"Leadership is action, not position." — Donald H. McGannon
Actions speak
louder than words! An expression where doing what you say you will do is a
greater determinant of behavior and character. People can say anything, but
when what they say and do are contrary, it’s easier to judge by what is done
instead of by what is said.
For leaders,
action is one of the most important traits they can embody. Taking action means getting things done. It means seizing the initiative. It conveys momentum, and energy, and creating
something new, something that didn’t exist before. And this excites followers and others who
understand that going towards something is always better than sitting around
staring at the wall.
The only cure
for inactivity is action. That’s why the first step in creating a successful
culture of execution is creating a bias toward action. People who make things
happen need to be praised and rewarded. People who don’t should be coached to
change, or weeded out. Failure cannot be unduly punished. Unless people feel
free to make mistakes, they will not feel free to take bold actions.
People will
usually listen to what you say, but they really pay attention to what you do.
You can't say one thing and do another if you want to be effective as a leader.
What you say is important. However if your actions are different than your
words people will assume the actions are what is true.
In the end,
taking action is simple. You do or you
don’t. The hard part comes when we
introduce doubt, fear, concern about what others will say (or not say) and the
outcome being failure. If you have a
great idea, why not take action? What
will happen if you fail? You’ll learn
from the failure and perhaps, have even more great ideas. You’ll also be taking action and not just
merely talking about it.
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