Leadership Awakening
SELF LEADERSHIP
“Leadership Awakening” will showcase a series of articles, each one highlighting and talking about one quality that people look up to in a leader. Through these series we will also talk about “SELF LEADERSHIP” – how each one of us is a Leader. We dont need to be a Boss to be a Leader!!
After reading the article, we invite your feedback. If you have a story to share on this topic, we would love to hear it.
In all the programmes that we have conducted, we ask participants what leadership behaviour motivates them when they think of a leader. One behaviour that stands out is, “Doing what you say and saying what you do”. This goes by many other names as well, “Walking the Talk and Talking the Walk”. Or as Robin Sharma puts it, “Matching your Audio with your Video”.
Employees often share as to how delighted they were, when their boss did what he said he would, in terms of listening to them, giving them their due and even little things like making it to meetings on time! And how they felt with bosses who said one thing but did the opposite. More often than not, such bosses may lose valuable employees!
In this regard, I love the following story of Abraham Lincoln, who became the sixteenth president of the United States.
He was once traveling in a stage coach with a military man, a Colonel, from the State of Kentucky. After riding a number of miles together, the colonel took a bottle of whiskey out of his pocket, and said, “Mr. Lincoln, won’t you take a drink with me?”
Mr. Lincoln replied, “No, Colonel, thank you, I never drink whiskey.”
They rode together many more miles and had a very nice visit. The gentleman from Kentucky reached into his pocket and brought out some cigars. He said, “Now, Mr. Lincoln, if you won’t take a drink with me, won’t you take a smoke with me? …”
Mr. Lincoln replied, “Now Colonel, you are such a fine, agreeable man to travel with, maybe I ought to take a smoke with you. But before I do so, let me tell you a little story—an experience I had when a small boy.” This was the story:
“My mother called me to her bed one day when I was about nine years old. She was sick, very sick, and she said to me, ‘Abey, the doctor tells me I am not going to get well. I want you to promise me before I go, that you will never use whiskey or tobacco as long as you live.’ And I promised my mother I never would. And up to this hour, Colonel, I have kept that promise. Now would you advise me to break that promise to my dear mother, and take a smoke with you?”
The Colonel replied, “No, Mr. Lincoln, I wouldn’t have you do it for the world. It was one of the best promises you ever made. And I would give a thousand dollars today if I had made my mother a promise like that, and kept it as you have done”
We believe each one of us is a Leader, hence, the thought we would like to leave with you is, “Do I Walk the Talk?” or do I believe that is only for my boss and not for me?
At home – we lead our relationships. We are leaders to our spouses, our siblings, our children, our relatives and friends. For e.g. do we keep harping that exercise is good for health but never make time for it ourselves and then wonder why no one at home listens or trusts or respects us?
At work – we lead our teams, our peers, our vendors, our customers. For e.g. – do we keep telling people to come on time and how important time management is, yet come late ourselves everytime and then crib about how people ignore or laugh at what we say?
In Society – we lead our community, our country.
In each of the above relationships, people are delighted when we walk the talk or upset when we do not keep our commitments. Trust is lost, employees get demotivated and no one is willing to take ownership or initiatives around us.
Every person who can ever be called a Great Leader, understood the importance of these 3 simple words – WALKING THE TALK.
Do share with us your STORY of ‘Walking the Talk’. We would love to hear it.
MHRF– Environment Conservation & Self Development Initiatives
MHRF, is pleased to inform you about its association with the dynamic Dr. Caesar Sengupta, who is actively involved in various Wildlife and Natural History conservation activities, through the medium of photography. Visit www.drcaesarphotography.com to know more.
Caesar regularly conducts, basic to advanced photography courses, wildlife photography expeditions, workshops, seminars etc. You may contact him directly through the above weblink, if you wish to avail of these learning courses, as a self development initiative.
Ceasar is also currently involved, very actively, with the Lost! Amphibians of India (LAI) http://www.lostspeciesindia.org/LAI2/ , a countrywide initiative of Systematics Lab, University of Delhi http://www.frogindia.org/, led by ace amphibian researcher Dr. S D Biju Das, also popular as The Patron Saint of Amphibians.
We at MHRF, are highly motivated and strongly committed to the Lost Amphibians of India cause – do click on the above links to know more.
We hope you have enjoyed our Newsletter. Do write in with your comments and feedback to :-
Mohana Kotian
Mohana HR Futuristics
mohanahrf@gmail.com
www.mohanahrfuturistics.com
Your contributions to our forthcoming news letter will be always welcome. If published, other than assigning you with the credits for it, we will also gift you with a Lost Amphibians of India Tshirt.
Your contributions to our forthcoming news letter will be always welcome. If published, other than assigning you with the credits for it, we will also gift you with a Lost Amphibians of India Tshirt.
