Volume XXIII, Number 36 (Issue 1145) September 7, 2025
Right Answer, Wrong Delivery
Have you ever spent time with someone in a position of authority who says the right things, but does not do them? Similarly, have you spent time with someone who says the right things, but their tone and facial expressions deliver a vastly different message?
In my case, two unfortunate examples of this odd dynamic come to mind. The first example, a “do what I say not what I do” “leader” is the former CEO of a multi-billion-dollar organization. We knew early on in our consulting engagement that this CEO struggled connecting with his executive team and staff. But once we started meeting with him it was easy to identify the problem. This individual said the right things. However, he routinely failed to do the things he said he believed in when it came to working with his team. Watching him engage with the public, he did well. But when it came to his staff, he either second guessed their decisions, thereby undermining their confidence along with their willingness to trust and follow him, or he placed barriers between himself and his team.
The second dysfunctional example is a branch manager for an organization with offices across two states. In conversations with this individual, all the right words were there, however, the tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language communicated a different story. Had our conversations been on the phone, all I would have had to work with were the words and tone. But throw in the visual elements from face-to-face meetings and I quickly began to doubt the sincerity of the statements I was hearing. Still, it was possible I was misinterpreting the visual cues, so I did a little more investigating. Specifically, I talked to several of the individuals who worked with this manager and what I learned was there was reluctance to make decisions combined with a “not my job,” and “that is someone else’s problem” attitude.
Needless to say, both of these individuals said the right things – they may have even believed them. But their actions revealed a fundamental lack of understanding of how one practices what they preach. The consequences of such inconsistency and mixed signals are confusion at a minimum and turnover and poor performance at the extreme.
While I shared two examples of what not to do, the incidence of individuals who have large blind spots (a lack of self-awareness) to their shortcomings is unsettling. Making it more troublesome, the number of individuals in positions of authority who are in self-denial, choose to justify their behavior, and resist changing their ways despite feedback is disheartening. The good news is not everyone acts/reacts this way. In fact, most people in leadership roles want to be the best possible version of themselves meaning they want to learn and grow since they know it leads to better outcomes for them, their people, and their organization.
Soli Deo Gloria
“Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. ‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.’” Matthew 7:20-21
J. Keith Hughey
Mobile: (210) 260-0955
E-mail: keith@jkeithhughey.com
Website: www.jkeithhughey.com
Transforming Potential into Unmatched Performance
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