You Are Being Watched!

Posted on November 06, 2009 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

“Leaders live in a fish bowl and are always being watched. They should always be conscious of this fact, and take wise advantage of it.” – Gene Klann

Leaders are being watched all the time. Their every gesture, action and word are being closely (and continuously) observed and scrutinized. Richard Anderson, Chief Executive of Delta Air Lines, makes the following point:

“As a leader, I’ve had to learn to be more patient and to closely watch my tone. The reason for this is because everything I do is an example. People are looking at everything I do - and take signals from everything I say. And when I lose my temper, it quickly squelches debate and sends the wrong signal about myself, and how I want want this organization to run.”

So… whether you like it or not, everything you do as a leader impacts your organization - for good or for bad. Each and every day, you are always being watched, and your actions are being carefully assessed, scrutinized and used to draw conclusions. Conclusions about..

* What is the right way to behave around here?
* What are acceptable ways of getting things done?
* What topics and issues are “OK” to openly share and talk about? Which ones are not safe to openly address?
* What is important?
* How do decisions really get made?

Bottom line… leaders need to be people of integrity - all the time. To consistently set clear and healthy examples of how people should be treated, and how things ought to get done.

* So… how does your leadership “example” stack up lately? What do you need to do more of - or to change?