Walk your talk – Leading by example
As the leader of a company, you are expected to define and exhibit the attributes you would like to see amongst your colleagues and employees.
Creating a healthy culture in your organisation is an enormous step towards sustaining success. If people are ambitious to meet, or exceed, their targets, feel valued for doing so and are part of a cohesive and caring team, then your company performance will demonstrate this. I would advocate embedding a few guiding principles, first into your leadership and second into your organisation as a whole, to ensure optimal cooperation and engagement.
A limiting mindset – A pragmatic approach
Pragmatism is at once a positive and negative trait for a leader to possess. The ability to adapt to an unexpected situation can be useful for pivoting tactics, but let yourself become too changeable and your leadership will seem inconsistent.
All truly successful businesses are built on an element of repeatability, which informs what each stakeholder group can expect. This confidence should be produced and radiated by the leader(s) who directly interacts with shareholders, set an example for employees and establish relationships with suppliers. Allow an element of uncertainty to creep into these relationships and you will soon notice these stakeholders reduce their investments, whether this is in effort, time or money.
A missing element – Walking your talk
When I discuss leadership with my clients, they often tell me they don’t feel like a leader. They have the image of some authoritarian figure, who believes that each decision they make is entirely correct and should therefore be replicated by everyone around them. In a modern context, this image of a leader is outdated.
I tend to find that people who get the best results are those who can directly relate to their employees and garner their respect by ‘walking their talk.’
By ‘walking their talk’, I mean directly demonstrating the values they want to see in others. On a simple level, if a leader wanted to encourage employees to arrive in work on time, then failed to do so for a week, this would be talking, not walking. If a leader does not exhibit the behaviour they would like to see, they will quickly lose the respect of their peers. This will result in a lack of engagement, a drop off in productivity and consequently, a downturn in company performance.
A different perspective – Your guiding principles
As part of my coaching there are three guiding principles that I believe a leader should possess. As well as this, I think they are can also be adopted by employees throughout a business, so they become embedded into every interaction.
1. Alignment – This principle ensures that every decision is made with regard to the wider purpose. For example, choosing a longer-term solution to a problem, rather than opting for a quick fix, which does not match the overall strategy. As referenced earlier, this builds consistency and confidence.
2. Transparency – Don’t hide the truth from your stakeholders; they will respect you more if you don’t. For example, if you are running short on supplies to manufacture a certain product, tell your customers. They will be less irritated by this, than by your company evading their queries.
3. Vulnerability – Be honest when you have met a limitation in your skillset. This will be far less damaging and embarrassing than pretending you can do something you cannot. I believe this principle is particularly effective in earning respect from your peers. Everybody is human; nobody can do everything.
You may choose to adopt these guiding principles or create some of your own, but I would strongly advocate introducing them into your leadership, if you don’t have some already. Having clarity on how you approach makes situations more approachable, building the confidence of both you and your colleagues, so your company finds better solutions.
Be the role model you would follow.