Earlier today I read a blog post on Gapingvoid – Show Don’t Sell. In the post, they share stories of leaders (Gandhi, George Washington and Julius Ceaser) and how they found the cure for the skepticism of those they wanted to lead was but ACTION. It is not enough to state our intention but follow it up with action that is consistent with the intention.
I see this happen all around me. Leaders have great intentions (or ideas).
They call for innovation but are not willing to risk failure.
They call for camaraderie but incentivize competition amongst colleagues.
They call for building a culture of high performance but only reward results (however they might be achieved) rather than rewarding the process.
They want their teams to adapt to new tools, learn new skills, all the while not attending any training program themselves because they see it as a waste of their time.
Such leaders are performing as leaders and not being a leader. Do you know of any such leaders?
Do you know if any real leaders, who support their intentions with concrete actions, whether it is by investing their time, attention, resources or any other means possible?
Leaders who stand with you all the way, encouraging you, removing barriers to help the team deliver high performance.
Which kind of leader would you rather follow? And the more important question is – which kind of a leader do you think you are – performative or a leader worth following?
