Have you ever wondered why some leaders are heard more than others?

It is not enough to arrive. Unless you press forward, unless you keep in front of you that sense of destiny, you will stagnate.

No one believes that leadership is just a position. But many act like it. Once elevated, it is the poor leader who asserts their will to get others to follow, rather than develop themselves so that people want to follow.

“Men don’t follow titles, they follow courage.” -William Wallace, Braveheart

I recently posted an article on the only three things a CIO needs to sell an idea. In reality, before we ever sell an idea, we sell ourselves. Who is presenting the idea is often more critical than the idea itself.

There are three traits that cause CIOs to stand out, to differentiate themselves from other leaders, and to give substance to their voice.

Trust

CIOs who stand out understand the power of trust.

Trust is misunderstood. We treat trust as something that is earned. It is not. It is given.

The idea of earning trust is misplaced. Trust is about power. If I can earn your trust, then I have the power. You must give up what I have earned. But if trust is something you choose to give, then the power stays with you. You give it and you take it back.

As a leader, I cannot demand trust. I cannot earn trust. I must realize that trust is something another gives to me.

What kind of leader is given trust?

The answer is found in understanding that another word for trust is reliance. When I sit in a chair, I trust that it will hold me up; I am relying on it. When I board a plane, I am giving trust to a pilot; I am relying on her for safe travel.

Reliance is situational. There are certain things that you can rely on me for, and every time. Need a project done on time? I’m the master of on-time. There are other things that you cannot rely upon from me. I’m not the guy who is going to occupy the pilot’s seat and fly you to Paris.

You are the same way. There are things you can do and there are things you cannot do. I am wise to rely on you for the one, and foolish to rely on you for the other.

What can people rely on you for? What shouldn’t they rely on you for?

Lazy leaders expect trust. Bad leaders demand trust. Misguided leaders try to earn trust.

Wise leaders treat trust as a gift in a moment, and receive trust because they are honest with people about their reliability in a given situation.

The question “Do you trust me?” is often an oversell. We offer it as a yes or no question. Anyone who has lived a few years knows that the answer is “Maybe.”

The CIOs who sell themselves avoid the trap of trying to attain blanket trust. Instead, they are honest about their own strengths and their own gaps, and point out in a particular situation why they can be relied upon.

Credibility

Trust is a snapshot in time. Credibility is a portrait painted over time.

Credible is rooted in the Latin word believe. To be credible is to be believable.

The CIO who stands out is the one who has proven to be believable. Trust has to do with our performance: Can I rely on you? Credibility has to do with our message: Am I hearing and seeing the real you? Have you thought this through? Am I hearing conviction?

We read daily about our country’s skepticism of her political leaders. The messaging is suspect. Words have entered our vocabulary that were once foreign: spin, fake news, bias.

Lack of credibility fosters questions like, “What’s in it for you?” or “What’s the agenda behind this?”

Being believable doesn’t mean that we are always right. People do not expect us to be right all the time. “I was mistaken” is a part of credibility.

But believability does have to do with earnestness, from sincere conviction. The credible leader is the one who has done their homework, considered alternatives, and emerges with a stand.

Credible is the real you, not the political you or corporate you or the expected-of-you  you.

You have effectively sold yourself if people believe that you are genuine and authentic. You won’t sell anything, yourself or your ideas, if people are always wondering what your angle is.

Believe doesn’t mean agree. As a leader, I want people to believe in me even if they don’t believe the idea I am presenting. I can get another shot at a believable idea; I only get one shot at a believable me.

Adaptability

Trust is a snapshot. Credibility is a portrait. Adaptability is a moving picture.

In the article The Only Three Things CIOs Need To Sell Themselves, I mentioned three kinds of people we sell to, each of whom sets value differently:

Feeling-people relate to ideas from the heart. Fact-people relate from the mind. Faith-people relate from the gut, they are instinctual.

The CIO who stands out is the one who understands how to relate to all three. Every person operates with feeling, fact and faith; it’s just a matter of degree, and by that I mean, what a person relies on first and most.

The CIO who effectively sells themselves is the one of whom others say, “(S)he gets me.”

Adaptability is about intentionality. I am often too-quick to move. I assume too much. I have learned to pause and consider who is involved in what I am about to do. I intentionally consider to what extent I am dealing with feeling or fact or faith.

Effective leaders ask questions. It is a skill set. Who I am asking questions of matters, and what questions I lead with are important: “How do you feel about” (feelings) is different from “What information do you need” (facts) which is different from “What’s your sense on” (faith).

Leaders connect. It is a skill set. Who you are connecting with matters. How I feel and What I know and My gut says are all different connecting points. If you have ever felt a disconnect with another person, you are likely not meeting on the same feeling, fact or faith wavelength.

It took a lot for you to attain the position you have. It takes even more to be effective in it. You are always selling yourself, and it is the last word that is the keyword: yourself. The reliable self. The believable self. The adaptable self.

Keep these three foremost, and anything else you sell is practically already sold.