June 2024 · Note
What you do shows what you mean
If you say something is true but fail to reinforce it through your behaviour, it will clang like a bell. And you will lose people's respect.
What you do shows what you mean.
Yesterday I was hearing about a Pub Co. This company was putting increasing pressure on its staff by not rehiring when people left.
"Times are hard," they said. "We've all got to tighten our belts."
Yet every Friday the Pub Co top brass met in one of their pubs to mark the end of the week, and wash it down with champagne.
To say this didn't sit well with the overburdened team was an understatement.
One of the inevitable burdens of leadership is this: if you say something is true but fail to reinforce it through your behaviour, it will clang like a bell. And you will lose people's respect.
Erika Clegg, strategic adviser to founder-led and family-owned organisations. Start a conversation.