5 Positive Effects to Walking Your Talk

As leaders and managers we’re constantly bombarded with information that needs digesting and disseminating to others. Some of it good and some of it not so great. While there’s no ‘right’ way to do it there are certainly some simple and effective ways to minimise disruption and maintain or increase motivation and buy-in. Here are 5 positive effects of how when you Walk your Talk you can achieve more with ease whether you're delivering good or bad news.



1. Integrity

Walking your talk means moving from a ‘do as we say’ to a ‘do as we do’ state therefore showing by example that you operate with integrity. Integrity comes from consistency and perception. Consistency of actions, behaviours, principles, and values, and others perception of whether consistency exists in our behaviour. Integrity is the absolute foundation blocks to walking your talk. When we don’t operate with integrity we are perceived as paying lip-service and it’s therefore understandable when scepticism sets in. Why would you believe someone whose actions don’t reflect their words? Consciousness of action and behaviour is the first step to achieving more with ease.

2. Buy-in

Through integrity the path to buy-in is smoother. Stakeholders have a positive perception and are experiencing the consistency associated with integrity. Buy-in is now about their interest and commitment to a decision that needs to be made or a project or set of tasks that need to be delivered. Now there’s just the ‘what’s in it for me?’ question to be answered to close the loop and achieve the desired outcome. A stakeholders’ ability to answer that question will be less clouded by doubts associated with integrity and noise pollution associated with mistrust and hidden agendas, therefore allowing them to focus on those aspects that really matter.

3. Motivation

Now you have the stakeholders’ attention and interest they’ll probably be more motivated to do what needs to be done for that project or set of tasks. Don’t rest on your laurels quite yet though. There’s a lot of work to be done to achieve the outputs you desire and this loop will always remain:
As soon as you stop walking your talk one part of the loop will collapse returning you to a situation with more difficulties than necessary.

4. Respect

As we all know Respect is earned not a right and often those who expect it are least likely to gain it. People have respect for others due to their abilities and / or their personal qualities. Our behaviours reflect the words that we speak and through walking our talk we are giving others an experience of our worth and quality as a person. Through these actions we gain respect, which subsequently eases the way to achieving more.

5. Results

Don’t be mistaken, these 5 Positive Effects alone won’t make everything go swimmingly. People will continue to have their own opinions of what is good or bad and right or wrong in a particular situation or for a particular project. Each stakeholder has varying levels of expertise, ability, and overall mode of operating. Taking the time to learn about and utilise these differences in the most appropriate way for the situation is key to achieving successful outcomes.