Walk the Talk

-

Salaam and Greetings All,

 

Hope this message gets to you well.


Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir dan Batin.


It was a good Raya for me. Not to hectic. Enough to keep things going and interesting.


Interesting because managed to visit and have a lively chat with a few of my late in-laws' friends. Retired Army officers. Retired Police officers. Retired civil servants. Retired corporate senior management. Somehow in the course of our conversation, we ended up talking about the state of leadership, especially in organizations. Maybe due my profession in Leadership Development that the conversations invariably ended there. 


Of the half a dozen or so I talked to, they all had something in common. Leaders of today are not the same as the leaders of yester-years. Leaders of today, yes, they are more eloquent, and they know a lot more than their predecessors. Yet, one thing these retired people agreed upon, the leaders of yester-years speak from the heart, and they walk the talk.

 

Talking only is just rhetoric. Rhetoric is good. It helps one build sound and persuasive argument on something.

 

According to Wikipedia, "Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations.[1] As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western tradition.[2] Its best known definition comes from Aristotle, who considers it a counterpart of both logic and politics, and calls it "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion."[3"

 

However, rhetoric is basically "TALK" and less "WALK". Persuading others to do, yet, more often, the mindset is "Do as I tell you, not do as I do".

 

If we consider ourselves leaders, we need to do both with equal amount. Yes, we need to talk, to convey our aspirations, our goals, plans and objectives. So that our people, and employees, know what is expected of them. Yet, if action does not come in tandem with those spoken words, a leader will lose crediblity, and worse, trust.


I have heard leaders speak, yet it is not from within their hearts. They regurgitate phrases and words from books of other leaders. Believing, if they use these words, they too can become as great as these leaders.


I remembered when I was studying American Literature with the late Prof. Dr. V. Kinoian, at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ. I made the freshman mistake of quoting this famous literary writers and critics. I believed, if I quote them, I might sound smarter too. Was I wrong. Prof Kinoian took me aside and "educated" me well. He said, "I know what these people say and think. What I want to know is what you think." When I was in high school in Malaysia, none of my teachers asked me, what I think. Suddenly I am asked to think, and this senior lecturer, this stranger wants to know what I think. With that lesson, I have learned to 'speak my mind' not just copy and paste to regurgitate.


Leaders (and I shudder to think, some people are called leaders simply because they hold a senior position), should convey things from their heart, and puts action into those words they speak. Indubitably, when you speak from the heart, action is easier, as it comes from your passion.


As they say, action speaks louder than words. Walk the talk. Or better yet, just walk the walk. You will gain better trust from your people.

 

 http://thots2paper.blogspot.com/

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why focus only on Retaining and Developing People?

-
From HR practitioners' point of view, managing talent (people) starts from sourcing (recruitment); rewarding and recognition; performance management; and of course, retaining and developing talent/people . But the fact is that, how many recruitment as managers do you actually do? Definitely not on a monthly basis, unless you are on a rapid expansion program. Also, rewards and recognition, primarily means the actual giving of increments and bonuses. One - it is a once a year affair, though most purists will argue against me saying that, it is a continuous affair. I agree, but only if seen from a development and performance improvement point of view. Hence my contention for retaining and development. Two - how much liberty does a manager have in determining how much reward managers can give their people? Not much. Especially in tight economy and the every increasing need by companies to deliver more with less, managers must really have a strong justification for the additional ...
Read more

Developing A Leadership Pipeline That Works

-
Image
Salaam and Greetings All,   Hope this messages gets to you in the best of health. Despite the heavy haze and the gloomy days.   I love this type of writing is that it puts things into perspectives. A simple unadulterated perspective. First thing he said is, “ A simple, non-bureaucratic system ”.   I can’t say I have seen it all. However, I have seen enough to know, a lot of organizations can’t seem to fathom the idea of simplicity. Somehow they believe, if it is complicated, it is sophisticated. If is sophisticated, then, the designer is intellectual. Somehow, I fail to see the logic.   When I was in the Army, I was trained, the more steps, more stages you have in your plans, the more chances it will fail. Keeping things simple and easy, less likely for the plan fail, easier for people to understand and implement.   I have also seen a lot of companies, who have succeeded very well in making it simple. They somehow focused not so much i...
Read more