Warren Bennis, in his book, On Becoming a Leader, identifies four ingredients leaders have that generate and sustain trust in followers. They are:
1. Constancy, 2. Congruity, 3. Reliability and 4. Integrity. In the previous post we looked at congruity.
Bennis says of reliability, "Leaders are there when it counts; they are ready to support their co-workers in the moments that matter." I would add they are not only ready to support, they actually do. Reliability is the external evidence of an internal quality. Reliability is found not in the good intention but in the good doing. If you want to know if I'm reliable as a person, watch what I do.
As a leader, why would you do what you said you would do? It could be out of fear that if you are unreliable you may lose the support of those who follow you. That's selfish. It could be because if you fail to follow through eventually you will have no followers, thus making you ineffective and no longer a leader. That's selfish in motive too. Or, it could be you are reliable--dependable, one in whom people can place their confidence--because to do otherwise would violate your basic internal sense of care, compassion, purpose and rightness. Reliability is a part of and an expression of personal integrity. To not be reliable is to live out a lie. I didn't do what I said I would.
An important aspect of reliability is dependence. Dependence is what followers experience when they follow reliable, trust worthy leaders. The guards come down. The backs are no longer protected. The shields come down and the window of vulnerability is huge. What a time saver. How much more can be done when self-protective armor is not having to be built and maintained.
What do the names Josheb-Basshebeth, Eleazar and Shammah have to do with reliability? They were known and proclaimed in 2 Samuel 23:8-18 as "David's Mighty Men." What earned them that honor? When it came to battle against all odds, they were reliable. We don't know their ranks and responsibilities before their infamous battles but we do know when it came to fighting against all odds to the death, they stood their ground for their King. Were they impressively skilled and strong? No doubt, but that is not what made them mighty. It was their reliability that made them great and mighty. They kept their commitment to their King. They had, no doubt, taken an oath at some point as an officer of King David's army and they simply did what they said they would do. They would fight and risk death to protect their King.
There is a Hebrew word used 240 times in the Old Testament and is typically translated as mercy. The word is hesed. Yet as Walter Wright in Relational Leadership points out, hesed has a dimension of meaning enlarging the understanding of what mercy is. Wright says, "Hesed is God's commitment to be our God even when we fail to live up to our part of the covenantal relationship." He goes on to say, "This is the model we have for being servant leaders who are full of mercy, who are keepers of commitments." (page 11) God is reliable. We trust in Him because He does what He said He would do. What greater expression of mercy could there be than that?
If there is only one behavior or characteristic of virtuous integrity I could pass on to young ministry leaders it would perhaps be to live a life of reliability. So often out of a desire to please and serve I hear younger men and women in a spiritual leadership capacity say they will call someone, they will get together, they will do a specific task and then ... life gets in the way. Reliability is a form of truthfulness and people who don't keep commitments don't make leaders that followers can depend on. When I begin to question the reliability--the truth-full-ness--of a leader I also start to question the depth and maturity of the rest of their integrity as well. When guardedness enters into my mind I will tend to hold back for personal protection. The result is a less than full capacity to serve those whom our vision and mission say we are committed to because I'm distracted by my questions of trust.
The quality was regarded as so important by Paul that in his last instructions to his mentoree, Timothy, Bishop of Ephesus, he wanted to make sure for continuity, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."
Question for Reflection: How reliable am I? How often do I find myself apologizing for not doing what I said I would do? How trust worthy am I becoming if I am sincere in my intentions but fail to keep my word?
Recent Comments