Reliability
Reliability is: dependable, secure, tried, tried & true, trustworthy, safe, compelling, convincing, valid, certain, accurate, confidence.
We seek people and things that can be counted on. Counted on to be there, not to fail. People demand confidence and trust in something or someone. If a reliable person says they will do something, they can be counted on to do it. Reliable people do not cancel plans at the last-minute, make excuses for why things are not done. They do not shirk blame when information turns out to be inaccurate.
Personal Integrity
Another way of saying this is personal authenticity. In terms of personal integrity, reliability is a trait discerned over time. Patterns of behavior slowly determine whether you are trusted, accountable and reliable. People in personal and business situations will limit or end a relationship if you do not show you can be counted on.
The Lack of Reliability
Sometimes people cover up their inherent unreliability by trying to seem they are always very busy or stressed out, as if to give the impression that you are so important and busy that you can’t do everything. But people don’t fall for that for long, because even if some truth exists in the idea, what you are telling others is that they are not important enough for you to make the time and effort to be there for them.
An Experience I Had With an Unreliable Friend
A brilliant and attractive woman with a friendly, outgoing personality had the gift of networking. She knew how to play politics, she was quick to catch on to any situation. She made friends easily, people naturally liked her. They would set up calls, coffees, meeting for drinks. Most of the time she would change the plans a the last-minute, or show up extremely late, or forget about the plans entirely. When clients would hire her she would be rushed to meet the deadline at the very last-minute, and usually some small detail showed the rush.
As time went on she realized she wasn’t getting that many referrals anymore, and several prospects chose someone else. Then, when the economic downturn happened in 2008, she lost a significant amount of her business and found herself unable to regain her footing. The few close friends who confronted her about her behavior ended up getting a long explanation of how her marriage was troubled, her parents were in poor health, she injured her ankle, and a variety of other excuses. Some of them tried to press her, but she was unable to see that she was anything but a victim of circumstances. In the end, a mutual friend told me that she was reliable, and consistent, but it was reliably unprofessional.
Brian Tomlin
Are you reliably trustworthy or untrustworthy? Are you reliably professional or unprofessional? Is your life more about giving or receiving? You might never get told that you aren’t, but know that if you exhibit these kinds of traits others will figure it out.