Leadership: You are what you do...

Successful leaders put an appropriate system in place to drive the company operationally and strategically. But, it’s conscious reinforcement which builds ‘head and heart’ commitment of people and takes it to the next level.

For example, if your company purports to be ‘customer-centric’, do executive meetings start with talking about them?

When priorities are reinforced in a visible way, they peel down through the organization.

Two examples:

One CEO often said customers were important, yet meetings concentrated on sales deals, tracking to the revenue plan and company valuation. Customers were on the agenda, but usually last and focused upon addressing issues. Each year he would go out and see customers over a two week trip. Customer feedback was primarily focused on guiding product development.

Another CEO put customer feedback and actions first on agendas in executive meetings, reviews, strategy discussions and board meetings. Every all-hands meeting, they talked about what relationship the company sought with it’s customers, the value provided and what difference it made. Every day, she talked to a customer.

Guess which company grew faster, had world-class employee retention and minimal churn?

What does your organization see - does it match what they hear? Do your behaviors and activities visibly reflect the priorities and values you talk about as a leader?

55% of communication is non-verbal…and it’s reinforced by what people see happening.