Reducing the Gap Between Saying and Doing – How to exercise your freedom and take action despite the risks?
Dive into the heart of a fundamental subject for leadership: reducing the gap between intention and action (saying and doing). This episode explores how individual freedom, far from being a mere philosophical idea, only exists when it is exercised and inscribed in doing.
From Idea to Reality: The Entrepreneurial Passage to Action
The move from saying to doing is a “sacred gap” that demands “an organization of the world.” Eve points out that entrepreneurship is the perfect illustration of this transition. The act of leaving the safety of a job and formally creating a company constitutes the essential first step. For her, entrepreneurship truly takes on its meaning when one creates employment, thus moving beyond an overly personal approach.
In the business world, it is regrettable that the idea is often valued at the expense of execution (putting into action). Yet putting into action is the engine that generates value. The entrepreneur’s temperament is moreover measured by the speed with which they reduce this delay between saying and doing, accepting the risk inherent in action.
The Trap of Consistency and Managerial Vigilance
Social pressure strongly values consistency (“I say what I do, I do what I say”). Yet this quest for consistency can become rigid and trap the leader rather than freeing them.
This episode warns against the “abstruse trap” (or sunk cost). This involves stubbornly persisting with a bad strategy or subsidiary because too much money has already been invested and the emotional commitment is too strong. To free themselves from this stubbornness, the leader must demonstrate courage and self-questioning. They must accept being wrong, because it is this ability to backtrack that grounds their human consistency.
The Time of Action and Open Governance
To mobilize teams, the manager must respect a breathing rhythm in the decision-making process. There are three crucial moments: the moment of awareness, the moment of deciding to change, and the moment of taking action. Moving too fast (in immediacy) prevents collective ownership and unconsciously makes teams hold back.
The discussion also emphasizes the importance of enriching the decision by opening up governance (for example, via experts or expanded boards). Although the final decision can be made alone (for the sake of speed), the confrontation of the idea with other opinions is essential.
The feeling of success manifests itself as an “intellectual orgasm”: an irrational moment where one has the conviction of dominating the problem and mastering its complexity, reducing the space between being and doing.
Moving Forward Toward Coaching: The Individualization of the Champion
This introductory exchange ends by opening the way to the next episode, coaching in business. The founders explain that 16 years ago, they were already integrating this approach to move beyond the limits of instrumentalization (the “toolbox”). The goal of coaching is to start from the person, break down the gesture, and use the best of their talents to turn them into “champions” rather than average people everywhere.
Listen to this episode to discover how to take on risk, integrate doubt and flexibility into your decisions, and structure the passage to action to lead your teams toward success!