In my many years as a leadership strategist, I have found that two things can destroy a leader’s credibility faster than you can say “promotion denied.” These two cardinal sins are ghosting and a lack of follow-through. These leadership don’ts can significantly tarnish how others see you and are central to whether anyone can or will trust you. The sad truth is that a leader has total control over both.

Ghosting: The Professional Sin

Ghosting seems simple enough. Don’t do it! It is unprofessional, it demonstrates that you are probably not good at your job, it causes mental harm to the ones being ghosted, and, frankly, it is just disrespectful. In other words, ghosting shows a complete disregard for others’ time and effort. It screams, “I don’t value you enough to even acknowledge your existence.“

Granted, sometimes, ghosting happens unintentionally. However, as leaders, we must own it when it comes to our attention. If it happens more than once or twice, understand that your credibility is at risk. Consider this a quick reminder that ghosting someone makes you look inept. People might forgive a single oversight, but repeated offenses tell a story of carelessness and disrespect.

Follow-Through: More Than Just Words

Follow-through, however, deserves more than a quick reminder. It needs a deep dive. When leaders say something, it needs to mean something. The words that leaders use must be trusted and valued by those to whom the leader is providing those words. If a leader is saying nice things or promising certain things but then fails to follow through, that leader is literally just training the listener or follower to ignore or not trust them.

Remember, promises made are only as good as promises kept. As a leader, the things you say you will do are only as good as the things you actually follow through with. What do you really have if you say you will do something but do not do it? What do your people have? They have a strong and valid perception that you are not very good at follow-through, which means you are probably not the leader they need. They might also see you as a flake, forgetful, irresponsible, bad at your job, disrespectful, or, worst of all, a liar. And make no mistake, if that is the reputation you foster, that is the reputation you’ll have.

The Necessity of Honor and Integrity

It’s sad that this topic even has to be discussed. Honor and integrity should be things that leaders either have or try desperately to adopt. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. But I guess that’s why there are good leaders and bad leaders.

A bad leader is a bad leader because they are a bad leader. They are bad leaders for a variety of reasons, but a lot of politicians come to mind. They make beautiful promises and then don’t even try to follow through once they get into office. They just needed to make the promises to gain the necessary support. If we are honest with ourselves, we know that such stereotypes simply would not exist if such instances were not so common.

Yes, some leaders make promises and try very hard to follow through but cannot for any number of reasons. Adversity is a different issue, but I want to address the attempt to follow through because it relates to what I am talking about here.

The Mark of True Leadership

Attempting to follow through is the difference. Leaders have a vision, and the whole point is trying to reach that vision. That does not mean we will accomplish every vision we set out to achieve. Putting forth the effort to achieve the vision is a central component of true leadership.

Think of what we say we will do as a vision. They are a future tense of action or effort. That is how our stakeholders see it as well. Hence, good leaders need to make every effort to achieve those visions. Whether we are talking about making good on a promise, getting back with someone on a project, or delivering on the things we said we would do, follow-through or attempting to follow through is vital.

Conversely, and similar to what I have alluded to thus far, the lack of effort to follow through on such statements merely demonstrates your lack of leadership. This is true regardless of whether we are talking about organizational leadership or personal leadership. The lesson here is simple. Do whatever you can to avoid making promises or statements that you are either unwilling to work towards or do not plan on fulfilling.

There is no situation too small here. If you tell someone you will call them back, do it. If you say you will help a friend out, do it. If you say you will have a project done at a specific time, do it.

If you are unsure you can accomplish a stated goal or task, qualify it accordingly (before – not after). For example, if you are up against a tight timeline, inform the person that you cannot promise completion but that you can promise maximum effort. Then, follow through on providing that maximum effort. More importantly, keep them informed about your progress.

The Simple Truth

In other words, do what you say and mean what you say. If you cannot follow through with what you have said you would do, then you need to face it and communicate it as soon as you know you will not be able to deliver on your words. All things, including your words, with purpose, for purpose, on purpose. If you choose to do it any other way, you are literally choosing to provide others with the perception that you lack integrity, honor, and leadership.

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