Intent vs Behavior

I started noticing my own intent vs behaviour, as well as others after hearing a live talk by the great Abdul Kalam. He reasoned that we judge ourselves by intent and others judge us by our behaviour. Since we never have any intent to give less or do a shoddy job or want to give excuses or fall short of expectations, we always think we are doing fine. While others can clearly see our output (both results and behaviour) and judge us. This invariable creates a difference in perception of how we view ourselves and how others view us, particularly there is a huge difference between what we say we will do and what we eventually end up doing it. One of my boss used to ask "How do you rate your Say-Do ratio" and that makes perfect sense. And this concept is even more important if one is a leader.

The gap between impact and intent results in poor performance, personal frustration and/or self-pity. You might be frustrated that others don’t ‘get’ you. Or, you feel sorry for yourself because you’re under appreciated. You wrongly believe the real you is obvious.

Successful (Authentic) leaders work to align impact of behavior with intention in the heart. Lousy leaders ignore the perceptions of others. Any leader who doesn’t care how they occur lacks the emotional intelligence to lead effectively. This article has some practical tips on how to bridge the gap.

What has been you Say-Do ratio lately?