How can you spot a leader?

Is it because their name-tag or parking spot displays “Manager?” Are they the founder of a startup company? An administrator? Politician? Or the head coach to a team?

Well, those are all titles.

These people may be leaders, but just because they have a title it doesn’t automatically anoint one as a leader.

Leadership encompasses a mixture of behaviors, mindset, and skills to inspire people for the betterment of the organization.

Rather it is the actions that make someone a leader, not the title.

People can have good intentions, they can even tell other people about what they’re going to do, and still do something completely opposite.

For instance, if parents break the rules that they make or a manager spends after telling everyone else to stop, it damages their credibility.

If someone’s words aren’t consistent with their actions, those listening are confused.

That’s why they say, talk is cheap.

Trust is not guaranteed. It is not something that can be won overnight, be lost very easily, and be very difficult to re-establish.

Great leaders are the ones who “walk the talk.” They deliver both on their words and their actions. Doing so emphasizes what they stand for, which allows people to trust and have faith in them.