Acquire Competence

Just having the right messages, however, does not make a person credible; practicing them does. But before you can do the right things, you have to know how to do them.

Competence is one of the key elements of credibility. Unfortunately, it has not received adequate attention in discussions of leadership.16 In stressing the relationship-building aspects of leadership, the competence-building parts have too often been overlooked. People must have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform their tasks and live up to their promises.

To commit to doing something that you have no capacity to do is either disingenuous or stupid. There is nothing courageous about boldly saying you will launch a new product or turn around a factory ...

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