The Hippocratic Oath for the Turnaround Manager is "Walk the Talk"

Every professional body has its code of conduct, which ethically guides the practice and

direction of the profession. The young budding doctors have to take the Hippocratic

oath, which basically stipulates that every doctor has to give treatment to anyone who

needs it, whether rich or poor.

The turnaround manager is guided by a code of conduct too. The most fundamental is

that the turnaround manager has to practise what he preaches. He has to walk the talk.

This is particularly important during hard times. People are watching your behaviour

much more than your messages. If you do not practise what you preach, you will be seen

as hypocritical.

During bad times, everyone is expected to chip in and make sacrifices. If the top gun

does not practise what he preaches by making personal sacrifices as well, then he will

lose his credibility and thus will jeopardize his future turnaround endeavours. Walk the

talk is an ethical code for the turnaround manager as its non-compliance is perceived as

deception by the other team members. Furthermore, you also deceive yourself as you

are lying to yourself, as you do not firmly believe enough to practise what you have

preached.

You also need to lead by example if you withdraw the perks and corporate benefits of the

managers,. For instance, you will lose credibility if you continue to fly business class

when you have decided that all the staff must downgrade to economy class ticket or you

continue to wine and dine in expensive restaurants when your staff are retrenched to save

costs. Once you dont walk the talk, you become inconsistent and you will lose respect

from your team members.

The non-verbal aspects of business communication are often more important than the

verbal ones. If you want to promote flat and informal management style, you cannot

work behind closed door all the time. If you tell your people to come in punctually, you

must ensure that you come in punctual too. If you want your people to be customer

oriented, you must set the example by meeting up with the customers. What you do

speaks so loudly that others cannot hear what you say.

The message here is We are in difficult times and it must start with me. Leadership by

example is the guiding motto for the top management, especially during difficult times.

If you want others to take a salary cut, volunteer to cut your own salary first. If you want

your staff to work long hours, you must be prepared to work even longer hours. This is

why it is abhorrent to hear the manager who said that do what I preach, but do not

practise what I do.

People are very receptive and take the cue quickly. They are able to fathom the sincerity

of the senior management. To be successful, you need to solicit their co-operation. They

are watching whether your actions are consistent with your words. No amount of

preaching and communication will be as effective as practising what you preach and

communicate. No amount of threats can even change behaviour unless the leader is

perceived as being serious in his actions.

The behaviour of the leaders sets the tone for the organisation. Be aware that you must

walk the talk and set the example for others to emulate.

http://www.corporateturnaroundexpert.com

Dr Mike Teng (DBA, MBA, BEng, FIMechE, FIEE, CEng, PEng, FCMI, FCIM, SMCS) is the author of the best-selling business book Corporate Turnaround: Nursing a sick company back to health, in 2002. In 2006, he authored another book entitled, Corporate Wellness: 101 Principles in Turnaround and Transformation. Dr Teng is widely recognized as a turnaround CEO in Asia by the news media. He has 27 years of experience in corporate responsibilities in the Asia Pacific region. Of these, he held Chief Executive Officers positions for 17 years in multi-national, local and publicly listed companies. He led in the successful turnaround of several troubled companies. He is currently the Managing Director of a business advisory firm, Corporate Turnaround Centre Pte Ltd (http://www.corporateturnaroundcentre.com) Dr Teng was the President of the Marketing Institute of Singapore (2000 2004), the national marketing association.

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