We are all aware what powerful communicators visible actions are. What we do tends to be believed much more than what we say, especially when the two do not line up. Few of you need the reminder that your personal actions do indeed impact your credibility as a leader.
I would like you to consider another layer to this. The organizational systems associated with you impact your credibility as well.
For a recent simple doctor’s appointment, I experienced the proverbial “cluster” that resulted in a totally unsatisfactory and frustrating experience. Let’s just say that when I sought help because the online pre-registration site wasn’t working right. I got pummeled. No one had a help desk number and when I did finally get to them, they actually ignored my reason for calling and immediately referred me to another number. People at this stop could not help, and they referred me back to my doctor’s office… where this great adventure originally began..(Since you have all been through something similar, I ask that you not be chuckling too loudly at my time in the “pass the buck” barrel!)
Later I figured out a way to get past the website glitch and finally got my registration completed. Next day, upon arriving at the doctor’s office, I was advised that apparently, I had not done my “pre-work assignment” and therefore got to re-complete a bunch of paperwork. I had also been advised to arrive 15 minutes early (since I was having an X-ray) only to be called 45 minutes later.
I knew my doctor and the session with him was very helpful, as expected. However, it was already too late. This tangled mess of inexcusably poor “quality care” in all the other system and people components, had already left its mark on me.
Never forget that bad systems produce bad results, and they often take good people down with them. As a leader, your credibility is impacted not just by your own actions, but by numerous other intervening variables. For you to consistently “do what you say you will do,” the people and technology systems must “support what you say you will do.” So along with your teams, make sure you occasionally examine all the factors that determine the total experience other people, customers, patients, or whomever will have with you. Fair or not, it is your credibility, effectiveness, and reputation that are on the line.
Take care and lead on.
Share Your Thoughts