Walk the Talk

I’ve been thinking about what makes people willing to follow someone.

From what I’ve seen, it gets a lot easier when people can see that the person leading them applies what he preaches. When a leader asks the team to do something and they can see him doing it too, the ask feels fair, like something we’re doing together.

It’s harder when a leader keeps asking for things he doesn’t know how to do himself. Even when the request is reasonable, people start to wonder whether he understands what he’s asking for.

I’ve been on both sides of this. I’ve followed leaders who asked for things they couldn’t do themselves, and I’ve also tried to lead by doing the work first so people could see it.

What this looks like for me

When I want the team to start using a new tool or process, I try it myself first. That way, I understand what I’m asking them to do, and I can help when they get stuck. The team can also see that I use it myself.

I also try to do the boring work alongside them. Some work is boring and still needs to get done, and I’d rather share it than only hand it out.

You don’t need to be the best at everything

Walking the talk doesn’t mean a leader has to be better than everyone at every job, which would be impossible anyway.

On most teams, the specialists will be better than me at their own work. What I think a leader needs is enough knowledge to understand the work, and the willingness to do a share of it.

It applies at home too

This also applies to being a father. If I ask my sons to do something I don’t do myself, I can’t expect them to find it easy to follow me.

A privilege to serve

All of this is why I see leadership as a privilege to serve rather than a privilege to rule.

Having the role doesn’t mean I get to hand out work and step back. For me, it means showing the people I lead what I’m asking for through my own work, and helping them do theirs.