Analysis of Credibility Book by Kouzes and Posner - Essay Example

Credibility Kouzes and Posner have dealt with the issue of leadership and in their book, they illustrate why leadership is a relationship with credibility as the cornerstone. They have discussed six disciplines that comprise credibility, enumerated as follows (a) discovering yourself (b) the appreciation constituent (c) affirmation of shared values (d) development of capacity (e) serving a purpose and lastly, sustaining hope. In its exposition on the issue of credibility in leadership, these six factors enumerated above highlight the most important underlying element of good leadership – leaders must be smart about people and possess excellent interpersonal skills.

This aspect of the book is particularly relevant, especially in the context of the global economy. The importance of human resources is increased in this economy, where the employee base within organizations is often comprised of people from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, an organization may also have to carry on business with individuals in other countries; therefore leaders must possess the ability to get along well with individuals of different backgrounds to extract the best from them.

The leader must also possess the ability to inspire people of different backgrounds and encourage them to work well with each other. This requires them to have a good relationship with others and Kouzes and Posner’s demonstration of leadership as a relationship and their emphasis on credibility is especially apt and to the point. For example, some of the essential elements of credibility cited by these authors, such as appreciation and the affirmation of values are also oriented towards the need for leaders to be smart about other people and to be able to interact effectively with them.

The strategies a leader may need to follow to implement these elements may include encouraging and providing support for employees through appreciation, which in turn, promotes an environment where employees are able to put out their best. Moreover, in an organization, the affirmation of shared values helps individuals within an organization to work together in a united fashion, since they are oriented towards the same goals. Kouzes and Posner therefore raise some valid issues related to leadership that are relevant in today’s economy, where organizational success within a competitive environment is more difficult.

When leaders are concerned about the welfare of their employees and take the time and effort to encourage them through appreciation and by giving them hope, then such efforts are likely to be well received and the positive effects reflected in improvements in organizational productivity. This book also has greater relevance in the wake of corporate scandals such as Enron and others, where individuals in positions of leadership have abused those powers to gain benefits for themselves at the expense of the organization itself.

There is an atmosphere of general disillusionment in modern times, where employees are skeptical about the personal integrity of their leaders and as a result, may not stand united behind them. Kouzes and Posner’s citing of elements such as developing capacity, serving a purpose and sustaining hope together with the self discovery of the leader draw the focus of leadership back to the one factor that can serve as an inspiring force – the personal integrity of the leader. This focus on personal integrity is vital in the modern organizational atmosphere of mistrust and cynicism.

When employees are disillusioned about their leaders or when they doubt the their personal integrity, it may serve as a powerful de-motivating force and negatively impact upon the performance of employees in the workplace. Credibility is especially important in executives; while sales people for example may not be fully credible, yet consumers may opt to purchase goods from them, the same does not hold good for leaders. Kouzes and Posner have equated leadership to a journey, where the acquisition of the leadership is only the first stage of a journey, but management involves the development and demonstration of credibility in that position of leadership.

This is the reason why Kouzes and Posner have stated that the first thing leaders need to do is to delve within themselves and clarify their own values, so that they can affirm those shared values with others. Since leaders are in a position of power over others and can require them to perform certain duties, there must be an atmosphere of trust between them so that the followers can be inspired. The case studies in the book also show how inspired leadership has brought failing organizations back on the path to success.

It is especially relevant when applied to the general atmosphere of disillusionment and cynicism, which prevails in the corporate world today after the financial scandals that have questioned the integrity of leadership itself. The questions that have been raised about leader integrity also point to the need to motivate employees who are disillusioned and suffer from a lack of trust in their leaders, which hampers a united progress towards organizational goals. The elements of credibility that the authors have discussed in their book are further explained by way of suggested implementation through an action plan.

The authors have stated that leaders need to lead by example; their deeds are far more important than their words. It is only when a leader demonstrates his or her own commitment to inner beliefs through actions, that followers are inspired by the leader’s example and begin to trust the leader’s words and call to action. The authors have also stated that leaders must possess vision and have a clear idea of the direction they want their organization to move in and the common values it is to stand for.

One of the significant aspects of the book is that the authors clarify how it is leaders who must bring about a change from the status quo, so that new ideas can thrive. But leaders need to serve as the catalysts for the germination of new ideas, rather than being obliged to come up with those novel and innovative ideas themselves. On the leadership journey, a leader must also assume the managerial role, with the ability to motivate and inspire others to come up with good ideas to challenge the established ways and practices of doing things if they are not working.

This is a profound explication of the role leaders play in challenging the status quo through the fostering of new ideas. Within a hierarchical organizational set up for example, leaders have absolute authority and employees function under a distinct chain of command. But by redefining the role of leadership in this manner, Kouzes and Posner have shown that it is the networking approach, which may be more relevant in terms of leadership in the global economy today. The leader with personal integrity will not be obsessed with his or her own power and the need to maintain it at all times, but will be willing to network and gather others into the decision making process and in the development of innovative ideas and plans.

By serving as a catalyst to shake up existing patterns of organizational operations, the leader throws upon the path for the development of new and innovative ways to achieve organizational goals. Leaders who have personal integrity will also be able to motivate employees to a much higher degree because of the levels of support and encouragement that they provide. Kouzes and Posner have equated this to the implementation phase of the leadership journey, which starts off with the process of self discovery.

While the discovery and reaffirmation of personal values with others in the organization can help a leader to generate the atmosphere of trust required within an organization for individuals to work together, the implementation phase is more concerned with management. After successfully inspiring a group of individuals to work towards a common goal and serving as a catalyst for the emergence of innovative ideas, the leader then needs to facilitate groups of diverse people within the organizational set up to work together successfully in achieving the desired objectives.

In conclusion, this book has distilled the essence of leadership into the issue of credibility because the ability to inspire and lead people is the crux of leadership. Individuals are not inclined to follow a leader with confidence and enthusiasm unless there is an atmosphere of trust between the leader and followers. Unlike other leadership theories advanced before, Kouzes and Posner’s work shows that leadership is not essentially a question of personal attributes, neither is it a purely management role.

Rather it is the personal integrity of a leader, which will enable him or her to posses the necessary ingredients to generate trust among followers and motivate them to move in a united manner towards the achievement of organizational goals. References: * Kouzes, J. and Posner, B., 2003. “Credibility”, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass