As the world falls deeper into economic downturns and warfare, the question of credibility (how leaders gain and lose it) is more important than ever. Building on their research from The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner explore in Credibility why leadership is above all a relationship, with credibility as the cornerstone, and why leaders must "Say what you mean and mean what …
The leadership challenge certainly focuses on behaviors, principles, and practices, but this skill-centered approach to leadership does not minimize the importance of leader’s authenticity and relational connection with his or her followers. In considering each of the five practices, Kouzes and Posner highlight the relational elements needed for implementation. In order to model the way, for…