How to Build Credibility at Work

What erodes credibility at work and what builds it? Most employees don’t think about credibility consciously which prevents them from taking the right steps to build it. 

They think that if they keep their heads down and keep doing the good work, someone will take notice and good opportunities will land their way. But workplaces aren’t designed to lift people with good intentions and good skills. Working hard doesn’t necessarily translate into recognition and promotions. 

This mismatch between what employees expect and what they get is often the biggest root cause of disappointment, dissatisfaction and frustration at work. But it doesn’t have to be this way. By incorporating simple habits and practices into their daily work, employees can do more impactful work which not only generates value for the organization but also gets them the attention they need. 

Building credibility requires earning trust of people who work with you—your colleagues, manager, stakeholders and others. It requires more than just competence and knowledge. Being an expert in your domain or enthusiasm and motivation about your job can only take you so far when you lack credibility with your team and others. 

With credibility:

1. Your ideas are heard and valued. 
2. Others approach you for guidance and advice.
3. You’re entrusted with higher level responsibilities and better opportunities.
4. You get a sense of progress, purpose and belonging which avoids burnout and keeps you happy, satisfied and fulfilled. 

Here are a few practical strategies that I have used throughout my career to become a more credible team member and employee:

Do things without being asked 

Completing assigned tasks, delivering good quality code, meeting deadlines and expectations establishes you as a sincere employee—someone who will do the job they’ve been asked to do. But waiting for tasks to be assigned doesn’t make you credible. 

To establish credibility, do work without being asked. Identify your stakeholders and customers’ unmet needs. Which areas will deliver the biggest impact? What important things have been pushed aside that need time and attention? How can you contribute?

For example:

Resolve a bug that’s a pain point for customers. 

Create dashboards for the team to see all tech metrics in one place without wasting time looking it up in multiple systems and places. 

Automate reports for stakeholders that makes it easy for them to get data without raising a tech request each time. 

Credibility comes with doing work that no one is paying attention to, not by simply meeting expectations. 

Excellence comes from an internal standard that asks, “How can I deliver beyond what’s expected?
― Brendon Burchard, High Performance Habits

Never say it’s not your job 

What do you do when your manager asks you to work on things that don’t directly fit your job profile or appear boring?

For example:

Picking up another employee’s slack. 

Working on a task that you’ve done many times before.

Coordinating an event at work. 

Do you turn them down saying “it’s not my job” or do you roll up your sleeves and get the job done?

Showing resistance towards certain kinds of work and preference towards others makes you inflexible. Others can’t judge what you’ll accept and what you’ll deny which makes it hard for them to consider you when a new opportunity opens up. 

Credibility isn’t built by working on fun stuff or doing work that always matches your interests. It’s built by gauging the need of the hour and making yourself available to contribute where your presence will matter. 

Have a strong sense of agency 

How do you respond to obstacles and challenges? Do you wait for your manager to unblock you or do you find creative ways to solve the problem and move forward?

When you blame, complain and sob and pass the responsibility to people above you, you may feel that you’ve done the job by informing the right people, but absolving yourself from responsibility does not build credibility. 

Others find you credible when you approach problems with high agency. When you push through in the face of adversity and find a way to get what you want without waiting for the conditions to be perfect or otherwise blaming the circumstances, others come to rely on you for problems with unknowns and uncertainties. 

Challenge and adversity are meant to help you know who you are. Storms hit your weakness, but unlock your true strength.
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Proactively identify problems and create a plan to tackle them upfront 

Most employees react to problems as they surface. They don’t take the time to think about challenges and obstacles that might get in the way. Unexpected events throw their balance off a bit. Not having sufficient time to think through the problem leads to poor choices and bad decisions. Throwing bad news at the manager at the last minute also breaks trust. 

People who build credibility at work aren’t reactive. They proactively anticipate what might get in the way. Thinking through the risks and problems upfront mentally prepares them to deal with the challenges as they arise—even if it’s something unexpected they aren’t surprised. 

To build credibility, use premortem technique—place yourself into the future and look back. Visualize the project, task or whatever you intend to do has gone horribly wrong. Work backwards to identify what mistakes might cause it to fail. Create a plan to solve these issues—address the risks and obstacles thereby increasing your chances of success.

The only guarantee, ever, is that things will go wrong. The only thing we can use to mitigate this is anticipation. Because the only variable we control completely is ourselves.
— Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way

Be a problem solver

When something catches your attention, do you simply state the problem or do you also suggest a few ways in which it can be solved?

Rejecting ideas, pointing out flaws and stating what wouldn’t work is easy. It’s what most employees do. They limit their contribution to finding problems and consider the job done. 

Credible employees don’t work this way. They’re experimenters, strategists and solutionists who look for different ways in which a problem can be solved. Instead of simply stating the problem, they also do their homework and come prepared with solutions. 

Approaching problems with a solution mindset helps them draw valuable insights. They’re able to think creatively and find unique ways to address concerns. They build credibility by solving hard problems. 

Take responsibility

When things don’t go as expected, where do you focus—other people, external circumstances and conditions that prevented you from getting the desired outcomes or do you hold yourself accountable for it?

When you don’t feel in control of your outcomes, your mind switches to a problem mode. You obsess about the problem and fail to take action when it’s needed the most. 

Employees who build credibility operate from an internal locus of control. They think about what they’re capable of doing instead of wasting time worrying about things outside their control. 

Stepping up and taking charge kicks off the solutioning region of their brain. They’re able to evaluate the situation from an objective point of view, consider different possibilities and think creatively on the steps to take.

Once people stop making excuses, stop blaming others, and take ownership of everything in their lives, they are compelled to take action to solve their problems. They are better leaders, better followers, more dependable and actively contributing team members, and more skilled in aggressively driving toward mission accomplishment. But they’re also humble—able to keep their egos from damaging relationships and adversely impacting the mission and the team.
— Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership

Be a team player 

What is your intention when working with others? Do you think about your self-interests or do you think about adding value to others? 

When you think only about yourself, you make decisions that benefit you while ignoring how they may harm others. You act based on what you like and dislike without considering how your actions add value to the organization or its people. 

Credible employees don’t act solo. They’re team players. They work based on what their team needs or where their contribution will matter the most. Not trying to personally gain from every situation helps them keep a balanced perspective—they do work that matters to the organization while also contributing to their learning and growth. 

Share knowledge, not withhold it 

If you’re an expert at something or knowledgeable in a specific field, you’ll have the capability to find solutions that others didn’t know existed. But having domain knowledge or expertise is not enough. What you do with that knowledge matters as much.

Do you refuse to share knowledge with others or do you find opportunities to lift others up with it? 

You build credibility when your knowledge has impact beyond projects and tasks. Helping others acquire your expertise even in small ways builds trust. They come to rely on you for guidance and advice. 

Lifting others up also has another advantage—they’re able to do your job which creates opportunity for you to take on more challenging and complex tasks. 

Be willing to change and adapt to the future needs 

Things change at a very fast pace in our work environments. When you stick to things you’ve always done before or choose a safe path, you may get the job done, but staying within your comfort zone also limits your growth. 

Ignoring the future needs or not adapting to it makes your skills obsolete. You keep getting lower level responsibilities that keep you busy but does not lead to growth. 

Employees who build credibility don’t lose sight of the future. They analyze what the future demands and constantly invest time in keeping up with it. Adopting a learning attitude helps them build new skills which keeps them prepared to tackle whatever comes their way. 

Efficiency remains important, but the ability to adapt to complexity and continual change has become an imperative.
— Stanley McChrystal, Team of Teams

Show up on time 

When you’re invited for a discussion or a meeting, are you most likely to be late? Do you even miss the clock when it’s you who invited others?

You may think that a few minutes here and there don’t matter, but they do. Coming late makes others feel that you’re taking them for granted. Every additional second of waiting adds to their frustration and anxiety. 

People who build credibility are very conscious of time. They not only utilize their time well but also care for others’ time as well. They don’t waste time in pointless debates, unnecessary meetings or by making others wait. Respecting other people’s time is what builds trust and respect. 

Summary

1. Credibility isn’t built by fulfilling your job role and description. It requires mastering simple habits and incorporating them into your daily work and life.
2. Doing a good job of the assigned tasks makes you sincere, not credible. To build credibility, do important work without being asked. 
3. Saying yes to only certain kinds of work and no to others makes you inflexible. You can’t be inflexible and credible at the same time. 
4. Pushing responsibility up the chain of command prevents you from taking control. Relying on others to fix the situation does not build credibility. 
5. Instead of waiting for things to go wrong and then reacting to it, credible employees proactively identify risks and make plans to address it. 
6. Credible employees simply don’t state problems. They also think through multiple ways to solve it. 
7. While most employees waste time worrying about things outside their control, credible employees look internally to their own behaviors and actions. 
8. Credible employees prioritize their team over their personal interests. They seek a balance between interests, opportunities and doing work that matters. 
9. Instead of withholding knowledge, credible employees share it with others. Helping others do well lifts them up as well. 
10. Sticking to old methods feels safe, but it also limits your growth. Build credibility by expanding your comfort zone and taking a step outside it.
11. Turning up late to meetings kills credibility. How can others respect you when you don’t respect their time?

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