Work the talk

Do it yourself! Walk the talk! 

Leadership works best when you can do it yourself. When you roll up your sleeves and get going to get things done, you automatically gain respect and trust. When you go the extra mile to take on the onus of getting the job done and leading the team and encouraging them to follow, it works because they see you do it with ease. 

Its easy to sit on the side lines and delegate and assign tasks but imagine the impact of not just assigning but taking on, shoulder to shoulder, the responsibility of making it happen. To take this to a philosophical level, you need to be aligned to the core values and the team and vision in entirety to get the best possible outcomes. 

There are many leaders who get by with just letting things happen around them and they don’t bother to find out or know what it takes. These leaders are sitting ducks and give away the power of being in control of their own knowledge and growth when they do so. 

Don’t talk the talk until you learn to walk the walk, monkey see, monkey do and all these other quotes are used lavishly for a reason. Our own personal behaviour needs to be consistent with what we want done and achieved by our teams. 

Leaders who walk the talk: 

• Help their teams achieve their goals collectively 
• Give the freedom to operate and run on their terms 
• Are aligned to the values and vision of their companies and their teams
• Are keen observers and listeners 
• Model the behaviour they expect from their teams
• Are cohesive as far as nurturing their teams go 
• Collaborate to achieve collective goals
• Say it out loud and they stick to it 
• Do not over promise and under deliver
• Leverage communication tools
• Empower their next in line leadership to take off 
• Rise above the norm and innovate and create strategies for success
• Make their expectations clear 
• Take responsibility for their failures and successes
• Reward and encourage their teams 

How do you walk the talk?

You look at your style of leadership and assess it for starters and then check back on what needs to be worked on for you to be a leader who walks the talk. Culture is crucial and building it means living it. 

No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it. – Andrew Carnegie

Whatever we see changing around us, what will not change are the fundamentals of good and sound leadership. 

You can say what you want, but until you live what you say, its not going to work and this piece made me realise how true this exact same thought is for parenting too. 

The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.

Shreya Krishnan

Vice President - Marketing and Communications at Aon India Insurance Brokers

Shreya is a CSR Specialist and Corporate Grooming Consultant. Her interests lie in Activism, Dance, Theatre, Poetry, Blogging, Modelling, Acting. She considers herself an Earth Warrior and is an Event Anchor and Trainer. She is a Pageant Winner and public speaker.