Talking the walk: the top five secrets of uninspiring leaders
| Date | 21 October 2007 |
| Published date | 21 October 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390980000987 |
| Pages | 3-3 |
| Author | Javier Bajer |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
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Volume 6 Issue 5 July/August 2007
STRATEGIC COMMENTARY
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Thought leaders share their views on the HR profession and
its direction for the future
DEPARTMENTS AT A GLANCE
STRATEGIC COMMENTARY
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METRICS
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HOW TO…
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PRACTITIONER PROFILE
Q&A
HR AT WORK
REWARDS
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RESEARCH AND RESULTS
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L
eading by example has probably
become the 21st century’s most over-
used business cliché. More than ever
before, we seem to have managed to
separate what needs to be said from
what needs to be done. Paradoxically, the
more we focus on creating the future, the
harder it gets to lead in the present.
Executives work hard to send the
“right messages” to complex, dispersed
and often disengaged workforces. Time
and money gushes through webcasts,
portals, blogs, viral marketing, posters,
storytelling, newsletters, learning maps,
change agents and other elaborate
campaigning techniques. The main
objective is clear: To make every
employee understand the vision, values,
strategies and new ways of working.
However, despite the investment that
goes into “bringing people with us,” our
workforces experience a gap between
what we say and what we do. The
problem is not that they don’t get the
message, but that our messages are often
disconnected from the reality of our
leadership and organizational behaviors.
What people hear is one thing, but what
leaders do and what organizations signal
every day is another.
Hitting the reality wall
Let me illustrate this with an example.
You’re at a large meeting where a senior
leader presents a vision for the future. It’s
exciting to be part of such a group. The
future is going to be challenging, but we
can make it by using our “team power.”
We’re better than our competitors and
we can work together to make anything
happen. We must collaborate, share our
tools and work as a single team. You get
another coffee and pastry and catch up
with your boss. Within seconds, the
refreshing vision crashes against the
reality wall. You have a few days to find a
way to regain control of a client
relationship, which was taken away by
another part of your own organization.
You give up hope and, head down,
continue to do your job.
Why does this happen? What could
be driving well-meaning men and
women in leadership positions to take
part in such dichotomy? There are a
couple of reasons: Firstly, our inability to
create and stick to long-term metrics for
success. These get lost in translation and
become very different short-term goals,
which are easier to measure and
manage performance against. Secondly,
organizations still believe that employee
engagement is about sending the right
messages in the right format.
Unfortunately, people are rather wise
and quickly learn to look at the facts,
rather than the promises.
Therefore, if you’re a leader who
wants to un-inspire your organization,
“talk the walk” as follows:
1. Come up with a picture for the
future, but don’t dwell too much on
its implications. If it works for you, it
will work for others.
2. Launch every new program or project
using hyper-inflated descriptors such as
“transformation.” Make up promises –
loads of them if possible. People need
big words if they’re to engage.
3. Don’t think too much or engage
others on how you will get there.
Things will sort themselves out, if
they’re to happen. Instead, only focus
on managing today’s business.
4. Distance yourself from the
inconveniences of daily interaction
with people. Don’t get easily
persuaded by your team’s partial
perception of the situation. It can be
hard for people to see the big picture.
5. Don’t worry about following up on
previous programs or initiatives. These
will always find their way and
somewhere, somehow they will
produce results. You can’t be on top of
everything, at the end of the day.
If you stick to these rules, you’ll probably
find yourself busy, stressed and fearful
about the future. You might think that
leadership is hard work and dream of
your retirement days, when you will
finally be able to plan that perfect golf
shot, let others know of your intention
and give it your best go. Heavenly…
Talking the walk: the
top five secrets of
uninspiring leaders
Dr Javier Bajer of Possibilate shows that it’s all too easy for leaders to become uninspiring.
Dr Javier Bajer
heads up workforce
performance specialist,
Possibilate.He is the
founding CEO of The Talent
Foundation and currently works developing senior
leaders at Accenture,Shell and Hewlett-Packard.
© Melcrum publishing 2007.For more information visit our website www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
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