When Your Credibility Is Under Fire?

Maintaining credibility when one’s business or industry is under fire can be difficult.

Here are a few tips:

DO:

• Learn what you can about what happened from reliable sources. Stick to the facts.
• Acknowledge to your team what errors you know to be true. Decide upon how to present the facts as you know them.
• Openly acknowledge the causes of errors and develop a plan for addressing them if they are in your area.
• Express concern for how employees and customers must feel.
• Focus on remaining consistent with the values and actions that have generated trust in the past. Be realistic.
• Get feedback from others about how your business and you are perceived.

DON’T:

• Guess or speculate about a situation. It may fuel rumors and fear.
• Wait to address misinformation.
• Ignore how others may be feeling.
• Believe that you don’t need to spend time on a problem because the root cause is beyond your control.

Obviously, routinely building one’s accounts provides more credibility over time than practicing these actions only when there is a crisis. Credibility is a highly valued currency and a particularly important skill for leaders to have in today’s complex business environment. It is a skill that can be learned and honed and can serve organizations through good times and bad. Continue your journey towards a better you!

Posted By:
Dr.Douglas T. Hanson
Dr. Douglas Hanson is a Greater City of Sudbury area Dentist driven by lifelong learning, advanced technologies, and online marketing. In addition to the obvious, Dr.Hanson has lectured and presented to audiences on topics such as; leadership from within, temporal mandibular disorders, implant dentistry, obstructive sleep apnea and most recently on world class customer service. Writing about some of these topics on social media and online has provided a new avenue for Dr.Hanson to share his passion for both dental subject matter, as well as leadership and personal awareness and enhancement. Check out his Twitter and Facebook feeds and allow Dr. Doug to share his passion!