Lecturing is the worst kind of teaching model according to Harvard review, the best kind is to model behavior.
The main point of this relationship corner article is to challenge the reader to comprehend and embrace the leadership needs today. There is great thirst for authority, position, and longing to obtain freedom that contributes to success in life. The problem is that although it may be a desire to gain authority many times I see little efforts to achieve those ends from the people who verbally communicate these desires. What you say you want is many times not what you are willing to do. That failure to take action sends a confusing message to those in your influence circle.
When you understand that leadership is not a position rather a genuine leader takes actions to produce end results that accomplish a desired mission. Having a position is not leadership; it is what you do in that position that determines your leadership.
Modeling behavior is rare because we have learned to be so expressive verbally that we tend to speak the actions we want, rather than taking the actions necessary to establish genuine authority in a situation. Silence when performing your work well is the weapon that others respond positively toward that has a measurable effect on their actions. Idol chatter speaking untested theories is the destroyer that in the end tends to turn off those who you’re trying to influence. Speaking when not modeling the behavior you desire is what I would consider to be dead right. You are right about what you want as an end result, but if your actions toward those ends do not communicate your thoughts, a thinking person will tag you as insincere. The results of being right with out taking actions is often death of an organization or business because it does not demonstrate character worth following. It should be concerning that with out insight of others the possibility of identifying this grave issue can and often does sabotage your opportunities for healthy growth. That problem can be described as a person who has eyes and ears but does not use them to hear the real barriers to a constructive future. Refusal to model the behavior you are communicating may be the single largest killer of an organization or business. The reason is that while you speak what should happen, those evaluating your behavior are determining a lack of sincerity which produces involuntary rebellion. We loose employees, potential and even clients because of our lack of disciplined action. Discipline is a result of discipleship which incorporates action on the part of the leader.
So now we have described the problem, what is the solution? It starts with crafting a well executed mission and sharing it with others. Through demonstrated action steps you can obtain buy in which produces results. We in the consulting industry call that action alignment.
Success is defined and measured in many ways, the bottom line is that it is only achieved by life time of decisions that are approved and recognized as being beneficial to some great end. The problem many times is that we fail to consider the end and we tend to flounder outside of what is great. Genuine leadership always considers the end and takes preparation well in advance of that end to ensure the work that is mission driven is accomplished beyond their generation.
When a person with a clear mission and vision speaks it is easy to discern the opportunity they are pursuing and hear the passion of their enterprise or business. More often than not however there is a lack of clarity because time has not been spent to establish direction. Just as an arrow hits the center of the target so does a man who has a mission in his heart that aligns with something great beyond himself. Those who lead effectively in relationships are those who are clear about their mission and are committed to walking in the direction of excellence, not simply words.
A silent witness can speak volumes, where as a loud vocal leader tends to only lead as long as he or she has a voice, the problem is such a leader is unlikely to have the mission of the organization or business to sustain.
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