Do what you say you do or talk about what you did / do? Both, I would say. I will refer here to the first:
Do what you say you do!
I’ve all met people who say a lot and then forget. Personally, I have had several opportunities to hear individuals say what they will do, where they are going, promises that I have never taken too seriously. Not because I intend not to trust, but because I appreciate those who do something, not those who promise a slam dunk. As the song goes: Paroles, paroles… we easily get over them, we know since when we hear what they already mean. But I am always amazed at the ease with which individuals make promises, sometimes looking into our eyes. A little offensive to our IQ but we let them believe what they want.
But when such situations occur in the business environment, it becomes annoying. There are people who say they do a lot, they make promises, they set deals, and then, after a while, they behave as if they are amnesic or as if they think you are amnesic.
Imagine that you are in traffic, and the car in front of you signals right but turns left. What are your reactions? What are you saying? What do you think, feel?
And yet, there are many situations in which people declare something and do something completely different. It’s unpleasant when it comes to a colleague, it’s even more confusing when it comes to a manager.
An ingredient that underlies a team with good results is trust. It is about trusting others, the manager, each individual, the idea that everyone does what is best for them and the team, that together they work for a certain goal.
I saw situations in which the manager of the team or even of the company, declared something and did something else. For example, when the manager says that they want an environment in which everyone can express their opinion openly, come up with ideas, take responsibility, that mistakes are tolerated, it seems a psychologically safe environment, right?
But when the first to express their opinion or make mistakes are fired, everyone starts to beware, suspicions appear, scenarios appear, and the level of confidence is on the verge of freezing.
To do what you say you need a set of personal values, including: integrity, ethics, respect for yourself and others, courage, to care about your team.
There has been a lot of talk in the business environment in recent years about the authentic leader. A simple Google search on ”authenticity” returns you 241,000,000 results. There has been a lot of writing, a lot of talking, but I don’t think we have noticed a great change in people’s behavior.
The word ‘authentic’ derives from the Greek, ‘authentikos’ means ‘original, which is not false’, or from ‘authentes’, ‘what you do yourself, with your own hands’.
Unfortunately, I hear more and more about cases of dual behavior. Maybe it’s the uncertainty, maybe our state of inner balance is deteriorating, maybe it’s a big confusion around, which darkens the minds of some. I don’t know, it’s just a few hypotheses. I remember a joke that circulated on social media a few years ago: ‘You, these multi-faceted ones, how do you wash in the morning?’
However, it is clear that more and more people are beginning to disapprove of such behaviors, to assert their opinions, to avoid people with too great and frequent ambiguities.
In a way, the pandemic has given us the opportunity to reflect on what is more important, to visualize a simpler life, easier to manage, in which to take place those with similar values to us, and I hope it gives us and the courage to clean up and take out the trash that no longer conforms to the landscape we want to build for ourselves.