With the Australian national elections well underway, we are seeing a regular flow of opinion polls which show the low regard in which politicians are held by the community. PR ‘spin’, outright lies, mindless repetition of slogans, changing of positions when challenged, saying one thing then doing another and blaming others are often cited as reasons for these low ratings.
Let’s not forget that politicians are not alone in the ‘low regard’ stakes.
Survey after survey comes up withe same sorts of depressing results for our CEO’s. Overwhelmingly, their staff do not trust them. Saying one thing and doing another is a particularly strong criticism. You know the drill: “People are our most important resource, blah, blah…” the annual reports and posters claim. Yet the way staff are then treated in reality is often the exact opposite.
It’s no wonder that so many change programs fail. Why will staff follow the leader on another ‘crusade’ when they don’t trust that person?
I have written more on this important issue of leadership credibility. You can read it here. PEOPLE ARE OUR MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE
