Many of us feverishly working on programs or projects find ourselves somewhere in “the middle” of the decision-making hierarchy. Often, we have great ideas in how to solve a problem, improve a process or plan for the next project, but seem to be paralyzed in influencing the decision makers in our way of thought. So time and again we take a deep breath, bring our ideas up to leadership, but they seem never to mature or even leave our desks. What can we do?
The first thing we have to realize, and believe, is leading from the middle is possible. In his book, “The Science of Persuasion,” Kevin Hogan stated his opinion that one of the most crucial pieces, if not the center point itself, to being able to lead from the middle is credibility. Why would leadership even begin to listen to anyone if they are not credible?
Mr. Hogan, a persuasion expert, calculated a formula for credibility:
Experience + Trustworthiness = Credibility
The first thing to point out is you need both experience and trustworthiness to be credible. If you are missing one, you are out of luck. Let’s think about this and relate it to our workplace. You know people who have 17 years of experience, a Master’s degree in “muckitemuck”, and an opinion on everything that is going on. But, for whatever reason you just don’t trust them. Those individuals have a hard time getting ideas through. Let’s look at it the other way. There is Joe who you have lunch with everyday. He soft spoken, normally sits and waits for direction, is one year out of college, nice wife and family, and he even bailed you out of jail last year and did not tell anybody. To you, he is the most trustworthy guy in the building but, his experience is lacking. Once again, his ideas get no traction.
When we get up in the morning and our brushing our teeth looking in the mirror, how do we think we perform in the credibility formula? One other very important issue Mr. Hogan argues is it’s not what we think about ourselves; it is how others perceive us and these two maybe different. In the examples given, it was your perception of somebody else: are they credible or not? Weather we realize it or not, we are under the same scrutiny by our peers and yes, our leadership. Experience + Trustworthiness = Credibility. How is your credibility perceived by others?
References
The Science of Influence: How to get anyone to say yes in 8 minutes or less. Kevin Hogan. Wiley; Hoboken, NJ. 304 pages.
Interesting concept. We all know who’s opinion we value, and who’s we do not. This is the first time I have seen it discussed in terms of a formula. I would quibble with trustworthy vs credible. I am an engineer, but are they not synonyms? I think Erle has it right with “integrity”. The teammate who will tell you “I do not know” when asked a question, even if it may be in his job description to know, is instantly building credibility. (Especially if he then takes action to sort it out.) It builds confidence if one is willing to say one does not know or has doubt such that when that same person feels strongly about something (having demonstrated integrity) his opinion will weigh much more heavily. When he turns out to be correct, credibility goes way up.
Experience is a bedrock to credibility. Couple it with brains and integrity, and you are sure to succeed. “Experience is a harsh teacher, but men will have no other” or words to that effect if I have the quote wrong, but real valuable experience comes both from seeing things go both very well and very bad. If we lose the lessons and experienced gained from mistakes by squashing reflection or exiling all involved in the failure, we condemn ourselves to repeat mistakes in the future.
It would be interesting to examine pathways to “instant credibility”-MBA programs, advanced degrees, certifications, etc, and compare results with those who have worked in a field and have come to understand its paths to success and its pitfalls leading to failure.
What if you have all the experience and integrity in the world, but your recommendations consistently miss the mark? You build credibility with every correct move, it diminishes with every misstep. How would you, or could you, modify the formula?
Experience may result in credibility, and credibility may enhance lack of experience. A passion for the ongoing effort, Technical acumen, 100 percent integrity, and a constant conscientious decision to ‘do the right thing’ are all credibility builders. And, when someone with little experience works on a project with that kind of approach, I think it boosts or enhances the rate at which they will gain meaningful experience. And remember – It only takes 10,000 hours to be a true expert according to Malcolm Gladwell. Great Article. I can’t wait for the next one.