by Richard Nugent
Are you the type of leader that talks a good game? Are you someone who always does what he says or can you be relied upon to make the right noises and not always follow through?
If the answer to either of those questions is yes, then be prepared for a torrid time over the coming years as staff turnover continues to increase in most organisations and people become more aware of what their managers should be doing.
As with many of our tips, this one is as a result of recent experience on my journey home following a leadership programme with a group of enthusiastic senior managers. As well as been enthusiastic, they are knowledgeable and highly experienced and have the backing of line managers who too have experienced our leadership development are enthusiastic about it. In fact there is only one thing missing from this equation, and it is the critical thing.
All of the potential leaders in both communities know what they should be doing – and they say that they want to. It’s just that they aren’t doing it. And by ‘it’ I mean demonstrating the key leadership behaviours that will win the hearts and minds of their people and demonstrate their congruence with the organisation’s vision and values.
This is leading to partial paralysis in the relationships in the organisation. Both parties are respecting the fact that the other group wants to increase their leadership capability and guide the business towards the vision. However the level of trust between the groups is diminishing because they are not following through on their commitments.
In the book Powerful Conversations: How High Impact Leaders Communicate by Phil Harkins, the model below highlights the importance of the relationship between Saying and Doing.
This simple model shows the relationships between action (on the right) and inaction on the left. What is obvious is that if, as a leader, you do as you say, then you are delivering on what the majority of your people want from you. You will be considered as honest and it will support your credibility.
Ensuring that you don’t contradict your messages by incongruent actions – in this model, if you don’t say it then don’t do it – will also contribute to this congruent image.
I want to use this model to highlight and remind you that the number one thing that you can do to erode your peoples’ trust is to don’t do what you say. In fact it is my personal rule of thumb that if a client consistently makes commitments to the people in their organisation (or to me), and then doesn’t deliver I will stop working with them.
It is also a simple reminder of the need for communication, indeed it also helps you to get your peoples’ engagement to key business issues. Plainly put, if you are going to take action, you should communicate with your people about that action.
I urge you then to take this opportunity to carry out a self audit to ensure that the actions you take as a leader match the messages you deliver. Use the table above as a guide and complete information in each box regarding what you do or don’t do as a leader and what you communicate and what you choose not to.
Avoid completing it with what you know you should be doing, complete each box separately with the current reality, then look to see where there are connections between what you say and do, and where you can raise your bar.
This week’s call to action:-
- Complete the exercise above for yourself. If there are disconnects, then feel free to email us at kim@kaizen-training.com for ideas of how to make the improvements you need.
- If you are a senior leader, invite your people to complete this exercise too.
- Read Harkins’ book Powerful Conversations: How High Impact Leaders Communicate
For a longer article by Richard Nugent on Leadership Congruence, click here
