An inquiry based leader will...
walk the talk
We have all heard the saying, “if you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk,” meaning that you need to act according to your words. It is not enough to talk about doing the right things, you need to lead by example and do these ‘right things’ yourself as a school leader. Inquiry-based school leaders need to “walk the talk” by balancing what they say with what they do. It is about doing the right thing and acting on your vision and belief as the lead learner in the school.
Leaders that ‘Walk the Talk” do the following:
https://www.businessfinancestore.com/2011/09/26/ten-ways-to-embrace-walk-the-talk-leadership
Hildebrand, Deborah S. September 26, 2011. Actions that Communicate Walk-the-Talk Leadership.
Image copied from: http://www.crystalinfoservice.com/images/franchise_inquiry1.jpg
Even Santa Claus understands the importance of setting a positive example and “walk the talk.” In the book, The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus, Santa shares, “I must model the behaviors that I expect from others. I must take the LEAD. I must be the first to ‘walk the talk’ when it comes to things like:
Harvey, Eric, Cottrell, David, Lucia, Al, and Hourigan, Mike. The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus. (2003). Texas: Performance Systems Corporation.
- Avoid knee-jerk reactions (acting too quickly on a decision) and the paralysis of analysis (stalling a decision with too much research).
- Involve those who will implement decisions in the decision-making process.
- Be open-minded. Others might not do things exactly as you would, but they may discover a better way.
- Use failures as learning experiences by asking, “What’s positive about this?”
- Focus on what is right rather on who is right.
- Catch people doing things right and then customize their recognition.
- Don’t merely focus on the “super stars” and “fallen stars,” notice the “middle stars” as well.
- Ask your team what you are doing that creates obstacles for them and be willing to eliminate those obstacles.
- Never share the blame for your mistakes.
- When it comes to information, have a “no surprise” rule with withholding bad news as the worse violation of all.
https://www.businessfinancestore.com/2011/09/26/ten-ways-to-embrace-walk-the-talk-leadership
Hildebrand, Deborah S. September 26, 2011. Actions that Communicate Walk-the-Talk Leadership.
Image copied from: http://www.crystalinfoservice.com/images/franchise_inquiry1.jpg
Even Santa Claus understands the importance of setting a positive example and “walk the talk.” In the book, The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus, Santa shares, “I must model the behaviors that I expect from others. I must take the LEAD. I must be the first to ‘walk the talk’ when it comes to things like:
- Following ALL of our rules and procedures
- Treating EVERYONE with dignity and respect
- ALWAYS telling the truth
- NEVER breaking a promise or commitment
- Building superior quality into EVERYTHING I do
- CONTINUALLY giving my best effort
- CONSISTENTLY taking a stand for what’s right.
Harvey, Eric, Cottrell, David, Lucia, Al, and Hourigan, Mike. The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus. (2003). Texas: Performance Systems Corporation.