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Presented by Lisa Bishop
I am examining 5 habits of an extraordinary leader, and today we’re wrapping up with: be reliable.
Before we dive into our final leadership habit, I want to acknowledge you’ve most likely heard about these skills and habits. While these competencies may sound like common sense, ask yourself, “Do I make these skills my common practice?” There is a big difference between knowing about something and actually doing it and living it out. As you gauge your leadership, measure it by the degree these habits are regular and consistent. Consistency is key. Being consistent in positive actions and behaviors will help you create trust with those you lead. Others will see you as reliable.
When you are reliable you keep your commitments. You do what you say you are going to do. You follow-through. One of the quickest ways for you to lose trust and undermine your leadership is by not keeping your word.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yet, how many times have you said you would do something and dropped the ball or neglected to carry out what you committed to?
In Matthew 5:37, Jesus says, all you need to say is simply yes or no. Now the context of this verse has to do with oath-keeping and is part of the sermon on the mount when Jesus is addressing the subject of telling the truth. He tells the crowd not to break their oaths. An oath was a promise to do or not do something, invoking God as a witness and the one to bring judgment if the promise was broken. Back in the day, it was common for people to make oaths to emphasize their seriousness and truthfulness. While you are most likely not invoking God as your witness when you make commitments at work, this biblical truth applies to your witness as a follower of Jesus. Are you impeccable with your word? Do you have a reputation as someone who says something and does it? Or do you say you will get back to someone, but you never do or fail to complete a task that you agreed to. The reality is there are no small things when it comes to keeping your word.
Our reliability is questioned when what we might consider the insignificant things are in fact significant to others. To be an extraordinary leader, have integrity and be faithful to your word so others know they can rely on you.
