Credibility and Confession

This post delves into dangerous territory.  There are two things that people will commonly tell you not to bring up in casual conversation: politics and religion.  Both subjects can quickly touch a nerve.  Think about the most heated debates you have encountered in your own life, and more than likely these topics were at the root of the argument.  People’s opinions on matters of faith and government offer a glimpse into their personal ideals and beliefs.  Unfortunately leaders don’t have the option of checking their individual values at the door when they come to the office, school, or anywhere else.  In Leading with Soul, Bolman and Deal share their idea that leaders should not abandon their personal faith when serving in secular leadership roles.  These personal beliefs are an important part of who leaders are and how they lead.  But, leaders have to be cautious when discussing such matters to avoid permanently alienating others.

So today we carefully examine the issue of credibility and leadership in the Catholic Church.   The approach here is to use a secular lens to examine a powerful organization which has influential leaders, numerous followers and a serious credibility issue.  To put it mildly, the Vatican is wrestling with a bit of an image problem these days.  With what seems to be a never-ending list of scandals, serious questions have been raised regarding the manner in which potentially abusive Priests have been internally managed by Church leaders.  In the latest incident, the Washington Post is reporting, “The Vatican on Thursday strongly defended its decision not to defrock an American priest accused of molesting some 200 deaf boys in Wisconsin and denounced what it called a campaign to smear Pope Benedict XVI and his aides.”

This decision has sparked protest as a group of abuse victims recently staged a press conference outside St. Peter’s Square in Rome to denounce Pope Benedict’s handling of the case.  Regardless of your personal belief system, it should be acknowledged that the Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian church in the world with an estimated 1 billion members.  Over the centuries, the church has provided both spiritual guidance and humanitarian support around the world.  But, like any organization, the Catholic Church is subject to scrutiny and its leaders are struggling because their credibility has been called into question.  In their book titled, Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It, Kouzes and Posner emphasize that “credibility is the foundation of leadership”.

They go on to say that leaders must demonstrate values which prospective followers admire.  Value congruence motivates people to trust leaders. When being asked to undertake a difficult journey, followers want to believe in a leader who consistently delivers on promises.  Of course there are times when leaders will let us down; fall short of the high expectations we place upon them.  Everyone makes mistakes and typically leaders can recover.  But, when serious mistakes occur people can lose faith in the leader.  This is a critical moment; a crossroads where trust can be regained or permanently lost.  Regaining trust requires transparency, time and a consistent effort to make up for past transgressions.

The Catholic Church may have expertise on eternal redemption and salvation, but it should not underestimate the damage caused by a lack of credibility in the here and now.  Ongoing accusations and a failure to deal appropriately with allegations of criminal behavior will erode the trust of even the most faithful followers.  The loss of credibility is particularly damaging for churches because such organizations are founded on faith and morality.  But, the lesson here is one that applies to leaders in any organization: Don’t hide your mistakes; confess them and move forward with the healing process.