THE SAY–DO AUDIT™
A one-page self-audit for leaders, educators & teams — By Dr. Charles Davis, The Level Up Speaker · Performance Integrity™
Everybody has a say–do gap: the distance between what we say we believe and what we actually do on an ordinary day. You can't close a gap you haven't measured. Score yourself honestly — this audit only works if you grade the week you actually had, not the one you meant to have.
How to score: For each statement, rate your last 30 days: 5 = Always · 4 = Usually · 3 = Sometimes · 2 = Rarely · 1 = Never.
Part 1 — What I Say (Commitments & Standards)
1. I can state my standard — for my work, my team, or my classroom — in one clear sentence.
2. The commitments I make out loud are specific: who, what, and by when.
3. I only announce standards I am personally willing to be measured by.
4. People who work with me could repeat my expectations back to me accurately.
Part 2 — What I Do (Follow-Through)
5. My calendar and my to-do list reflect the priorities I say I have.
6. I finish what I commit to by the date I committed to it — or I renegotiate before the deadline, not after.
7. I hold the standard on hard days, not just on motivated days.
8. I do the unglamorous daily reps — preparation, follow-up, review — that my standard requires.
Part 3 — When There's a Gap (Repair)
9. When my actions miss my stated standard, I name it — to myself and, when it affects others, to them.
10. I fix the miss and re-commit with a specific next step, instead of explaining the miss away.
11. I track my follow-through somewhere I actually look — not just in my intentions.
12. I review my say–do alignment on a regular rhythm (weekly or better), not just when something goes wrong.
Your Score: Add your 12 ratings (total out of 60).
48–60 — Aligned. Your actions and your stated standards mostly agree. Your work now is protection: keep the review rhythm, and raise the standard deliberately instead of letting success soften it.
36–47 — Drifting. The standard is real, but follow-through is inconsistent — usually in one section. Find your lowest part above; that's where the gap is costing you.
24–35 — The gap is talking. What you say and what you do are telling two different stories, and the people around you can hear both. Pick your single lowest statement and rebuild there first.
12–23 — Performing, not practicing. The stated standard isn't currently connected to daily behavior. That's not a character verdict — it's a starting line. One small kept promise, repeated daily, is how the gap starts closing.
Your First Move (do this within 24 hours): Write down your lowest-scoring statement. Under it, write one specific action — small enough to finish tomorrow — that would raise it by one point. Then do it tomorrow. Performance Integrity is not built in a day; it is built daily.
Ready to run this with your whole team? The Say–Do Audit is the diagnostic at the heart of Dr. Davis's Performance Integrity™ keynotes and workshops — including Performance Integrity: Closing the Say–Do Gap, where your team runs the full audit live and leaves with standards it has actually committed to. Book Dr. Davis: levelupspeaker@gmail.com · 404-860-3442 · www.charlesldavis.com — Keynotes from $5,000 · Workshops from $2,500 · Virtual keynotes from $3,500 · Travels from Atlanta, GA
"Your current circumstances are just the soil, not the ceiling."