Communicate, But Connect First With Your Credibility

John Maxwell is writing a new book titled Everyone Communicates, Few Connect and he is posting chapter drafts of his manuscript for comments at http://johnmaxwellonleadership.com/.

He is asking for comments and stories, even corrections. Here is a bit of my comment to Chapter 8; The Connector Creates an Experience Everyone Enjoys.

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Credibility. To truly connect with an audience it takes credibility.

When I hear John Maxwell speak, I'm connected to the credibility he's built with me as I've tested the principles from his books and tapes over the years.

On a more personal, and closer to home level, the communication (words out of one's mouth, or fingers), is altered by the credibility the communicator has with us. The connectivity is more real, more often, we see them in real-time. Such connectivity causes problems when you have someone you deal with on a daily basis, especially when the results of their work is not up-to-par; that connectivity will affect the communication because of the credibility. They might laugh and even be encouraged, but due to the credibility issues, the connectivity is short-lived.

Because of that erosion the communication and connectivity was only good for momentary grins. The communicator’s credibility is tied to their level of leadership and the lower the level, especially the Position level, will cause serious damage if the others are being driven by management to learn from the communicator.

True connectivity has to be grounded in credibility.
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I listen to a new pastor and he sticks to what I’m familiar with; credible. He brings up something I’m not familiar with……I’ll have to check out what he said, and get to know more about him, his past, and his doctrine before I connect well with him; he doesn’t have good credibility with me at-this-time.

Yet, I listen to John Maxwell, or Tim Keller, or John Piper and I have few filters engaged. They’re credibility with me already assumes a higher level of in my connectivity. I expect to connect with them because of the credibility they’ve built with me over the years.

Similarly, at work, whether communicating in person or email, my connectivity to the other person is driven by the credibility that person has with me, and even how I feel my credibility is with them. Much like Covey describes in The Speed of Trust, credibility and connecting well spins around how we walk the talk, our behavior, how capable we are, and the results we get.

Communicate, but connect first with your credibility.

Note: go to John Maxwell's link and read more about Everyone Communicates, Few Connect