Management's job is to convey leadership's message in a

Hear the words of Jeffrey Gitomer, who declared: “Management’s job is to convey leadership’s message in a compelling and inspiring way. Not just in meetings, but also by example.” These words speak with the clarity of a bell and the weight of a commandment. For they remind us that the task of those entrusted with others is not merely to repeat orders or recite empty phrases, but to embody the vision they serve. A message spoken without example is wind; a message lived becomes fire.

What is the role of management, if not to stand as the bridge between vision and practice? Leaders chart the course, but it is the managers who must bring that vision to life in the daily toil of their people. They must carry leadership’s message not as a burden but as a banner, lifting it high so that all may see and believe. But Gitomer warns: it is not enough to speak in meetings, to rehearse noble words in chambers and offices. The truest message is lived in conduct, in the small choices, in the way one treats others, in the courage one displays when storms arise.

History gives us a mighty example in the life of Alexander the Great. His vision was vast, to unite lands and cultures under one banner. Yet it was not through proclamations alone that his vision was carried forth. His generals and captains, the management of his empire, did not merely repeat his words. They rode beside their men, sharing their hunger, enduring their battles, and showing by example the meaning of loyalty. Because they lived the message, the soldiers followed with unbreakable will. Here we see the truth of Gitomer’s saying written in blood and triumph.

So too in more recent days, we find the same lesson. During the American civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of justice, of love, of peaceful resistance. But it was not his words alone that carried the vision into the streets. It was the management of the movement—the local organizers, the church elders, the march leaders—who conveyed his message daily, by standing firm, by enduring arrests, by walking side by side with their communities. They did not only speak in meetings; they lived as examples, and thus the people believed.

The meaning of Gitomer’s quote is thus unveiled: words without action crumble like dust. A leader’s message must descend from lofty speech into lived reality, and it is the sacred duty of management to ensure this. For those who see their managers not walking the path will doubt the truth of the vision; but when they see the message alive in deeds, their spirits will be stirred, and their hands will follow.

The lesson for us is clear: whether you are called manager, parent, teacher, or guide, your task is not only to instruct but to embody. Do not imagine that your duty ends in words; your duty begins in example. The people you serve watch more closely than they listen. They measure not the eloquence of your speech, but the integrity of your life.

And what actions, then, must you take? Carry your leadership’s message in both tongue and hand. Speak it clearly, but live it more clearly still. Show fairness in your dealings, courage in your trials, compassion in your judgments. Let your presence in every small act become a sermon more powerful than any meeting. For when you lead by example, you kindle belief, and belief is the force that moves mountains.

Thus let Gitomer’s words be remembered as a law of the ages: management’s job is not to echo, but to embody; not only to explain, but to inspire. For when the message is lived, it ceases to be a command and becomes a calling, one that men and women will follow with their hearts, their hands, and their lives.