Cost of believability may sound abstract until leaders describe what happens when people stop believing them. In a recent executive roundtable, leaders shared that disbelief affects followership, decision-making, time, revenue, and the ability to move ideas into action.
I just finished another executive roundtable on believability: a one-hour virtual conversation with 15 leaders from around the world and from a range of industries.
I asked four questions:
- What makes you believe someone?
- What makes you disbelieve someone?
- What’s the cost when people don’t believe you?
- And how does AI impact who and what you believe?
The discussion around the third question was eye-opening, and I’ll share some of the takeaways here.
The Real Cost of Disbelief
You lose followership.
A leader of a newer team described what happens when people doubt your message: you lose followership, they stop listening to your coaching, and you can’t drive results. Another participant said that when team members stop believing you, they lose their commitment to delivering on time.
You lose time.
One participant shared that when people don’t believe you, you need more time and resources to get the message through. A participant whose work depends on accurate information described having to circle back, ask the question a different way, and check with someone else to corroborate what she heard.
Distrust can stop a business.
In some industries, participants described costs that go beyond the organization. When communities do not trust a company, projects don’t get through permitting, they don’t get built, and they never produce revenue. One participant put it this way: “It literally just stops the business.”
Everything else follows.
Another participant noted that when people don’t believe you, they don’t invest in you or your ideas, buy your product, or use your solutions to shape policy. What does that mean? Without believability, a business fails.
Wow! I was floored by these answers. As leaders seek to change behavior and adapt to new technology, believability is the first step to building trust.
My latest keynote discusses three components of believability: credibility, communication, and commonality. Look out for more writing on this topic in future newsletters.
Does any of this resonate with you? What has it cost you when someone doesn’t believe you?
If this is a conversation your leaders are ready to have, learn more about my keynote, The Believability Gap: Why Leaders Lose Trust, or reach out to discuss bringing it to your next leadership event.
Until next time,
~Allison
Allison Shapira, Harvard Lecturer. Executive Advisor. Hall of Fame Speaker. Bestselling Author.