to be able to deliver the expected results.

Credibility is the outward manifestation of your character. And your character is all you have to build trusting and satisfying personal and professional relationships.