Believe it or not, this post was prompted by a conversation that I had with one of my MBA students the other evening. The fact that it coincides with the inauguration of our new President is coincidental.
We were discussing the failure of many organizations to stop old ways of doing things, even in the face of overwhelming proof that the old ways don’t work. My student mentioned that the appointment of a new CEO last year had at first been encouraging until it was clear that nothing would truly change.
The essence of his comment to me was that the initial words from the new CEO were just what the employees needed to hear. They energized, they motivated and most of all, they provided hope. However, after a few months when none of the lofty words turned into tangible actions, people lost interest and returned to their former, cynical state of existence.
Hope is a terrible thing to raise and then crush with our words.
This unfortunate event is all too common. The “All Talk-No Action” leader is gifted with a silver tongue and charisma to match, but cares less for tangible outcomes than he/she does for the momentary wooing of the audience. I’ve been around long enough to watch a few of these characters stay one jump ahead of the widespread recognition that they are incompetent as they parlay one failed leadership position into the next.
When Rich Petro and I were doing the legwork for our 2007 book, Practical Lessons in Leadership, we asked people what they admired most about leaders that they viewed as effective and successful. The words were sometimes different, but the meaning was always the same. One person said it best: “The do matches the tell.”
If you’ll pardon the grammar, does your do match your tell?
It better or you’re attempting to lead without credibility. You might as well hope to sprout wings and fly. You will never create sustained success and significant value for your firm or your team members.
If it does, protect it like it is as important to you as breathing.
Remember, everyone is watching, waiting and hoping. Don’t let them and yourself down.
The do must match the tell.