QUOTATION 36

WARREN BENNIS ON WHY LEADERS MUST WALK THE TALK

Use this to remind you that to be leader you must be yourself. You can’t fake it.

Warren Bennis (1925–2014) spent much of his academic career trying to discover the secret of leadership. He probably came closest in the following two quotations:

Leaders walk their talk; in true leaders there is no gap between the theories they espouse and their practice.

Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult.

Warren Bennis

As Bennis implies in his first quotation, being genuine, being consistent in your words and actions is hellishly difficult to achieve. Even though you may not achieve it all the time, it should still be your aim.

WHAT TO DO

  • Remember, people follow those they trust and they trust those who are consistent and predictable. It’s extremely difficult to gain people’s trust in the first place but one misstep and you can lose it. People want their leaders to be special and they place them on a pedestal as someone to admire and support. However, if they see any mismatch between what a leader says and does, they see it as a betrayal of their trust, and disillusionment quickly sets in.
  • Work out what principles will guide your professional life. Don’t have too many of them. A principle in this context is something you would be willing to resign over. If you are not willing to resign over a matter, then your firmly held belief is just a position you hold until it becomes inconvenient, at which point you dump it.
  • As in Quotation 35, work to lower expectations. Don’t try and develop a public image that is pristine and perfect. Be honest with people and talk openly about both your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. For example, unless you are a production engineer by training, you might say, ‘I have a good understanding of the issues facing our production team, but that’s not enough. That’s why I always seek the advice of our engineers on technical matters.’
  • If you try to pretend that you understand issues when you clearly don’t, any credibility you have will be shot to pieces. Never be afraid to ask a question or say, ‘I’m sorry I don’t understand.’ It will encourage others to do the same.
  • Never break your word or renege on a deal, even if it costs the organisation money. Word will get round and any losses will be recouped in the future in both cash and goodwill.
  • Never take credit for someone else’s work or idea.
  • Treat people as you would like to be treated, i.e. as a human being and not just a resource to be used and discarded (see Quotation 26).

QUESTIONS TO ASK

  • Do I walk the talk?
  • Do staff trust me? If not, why not?
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