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BE DiFFERENT Leaders Eat Their Own Dogfood

Guest post by: Roy Osing

Article Overview: How often have you heard a leader in your organization preach a set of values and yet don't consistently demonstrate them? For these people it is easier to give other people advice than to listen to their own words and practice them unconditionally.

BE DiFFERENT Leaders Eat Their Own Dogfood

How often have you heard a leader in your organization preach a set of values and yet don't consistently demonstrate them? For these people it is easier to give other people advice than to listen to their own words and practice them unconditionally.

They talk about creating a risk-taking culture; they punish those that make mistakes. They talk about being customer focused; they have no calendar time dedicated to meeting with customers. They talk about people as the most important asset of the organization; they have a closed-door policy and it is impossible for employees to get face time with them.

This type of behavior does not go unnoticed by the tribes in the organization. Employees see the inconsistency between words and action and they are left with the conclusion that it is all a facade and the leader doesn't really mean what they say. As a result the organization falters. Little progress is made towards a healthier future. Employee satisfaction plummets. Competitors plunder. The business eventually fails.

BE DiFFERENT Leaders eat their own dog food. Here are some things they do:

- passionately communicate the Strategic Game Plan of the organization in minute detail to define the precise behaviors necessary to successfully execute it.

- focus on the few critical things that must be done to make the strategy come alive and they model the appropriate behavior.

- spend copious amounts of time with employees clarifying the required behavior.

- don't ask others to do anything they are not prepared to do themselves.

- treat their personal life as an extension of work, and personally model the strategic behaviors required in the organization.

- align every aspect of their position responsibilities to the strategic goal and behave accordingly.

- openly communicate their pain. Employees need to see that leaders suffer disappointment like everyone else.

- make a point of showing employees how they have matched words with action. They make the behavior they want explicit for people.

The "Do as I say and not what I do" thing doesn't work. It's an insult to people's intelligence. BE DiFFERENT: Eat your own dogfood....

Cheers, Roy

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