Wednesday’s Smart Shibboleth #5: A Trust and Credibility Shibboleth for Leaders and Organizations

When it comes to credibility and trust, the fundamentally trustable behavior of organizations is reflected in its leadership’s behavior and leadership’s commitment to trustable decisions and actions. 

Management’s Credibility Mantra: Credibility is Conferred On Us Based On Our Past Behaviors. 

These six actionable tasks or assignments, if executed by everyone in the organization, especially by leadership example, will foster trust and credibility, as well as demonstrate extraordinary integrity. 

1. “When problems occur, we’ll be prepared to talk openly about them and act quickly to respond to them operationally.” 

2. “If the public should know about an issue or problem which could affect them, we will voluntarily talk about it as quickly and as completely as we can.” 

3. “When the problems or changes occur, we will keep the community posted on a schedule they set until the problem or changes have been thoroughly explained or resolved.” 

4. We will answer any questions the community may have and suggest and volunteer additional information on matters the community has yet to ask questions about.” 

5. “We will be cooperative with the news media, but our primary responsibility is to communicate directly with those most directly affected by our actions as soon as possible.” 

6. “We will respect and seek to work with those who oppose us.”