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Every professional body has its code of conduct, which ethically guides the practice and direction of the profession. The young budding doctors have to take the Hippocratic oath, which basically stipulates that every doctor has to give treatment to anyone who needs it, whether rich or poor.
The turnaround manager is guided by a code of conduct too. The most fundamental is that the turnaround manager has to practise what he preaches. He has to walk the talk. This is particularly important during hard times. People are watching your behaviour much more than your messages. If you do not practise what you preach, you will be seen as hypocritical.
During bad times, everyone is expected to chip in and make sacrifices. If the top gun does not practise what he preaches by making personal sacrifices as well, then he will lose his credibility and thus will jeopardize his future turnaround endeavours. Walk the talk is an ethical code for the turnaround manager as its non-compliance is perceived as deception by the other team members. Furthermore, you also deceive yourself as you are lying to yourself, as you do not firmly believe enough to practise what you have preached.
You also need to lead by example if you withdraw the perks and corporate benefits of the managers,. For instance, you will lose credibility if you continue to fly business class when you have decided that all the staff must downgrade to economy class ticket or you continue to wine and dine in expensive restaurants when your staff are retrenched to save costs. Once you dont walk the talk, you become inconsistent and you will lose respect from your team members.
The non-verbal aspects of business communication are often more important than the verbal ones. If you want to promote flat and informal management style, you cannot work behind closed door all the time. If you tell your people to come in punctually, you must ensure that you come in punctual too. If you want your people to be customer oriented, you must set the example by meeting up with the customers. What you do speaks so loudly that others cannot hear what you say. The message here is We are in difficult times and it must start with me. Leadership by example is the guiding motto for the top management, especially during difficult times. If you want others to take a salary cut, volunteer to cut your own salary first. If you want your staff to work long hours, you must be prepared to work even longer hours. This is why it is abhorrent to hear the manager who said that do what I preach, but do not practise what I do.
People are very receptive and take the cue quickly. They are able to fathom the sincerity of the senior management. To be successful, you need to solicit their co-operation. They are watching whether your actions are consistent with your words. No amount of preaching and communication will be as effective as practising what you preach and communicate. No amount of threats can even change behaviour unless the leader is perceived as being serious in his actions.
The behaviour of the leaders sets the tone for the organisation. Be aware that you must walk the talk and set the example for others to emulate.
The turnaround manager is guided by a code of conduct too. The most fundamental is that the turnaround manager has to practise what he preaches. He has to walk the talk. This is particularly important during hard times. People are watching your behaviour much more than your messages. If you do not practise what you preach, you will be seen as hypocritical.
During bad times, everyone is expected to chip in and make sacrifices. If the top gun does not practise what he preaches by making personal sacrifices as well, then he will lose his credibility and thus will jeopardize his future turnaround endeavours. Walk the talk is an ethical code for the turnaround manager as its non-compliance is perceived as deception by the other team members. Furthermore, you also deceive yourself as you are lying to yourself, as you do not firmly believe enough to practise what you have preached.
You also need to lead by example if you withdraw the perks and corporate benefits of the managers,. For instance, you will lose credibility if you continue to fly business class when you have decided that all the staff must downgrade to economy class ticket or you continue to wine and dine in expensive restaurants when your staff are retrenched to save costs. Once you dont walk the talk, you become inconsistent and you will lose respect from your team members.
The non-verbal aspects of business communication are often more important than the verbal ones. If you want to promote flat and informal management style, you cannot work behind closed door all the time. If you tell your people to come in punctually, you must ensure that you come in punctual too. If you want your people to be customer oriented, you must set the example by meeting up with the customers. What you do speaks so loudly that others cannot hear what you say. The message here is We are in difficult times and it must start with me. Leadership by example is the guiding motto for the top management, especially during difficult times. If you want others to take a salary cut, volunteer to cut your own salary first. If you want your staff to work long hours, you must be prepared to work even longer hours. This is why it is abhorrent to hear the manager who said that do what I preach, but do not practise what I do.
People are very receptive and take the cue quickly. They are able to fathom the sincerity of the senior management. To be successful, you need to solicit their co-operation. They are watching whether your actions are consistent with your words. No amount of preaching and communication will be as effective as practising what you preach and communicate. No amount of threats can even change behaviour unless the leader is perceived as being serious in his actions.
The behaviour of the leaders sets the tone for the organisation. Be aware that you must walk the talk and set the example for others to emulate.
Capt. J M Vaishnav, Vadodara, India - January 2nd, 2007