Walk The Talk:
We know that when it comes to leadership, we must walk the talk. Why? Because people watch what we do as leaders and pay little attention to what we say — especially if there is a mismatch. And so it follows that how we lead ourselves is essential.
“Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.”
For employees to fully understand and focus on the organization’s vision, everything must “line up.” That is: budgets must be assigned according to the priorities we have proclaimed, leadership must spend their time on the goals we have set out, and of course, the leadership team must demonstrate the values we have articulated that underlie the vision.
Questions:
So it is appropriate to take the time to ask and answer the pertinent questions:
- Have we clearly stated what the fundamental Values for our organization are?
- Have we clearly stated what the vision for the organization is?
- Have we apportioned our Budget to support the Values and Vision?
- Have we aligned our Priorities with the Values, Vision, and Budget?
- We, as leaders, manage our daily activities to live these Values, Vision, Budgets, and Priorities?
Often the leadership teams with whom I work find out that they too often fall prey to the trivial many and forget to focus on the significant few items that demonstrate a commitment to reliable, thoughtful self-leadership. And the people are watching. And our actions speak so much louder than our words!
[Lightly edited in 9/2020 for our new website.]