“Say what you mean
Mean what you say.
And do what you say you’re going to do.”
Barbara Coloroso
One of the most sincere and principled leaders I had the privilege of working with used the above quote as part of his personal brand. It rattles through my head from time to time along with the ghosts of leaders past and reminds me in a back-to-the-basics way, how simple some foundations of leadership trust can be.
Delivery of feedback is a tricky thing in building trust. The selection of words, the tone, the receiver’s state of mind. And yet, when delivered genuinely, with heartfelt intent and space to be safe, there can be so much room for imprecision, and intent truly can and does shine through. I remind myself, leaders are humans too!
So, my note this morning is to my leaders, both today and those ghosts of leaders past.
Thank you for these little whispers of wisdom that pop into my mind and heart when I need them most.
Thank you for trusting me enough to share your feedback – even if the delivery was not as finessed as you’d have liked.
And thank you for being open to my response, as human and unpredictable as it might have been.
Keep up the great work, and keep being you!
Yvonne Thevenot
Yvonne Thevenot says
Thank you so much to the team at Dal for the opportunity to share this message!