I believe honesty is the most important leadership characteristic. Kouzes and Posner (2007) emphasized that people want leaders they can trust, and trust starts with honesty. Without it, it doesn’t matter how skilled or inspiring someone is; the foundation isn’t there.
In my own experience, I once worked with a leader who admitted when they made a mistake instead of covering it up or shifting blame. That honesty not only earned my respect but also made the whole team feel safe to acknowledge our own errors and learn from them. It created an environment where we could grow without fear of being judged.
That experience showed me that honesty isn’t just about telling the truth; it’s about being transparent and accountable. I think that’s what really makes someone credible as leader.

I pick Honesty as the most important characteristic in a leader. I pick this because without it, it makes it difficult for the team to feel trust to the leader.
In a personal situation as a nurse, when I have had student nurses I was their leader. When leading a new nurse/nursing student honesty is imperative. I teach that mistakes happen and that I have made mistakes in my career and they will too. When we make a medication error for example, we learn to take our time. By giving examples of my own mistakes shows that I am not perfect and that we all make them. We just have to be honest and inspiring to the next generation of up and coming nurses.

I believe honesty is a very important foundation to build trust. If our leaders and we as a leader are honest. It builds a relationship of trust, feels supportive in all situations.
Facility/customer service policy also tells us if you do not know anything. Do not make a story or provide guessing information. Just say I do not know but will find out ,get back to you or someone will contact you.
We all work with another person’s life,so we should be honest by admitting our mistakes and fixing the cause of mistakes for safe practice.
My work experience example , During my new hire orientation I worked with a nurse where she gave the wrong medication to a resident due to the same name and similar order. The nurse took action and reported her mistake and corrected the cause of the mistake. This showed me the real example of honesty towards life and work.

I believe the most important leadership characteristic is honesty. In my experience working as a supervisor, I quickly realized that honesty is the foundation of trust. When I was transparent with my team—whether it was about policies, scheduling challenges, or feedback—they felt more comfortable approaching me and communicating openly. This created stronger relationships and improved teamwork. On the other hand, I also saw how a lack of honesty can damage trust. When leaders are not upfront or withhold information, staff become guarded, less engaged, and hesitant to communicate. For me, honesty is essential because it builds credibility and respect, and without it, leadership cannot be effective.

I feel credibility is the most important characteristic in a leader. Honesty, which is also very important, naturally follows a credible leader. To be credible means to be trusted/believable and you can’t be trusted if you are not honest. Trust is very important in building positive relationships and positive communication with team members.

I work in a small Team and being credible has allowed us to build a strong foundation of trust and honesty. Our Manager constantly role models credibility (as well as other leadership qualities) and because of that, the staff feel comfortable, empowered, and committed to their jobs. If there was a lack of trust I feel like we would be walking on egg shells but because of the positive environment she created, we feel comfortable with being open and honest with each other.

At the end of the day, honesty is also a very important leadership characteristic, but credibility creates a foundation for honesty AND trust.

The one leadership Characteristic that i feel is the most important in a leader is someone who is credible. The reason i feel this would be the most important characteristic in a leader is that in my experience as a nurse I have always asked questions, double checked work, or if unsure about anything I always turned to a leader who I knew I could share ideas, thoughts, or concerns with. I always went to the one person who i believed was credible for there information. They were experienced and competent and I know I could trust there word or advice as they have shown there team they could be a resourceful leader who provided credibility when needed.

Hello everyone,

I think credibility is the most important characteristic for me. For example, my manager shows this characteristic because she listens to us and values our opinions. When workloads get uneven, she doesn’t just dictate what to do – she asks for our input and explains the reasoning behind her decisions. She’s fair and empathetic, considering both the nurses’ and patients’ needs. She also makes sure we have the resources we need to handle extra workload and encourages the team to support each other. Her approach makes me feel heard and valued, and I trust her leadership

I think crediblility is the most important characteristic of a leader. Being credible encompasses the main points of a good leader: honest, forward-looking, competent, and inspiring.
There is one person at work who, no matter the situation will stand strong, are honest about their opnion but offer it in a way that is credible to the situation. They inspire a new outlook by providing a positive outcome with forward- looking words. They state things like “as a team…, or in the near future we should as a clinical team…” Inclusiveness and in a supportive way, they get their point across. They are someone who I would consider a credible leader.

I believe honesty is the most important characteristic in being a leader, as it creates trust as the foundation. Honesty creates an environment where it makes it easier to communicate and make fair decisions. I once worked with someone who made an honest mistake, which had a ripple effect on the remainder of the employees. This person, whom we looked to as a mentor and guide, was able to own up to their mistake and communicate the ways they were to make things right. I can only speak on my behalf, but I found this to be a great move as a leader. This person gained more respect from me, as they maintained an open line of communication. They chose to hear concerns and what needed to change as a result of their mistake instead of covering up the situation.

From the reading material I feel the most important characteristic for the leader is communication. I remember one day I work in a retirement homes. at supper time we noticed a resident is missing. I am a charge nurse .The first thing I did I paged”: code yellow.” All the staff come to nursing station. I clearly assigned three group people go to three floors to search every single room. and came back reported to me. At the mean time I called the family if they know where resident goes .Asked resident if anyone seen resident went out. Someone told me she saw resident exit from the kitchen rear door .So I send staff to search outside parking lot and next door long term care home .All the four group came back said not found resident .For being a leader I listened staff feedback get more detail information what ‘s resident wear. Send two staff drive on the road to search resident. Result is resident is not found. So I called police informed we have a missing resident .and describe what’s the resident looks like. . After 15 minutes police took resident back. So for the whole resident missing incident the communication played important role and carried out successful result.

Hi Stephanie
I agree with you. I think for being a great leader credibility is the most important characteristic .because it builds trust when a leader is reliable and consistent, people are more willing to follow their direction. Credibility also means the leader leads by example ,keep their words, and acts with integrity, without credibility, even good communication or decision- making will not be effective, because the team will not have confidence in their leader .

In my opinion, credibility is the most important characteristic of a leader. People can trust a credible leader. For example in a long term care families, residents and staff need to know they can rely on a credible leader’s actions and promises regarding resident’s care and safety. As a Registered Practical nurse in long term care facility, I had a supervisor who always followed through on what he promised. He helps every time when the unit is short-staffed as promised. So, because of his credibility, staff trusted him and felt confident during challenging shifts.

In my opinion, i think being supportive is the most important to me in a leader. I personal like my leader to make me feel supported and that they have my back if i have concerns, since I am still a relatively new leader and constantly learning.

I feel that the most important characteristic of a leader is Honesty.
There can be nothing worse than a person in charge who doesn’t do what they preach and who is open about the situation. There are some situations which might require tough decisions to be made, and if the leader is not open about it his followers will be less inclined to accept what’s coming and be a part of the change or a process.
The example of that was demonstrated by my clinical manager, who was upfront about certain changes which would be happening on the unit and which would require certain sacrifices in terms of an increased workload. However, because of the benefits of the end result and her being initially honest about the pathto get there, the staff tried their hardest to make the changes happen.

For me, I believe honesty is most important, while credibility and competence aren’t far behind.
Honesty shows integrity, your morals. You make a mistake, you own up to it. By doing so, trust is built within the team, as well as with the patients and their families. Being competent in your skills, is great, but does not guarantee someone is honest.
The dictionary defines Credibility as “the quality of being believable or reliable, often based on one’s reputation, expertise, and demonstrated integrity”. As long as you show competency and honesty throughout your work, great!. Otherwise, people have been known to put on a show; rather, “fake it ’til you make it”. Therefore, are you credible because you are “believable”? As managers and leaders support their team, credibility and competence is great, but they also need to stay honest with everyone, or the morale and support system will fail.
For example: Staff are working short and exhausted. Management or your leaders tell you “We know everyone is working hard. We are here to help you anyway we can. Let’s support each other” . Another shift comes along with critical staffing; management is called to help. Where they should be coming in, jumping into roles or tasks to assist the staff, nothing is done. The response back is “well just support your team”. You’ve now just broke that trust, competence and credibility.