Walk Your Talk!

It is one thing to stand in front of the assembled staff and extol the value of building relationships with students or to state expectations for particular priorities. It is quite a different thing to actually live the words we share.

This hearkens to the old question, "Do you walk your talk?" People notice when you do and they notice when you don't.

True leaders model every day, in each moment, the core values of the organization. Your actions speak louder than your words.

Years ago I watched the Focus on the Family video, "Molder of Dreams," about the 1986 National Teacher of the Year Guy Doud. I would highly recommend this inspirational video. Mr. Doud (now Dr. Doud) recounts stories of the teachers in his past who impacted his life. Over and over he discusses how their actions built him up or tore him down. 

During the movie, he shares an anonymous poem. The poem was so powerful that I paused the movie to write it down. I am not one to memorize poetry, but this poem spoke to me in a deep way and I committed it to memory and have shared it in presentations and written it out several times as a reminder of the power of demonstrating our values through our actions.

I would rather see a sermon

 than hear one any day. 

I would rather you walk beside me

than merely point the way.

The eye is a more ready pupil

than ever was the ear.

Good advice is sometimes confusing

but example is always clear.

-anonymous 

For educators and parents, our actions are teaching children about acceptable and preferred behavior. As a dad, I know that my children notice if what I say when I am in church or while visiting with someone does not match what they see from me when no one else is around. I cannot preach to them about acting appropriately if my own actions run counter to my words. The sermon that is the life I lead in front of them speaks louder than any words I may utter.

For teachers, lessons on kindness and caring for others are lost when a teacher's response to a child's mistake or poor behavior choice is overly harsh or demeaning. We cannot expect children to treat each other with dignity if we do not model that. In no way does this keep us from addressing misbehaviors. It simply means that even in those moments when we are dealing with a student who is clearly out of line, how we deal with them is just as important to all of the other students as it is to that individual.

The same is true for leaders. We cannot encourage or demand actions from our teams that we do not demonstrate. In a previous blog post I reviewed a book that our team studied this past summer, Monday Morning Leadership. In it, author David Cottrell says, "everything you do matters because your team is watching...and depending on you to do the right thing."

Want to make a difference in the world? Want the world to be a kinder, more caring place? It starts with walking our talk. Others are watching. Be the example of the world you want to live in. Be the example of the teammate you want to serve with. Be the example of the adult you want the children around you to grow up to be.