You are likely familiar with the phrase “actions speak louder than words”. The actions of leaders are, in particular, under scrutiny, and so are the actions of those who act on a leader’s behalf.
Like it or not, people are more likely to listen for any inconsistency between your words and your actions than give you the benefit of the doubt.
Yet it isn’t always the actions alone that matter. Just as your words are subject to different interpretations, so too are your actions. That is because the interpretation of your actions is not only based on what you do, but also how you do it and the context or culture of those judging you in the process.
Let’s take a simple example. A long time ago I worked for an organization whose executives instituted an open door policy. The underlying purpose for establishing this policy was to encourage people to open up. The executives had been hearing a lot of complaints second hand that concerned them. To demonstrate their commitment to opening up the lines of communication with their staff, they had the doors to their offices removed.
One day I went to walk by to go to the restroom. As I began to walk down the hallway where the executive offices were located, I was redirected by one of their assistants to go the long way. They were making sure I did not disturb the executives by walking by their offices. Now the interesting thing is that none of the executives gave anyone instructions to redirect people. While it was a symbolic gesture, the physical removal of doors was clearly insufficient to change behavior.
Any competent manager can create a solid action plan, but it takes a leader to ensure that the actions taken are consistent with the espoused commitments and values.
Said more simply, effective leaders ensure they walk their talk.
If you want to make sure you and those who manage and lead on your behalf are “walking the talk”, there are two questions I suggest you ask when preparing to take action.
- What message do I/we want to send?
- What changes in behavior, actions, and attitude would I/we see that would indicate the intended message was received?
Ultimately, the true test of whether your words and actions are aligned is whether people follow your lead.
If the executives in my example had stopped at “we took the doors off and still no one came to see us so now it’s up to them”, they would have failed as leaders. Instead this experience showed them they had to dig deeper and change their behavior.
One of the executives decided that if people weren’t going to come to him, he would have to find ways to go to them. He started scheduling weekly meetings with small groups of staff members and began some of the most engaging dialogues anyone in this organization had ever experienced. This executive succeeded in opening up a two-way channel of communication.
Yet despite their best efforts, others on the executive team continued to either not engage or fail in their attempts. Even those who tried to implement their own weekly meetings were not as successful.
What was the difference? I’ll suggest that he was the only one who seemed to genuinely care about what people had to say vs. going through the motions. Success came from how he approached it rather than because he followed the right steps.
The attitudes, behavior and actions of those you lead are the ultimate indicator of how effectively you walk your talk as a leader. The key to being successful in aligning the two is to first recognize every action sends a message that makes a difference, and then taking full responsibility for the message that is received by those you lead for better or for worse.
