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October 24, 2008
Lessons of a $150,000 wardrobe
I don’t write about politics in this blog—communication, as you know, is my game—but the Sarah Palin wardrobe story is such a cautionary tale for any leader that I’ve got to say something.
(If you missed the story, here’s a quick synopsis: It was revealed this week that the Republican National Committee spent $75,062 at Neiman Marcus and $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue outfitting Governor Palin and her family with a wardrobe for the campaign trail. This would not be a problem, perhaps, except that Ms. Palin is a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” whose key message is that she relates to main street voters better than those aristocrats in Washington.)
Someone in the Republican campaign forgot one of the essential rules of leader communication: It doesn’t matter what you say if what you do contradicts your message.
This is relevant today for every company leader, who is spending all his or her time thinking about economic uncertainty and the likelihood that companies will need to cut expenses or even headcount.
When it’s time to deliver the bad news, leaders need to remember the importance of doing what they say (that cliché “walk the talk” rings true).
These are times that call for leaders to:
- Drive themselves to work
- Eat lunch in the company cafeteria
- Fly commercial (preferably coach)
- Wear khakis and golf shirts instead of custom-tailored suits
- Give up golf and take up bowling
I’m kidding about the last one (kind of), but you get the picture. If leaders are serious about engaging employees in tough times, they need to let their actions speak.
That’s effective communication.
Posted by Alison Davis at October 24, 2008 03:07 PM
Comments
Great piece! Another lesson learned from this for leaders: stand by your convictions. Coming off the Keating Five scandal, McCain sponsored McCain-Feingold to clean up soft money in Congress. The law specifically forbids the purchase of clothing using campaign funds. Campaign lawyers claim the campaign broke no laws (which remains to be seen), but what does it say about McCain's leadership? He has shown consistently that he will win at all costs and sell out his convictions. McCain-Feingold is looking more like a smokescreen to cover the Keating Five scandal and the convictions should be coming from a US attorney for the McCain-Palin campaign.
Posted by: Matt Davis at October 24, 2008 04:09 PM