Credibility as an Essential Leadership Quality Report

Credibility is one of the most important qualities of leadership. Credibility refers to the ability to win trust or to be believed by the followers in an organization. It is the ability to convince followers that the path taken by the leader is the right path that would yield the desired results. Credibility has two components which are expertise and trustworthiness. For a leader to be considered as a credible person, he or she must be an expert in the field he or she leads. He must also be considered as a person who can be trusted with resources of the organization and with the people.

The most engaging moments for me in this week’s topic

This week’s topic was very engaging, especially on issues about generating trust. As was mentioned above, credibility has two components of expertise and trustworthiness. Most leaders are scoring high on expertise, especially with the emergent of many institutions of higher learning. However, trustworthiness still remains a challenge. It was very engaging to learn how large organizations such as Lehman Brothers were brought to their knees due lack of trustworthiness among the management.

The moment I felt most distanced from what was happening in this week’s course

In this week’s course, I felt distanced by time which was taken to discuss this topic. Although this course is very important in preparing learners to be credible people when they become leaders, the time taken to learn it was relatively short as compared to other week’s courses. I felt that the understanding of this course would have been better if more time were to be dedicated.

Actions of others that I found most affirming or helpful in this week’s course

It was reassuring that the tutor was keen to teach all the important factors of credibility in leadership within the limited time available. The tutor appreciated that the time was limited, and as such, was keen to use the available time in the best way possible to ensure that learners got the right information. The learners were also sensitive on the issue of time and tried avoiding any issues of time wastage. This helped in making this week’s course a success despite the limitation of time.

The most surprising moment for me in this week’s course

In this week’s course, it was surprising to learn that credibility goes beyond trust. It is surprising to know that for a leader to be considered credible, he must not only demonstrate trustworthiness but also ability to offer expert leadership in the area he or she is entrusted with. This means that such a leader must be capable to undertake activities that others consider technically beyond their scope. It is through this that followers will believe in him or her.

What I would do differently if this week of the course could be re-lived

If this week’s course were to be re-lived, I would try to engage the current leaders to understand their views about credibility in leadership. I would visit the selected leaders within the first day of the week after getting the outline of the week’s course. With this information, it will be possible to try and compare what is learnt theoretically in class, and what is practically on the ground. This will enhance understanding this aspect of leadership from both theoretical and practical perspectives.