Walking Your Talk – Leadership
It’s easy to talk the talk, but much more difficult to walk your talk. By walking your talk, I mean putting actions that match your words behind them, and living your life in a way that is consistent with your words. If you want to be a truly great coach or leader, this is of paramount importance.
Have you ever wondered why so many coaches and business leaders jump from one job to another? It’s much easier to get things turned around, than it is to keep things moving forward. It takes certain skills to turn things around, but it takes character to keep things turned around, and character requires that you walk your talk. Many skilled leaders can fake walking their talk for a few years, but they know it will eventually catch up to them, so they leave before getting exposed.
How many coaches or business leaders can you name who built something special and kept it going for decades? I can only think of a few off the top of my head: John Wooden at UCLA, Steve Jobs at Apple, Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama, Phil Knight at Nike and Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. I’m certain I am overlooking a few others, but I think I made my point about how uncommon these types of exceptional leaders who walk their talk are.
Over the years I have seen numerous coaches come into a program and instill their culture and values to great success (initially), before they fall victim to their own frailties. As success comes, they stick with the message that got them there; they bathe in their own success and are perceived as hypocrites, losing the respect of their teams and sometimes their assistants as well. History often repeats itself: I’ve seen coaches criticize other coaches for getting full of themselves, and then fall into this pattern themselves just a few years later.
As soon as the leader of any organization stops walking their talk, it opens the door for everyone beneath them to do the same. This is why far too often we see teams and businesses “done in” by themselves rather than their competitors. I often tell my clients, “The best leaders have an exemplary work ethic and never ask others to do things they are unwilling to do themselves.” Walking your talk is not just important for leaders, but for anyone who truly wants to reach their potential. It’s easy to set goals, but it takes actions to achieve them.
You can follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc
