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Hi! And how are you all? June was a great month for sports from Wimbledon Tennis to the US Open Golf tournament in Pebble Beach to of course the football World Cup in South Africa. I must admit, I have not been in ‘top form’ professionally due to the late nights catching up on all the sporting action. I am a sports fanatic by the way. There was also a very good trip to Brunei where I met some really great participants who were really ‘hungry’ to learn.
And talking about sports, I could not help but feel nostalgic when I watched the advertisement by a major Telco that featured Soh Chin Aun. I remember growing up watching him, Santokh Singh and Mokhtar Dahari playing. Those were the glory days of Malaysian football. But what made the advertisement so powerful for me was his last sentence when he said, “There’s no point of telling everybody that we will play our best for the country. What is more important is SHOW IT!!”
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“There’s no point of telling everybody that we will play our best for the country. What is more important is SHOW IT!!”. |
I cannot but agree whole heartedly with this statement. Action always and always speaks louder than words. The verbal commitment through talking is always easy. How many times have we heard people say things like “I will do my best”, “I will not let the country/organization down”, “I will give my all”. And yet many times they have not matched words with deeds.
This concept of ‘showing it’ or role modeling is a critical part of leadership. I always tell my participants, if they want their staff to work hard, they will have to show it by working hard first. If they want their staff to be timely, they will have to be timely themselves. Effective leaders not only say they want to do the ‘right’ thing, but importantly they follow through by ‘walking the talk’.
Effective leadership in essence is all about serving as a role model, taking actions that speak louder than words and standing up for what you think is the "right" thing to do. Nothing sustains credibility more than a superior who leads by example. In that context, the leader and leader alone will be responsible for setting the team’s standards and expectations. And what better way to do this than by ‘showing it’ through simple exemplary action. This seems old fashioned, but believe me, it still works.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I do hope all of you will have a great month in July. Till my August newsletter, have a great month ahead and do take care.
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