Leadership Without Excuses: How to Create Accountability and High-Performance (Instead of Just Talking About It)

CHAPTER 5BOOST THE CREDIBILITY OF YOUR HIGH EXPECTATIONS

In his classic book, Influence, Robert Cialdini explains, “As a rule, we most prefer to say yes to the requests of someone we know and like.”¹ He goes on to add, “We are more favorable to [those] we have had contact with.” That’s why we tell our clients that leadership visibility and accessibility are so important. Employees perceive expectations for high performance to be more credible when they come from a leader they perceive to be “real” and “likeable.” (As Marshall McLuhan famously put it, “The medium is the message.”)

For the most part, there’s no rocket science involved in translating this insight into action. But it does require deliberate attention and action.

Dr. Ken Melani, chief ...