When it is decided what is to be done, it should be expected that it will get done. Why should you ever have to check up on your employees? It is an obvious leadership behaviour to expect your team to deliver.

In the book ‘Rashid’s Legacy’, Zakariah Doleh is quoted, ‘Once it was decided to create Karama and Satwa, Shaikh Rashid decreed that much of the development would be given over to low-cost housing. He was dynamic in pursuing this. Whoever would agree to build, he would give them valuable tracts of land, insisting that construction began as soon as possible.

‘If you promised to build though, you had to ensure you did. Shaikh Rashid would follow the progress on each and every plot he gave away. There were people who did not bother to work on land they had been given, and although Shaikh Rashid would never take back what he gave, you would be sure that they never felt his generosity again’.

It should be common practice to expect delivery to happen. Yet, many times it doesn’t. It looks like Shaikh Rashid had a one-strike policy, meaning if you didn’t deliver, you don’t get another chance. When you make a promise, do it...

Let me give you an example of saying and not doing:

A leading regional company put out an RFP (request for proposal) in 2009 stating, ‘This is was a strategic imperative’ and giving the impression that if they did not do this, then it would self-destruct. Several firms spent hours putting together their best proposals, submitted them and waited. And waited and waited until finally they heard back — which was a year later — in the form of the same RFP but only with the dates changed.

This time, they were told for sure the project would happen in 2010 as it was part of their KPIs (key performance indicator). I am not sure why stating something is a KPI was to be a form of comfort. Writing a KPI and delivering on it are very different.

The companies hurried around writing new proposals and submitting them again. Only to wait, and wait and wait again, until they received the same RFP in 2011. This scenario continued for five years.

If this was really a strategic imperative and a KPI, then how did they get away with not doing it?

OK, that was an extreme case, but it highlights a real issue. People say they are going to do something and don’t. Moving from business to business, it’s become clear that too many people say what they are going to do, but don’t always do it.

Sadly, the “say and don’t do” behaviour is on the rise. It is clearly a problem of character. Does your behaviour show that you will do what you say you will?

Of course, there are some performance-driven companies where people deliver or find it is time to look for a new job. They get the chance to deliver... but not a second one.

However, they are in the minority. More people hide behind their jobs talking about what they are going to do, but don’t. Lately, I’ve been wondering about, even getting a bit obsessed with, ‘How do people get away with doing very little?’

Frankly, I find it really bothers me. Not because it affects me directly, but because people should deliver results, they should be good corporate citizens, not just professional jobholders.

The reason they are able to get away with doing very little is because the boss is not leading. Real leaders do not accept underperformance. They work diligently to help everyone deliver.

It looks like the real issue is too many Leaders in Name Only (LINO) bosses. While they hold leadership positions, have the titles, they don’t necessarily lead.

As ridiculous as it sounds, you need to become a master at helping people deliver.

The writer is a leadership advisor and author of the award-winning ‘10 Tips for Leading in the Middle East’ and other writings. Follow him on Twitter: @tommyweir.