Three Ways To Build Your Credibility At Work

Have you considered other people being confident in you is your ‘real work’?

Here’s something people don’t tell you:

People already assume you can get results, due to the job title you have.

It’s assumed you do that as a baseline.

A big part of work, that directly influences how ‘credible’ other people see you as, is making sure all of your stakeholders (i.e. anyone who influences your career) are comfortable.

Or in work speak: bringing others (anyone who’s not you) along for the journey.

Credibility = other people know they can rely on you.

Given credibility is about other people knowing they can rely on you, it’s worth thinking about how you can apply this simple idea as you deliver results at work.

One way you can do that is to make sure everyone else is clear and confident on what’s happening. When their doubt is low, their confidence in you increases.

When stakeholders are comfortable, your credibility increases.

When you’re credible, people speak positively about you. They afford you more trust. They also give you more benefit of the doubt when things don’t go to plan.

When you have low credibility, people have less tolerance for your mistakes. Without credibility, it’s hard to get other people to administer goodwill towards you.

It’s easy to forget part of your job may be to spend time making sure other people feel confident, by tuning into their perception of your work.

The quick guide to building interpersonal credibility at work.

If the goal is to communicate with influence, let’s consider what the current experience is like working with you.

For example, for other people,

• Is it … relaxing, knowing how organised and clear you are?

• Is it … stressful, worrying if you’re organised or not?

If others feel comfortable, they’re more confident in you.

If it’s tricky to reflect on what working with you is like, perhaps consider a different tool.

Think back to people who have made you feel nervous about whether the results are going to happen … What traits did they share? What did you crave, in those moments?

Based on what you were craving most, what could be one thing you consider doing that increases other people's positive experiences of you at work?

If you get feedback to ‘take people on the journey’ …

It’s not easy (i.e. you need the time and head space), but it is simple.

As a tactical checklist, consider these principles:

✅ Everyone knows what your plan is.

They’re clear on what role they play within it. (Also meaning, they know the impact if they aren't able to contribute).

✅ Everyone knows the boundaries of your expectations.

They can trust they’ll get feedback to course correct.

✅ Everyone can soundboard their challenges.

When something stops them from meeting your expectation, such as access to a specialist, you’re a soundboard to figure out a people problem, for a problem solving chat, someone they can talk to when they're overwhelmed.

Are you getting ideas for how you could ensure other people are actively reducing doubt and increasing your personal credibility?

Could your people improve their communicating with influence skills?

Bring our practical strategies to influence workshops to your workplace.