In a free society, we choose to follow leaders who are honest, competent, forward-looking, and inspiring. As citizens, as consumers, and as workers, we express our leadership preferences through the means available to us: our ballots, our wallets, or our time and talents. In every instance, we choose to commit to leaders we find credible and trustworthy. But why are some leaders able to earn followers' support when so many others fail to inspire confidence? In this book from the authors of "The Leadership Challenge," leadership experts James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner identify the key to effective leadership: credibility. Based on surveys of more than 15,000 people, 400 case studies, and 40 in-depth interviews, "Credibility" shows why leadership is above all a relationship, with credibility as the cornerstone. By providing rich examples of real managers in action, Kouzes and Posner reveal the six key disciplines and related practices that strengthen a leader's capacity for developing and sustaining credibility. The authors show how leaders can encourage greater initiative, risk-taking, and productivity by demonstrating trust in employees and resolving conflicts on the basis of principles, not positions.

Foreword / Tom Peters -- Leadership is a relationship -- Credibility makes a difference -- Discovering your self -- Appreciating constituents and their diversity -- Affirming shared values -- Developing capacity -- Serving a purpose -- Sustaining hope -- The struggle to be human -- Appendix: studies on the impact of credibility and what constitutes credible behavior.