Leadership “Walk The Talk”
I recall one of my first lessons… It was very cloudy and it was raining very slightly. Sifu took me to a park to train. He brought an umbrella and was carrying it in his right hand as we walked. At one point, he stopped and showed me a ‘Horse Stance’ position and told me to stand in it. The position was a low seated position and I found it nearly impossible to sustain. Gently he showed me how to inch my way into it. He allowed me to take a higher stance and slowly drop down. Suddenly, thunder cracked across the sky and it began to pour rain. I remained in the position but he stood there motionless. Within seconds I was soaked. I recall thinking “why doesn’t he cover me with the umbrella?” (Ironically, at the time I did not see the selfishness in this statement). What seemed like an eternity went by (only 3 or 4 minutes), as my legs ached and water poured into all my clothing. Just then, he folded up the umbrella and took off his jacket, walked to my side and took the same low stance I was attempting to sustain. The action threw my concentration and I collapsed to the ground.
“What are you doing?” I asked, struggling to me feet.
“I am standing in Horse Stance,” he said, nonchalantly without looking at me.
“Yeah, but why?”
“Why… What?”
“Why did you put the umbrella down?” There was a long pause.
“Why?” I demanded.
“Because the rain seemed to bother you and I can’t ask you to stand in the rain if I am not willing to stand with you.”
As obvious as this lesson seems, it had a tremendous affect on my relationship with my teacher.
I had tried many other classes and failed. I had gone to great Masters who had hundreds of students and I had always left feeling more of a failure than when I started. Now this guy didn’t have a fancy studio and he taught his lessons in his loft apartment or in the court yard behind his building – this was not my vision of a great teacher. There was no doubt he was a master in Martial Arts, but he did not fit the mold of what I thought a great master was.
So why did I spend the next five years training with him? The answer is that he understood the responsibility of leadership and that is why I trusted him. The rain was not a big deal to him, but it was to me. By standing with me, he was showing me his willingness to ‘Walk the Talk’.
A leader is constantly tested by those following him or her. A great leader understands that this challenge is not a personal attack but rather an opportunity to forge a trusting relationship. The challenge is a simple question. If I follow you, will you “Walk the Talk”? Will you embody and exemplify that which you ask me to do? If you ask me to be put in extra time for the cause, will you do the same?
The challenge is not usually about large issues. In all the work I have done with people, I have noticed that when people complain or praise their leaders it is almost always about small things. Things like being on time for meetings, saying thank you when someone has worked very hard and saying Happy Birthday seem to carry more weight than being a brilliant leader.
Although the challenge of having every moment count may at first seem over whelming to those leading, it is really a great opportunity to exemplify leadership. In other words if a leader wants to lead they simply need to care about small moments. By following through on small things a leader shows that he/she cares about the cause and those working for the cause.
The small act of putting away that umbrella never left me and is one of the major reasons I trained with this teacher for the next five years. Imagine if he had not put the umbrella away. Would I be writing about him now?
