Walls vs. Halls

Have you ever walked into a company, a church, or a home and seen their values on a wall? Have you seen someone there directly contradict those values? Someone I know saw a sign that listed several company values, one of which was “Respect.” Just down the hall, a person in charge was berating an employee.

Whether at home or in the office, actions speak louder than words. There is a saying that goes: What people see in the halls outweighs what they read on the walls.As an executive, you can put whatever high-minded concepts you want on the poster of your company values. But if your behavior contradicts them, something worse happens than the values losing their meaning. You become a symbol of hypocrisy to the people you’re trying to lead.

Values that aren’t lived are just decoration. Once your people sense the gap between what’s on the wall and how you actually behave, that perception is very hard to walk back.

The values on your wall need to come from a genuine place and be honestly aimed for every day. When you fall short, acknowledge the failing and do what you can to correct it. Your opportunity to model virtuous conduct is a privilege. Character is built by how you act when you think no one is looking.

Put this into practice: Imagine someone you deeply respected or loved was with you for the next 48 hours at work, watching how you operated. How would you behave differently? And what does your answer tell you?

Until next time, Sherif